GBV in Somalia

The project "Prevention of child trafficking and Gender-Based Violence as well as protection and care of victims in Somalia", funded by IOM-International Organisation for Migration and implemented by GRT, aimed at providing protection services for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Asylum Seekers and GBV survivors in Puntland, specifically in Garowe.

Goals:

The main objective of this project was to enable GBV survivors and children to receive medical and psychological services and livelihood support throughout the period of the project and after. Another key goal of the action was to strenghten key institutions that address GBV, such as health care providers, traditional birth attendant, religious institution and community support groups.

Description of Activities:

This project has been carried out throughout the delivery of some training for psychosocial counselors and some for traditional birth attendants as well as with the distribution of solar lanterns to improve people lives and with the conduction of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice (KAP) surveys and Forum Group Discussions (FGDs).

Targets

The main beneficiaries of this project have been GBV survivors and victims of child trafficking in Garowe.

Results

Thanks to this project 117 GBV survivors received assistance/case management, 110 GBV survivors received psychosocial support/counseling services, 81 GBV survivors were referred to medical care and 71 GBV survivors benefited from individual tailored support. As well as this, 99 traditional birth attendants and 92 participants have been trained.

As part of this project, GRT managed to distribute 298 solar lanterns with the support of IOM.

Funds

Child Protection

The street represents the only educational path for many children and at the same time it represents a broad and fascinating place even though often scary and terrible.

This is the reality of the street children in Nepal, Romania, Nicaragua, Somalia but also of some big European cities with their non accompanied minors.

In these contexts GRT's objective is to defend children's rights and wishes in the first place and then propose a rehabilitation.

Somalia

In South-Central Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland decades of civil conflict and socio-political instability have affected the mental wellbeing of communities and depleted the social-cultural support pillars of the community when it comes to coping with stressful situations. As a consequence, cases of mental break-down and psychological devastation amongst Somali communities continue to reach unprecedented levels with the prevalence of mental illness in the whole Somalia currently estimated as being one of the highest in the world.

Traditionally, mental health has been a stigmatized condition with the mentally ill people being discriminated and socially isolated. This demonstrates a practiced culture of maximum containment and hostility, with chaining of mental health patients.

Despite this worrying situation, mental health continues to remain a neglected sector across Somalia. Mental health issues are less prioritized by local authorities and investment by the humanitarian community remains incredibly low, which in turn, leaves the existing local organizations poorly capacitated to effectively offer any meaningful solution. This situation creates a condition where the burdens of people with mental health disabilities are left to their immediate relatives and to the traditional/faith-based Mental Health healers.

In such a context, GRT carried out different projects aiming at helping mentally ill people and their families, as well as at providing them with better mental health centres and institutions.