Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager at the Institute for Public Health
The Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration has released a comprehensive report and toolkit following a years-long project conducted in Greece, Kenya and Mexico on the disclosure of gender-based violence (GBV) in conflict settings. Based on their findings, the project team published the toolkit, “Gender-Based Violence Disclosure Toolkit: Responding to Gender-Based Violence Disclosure in Humanitarian Crisis Settings” and an accompanying project report called, “Choosing to Speak, Learning to Hear”. The toolkit is designed to be adaptable around the world.
The humanitarian response community has made extraordinary effort to find ways to identify and support GBV survivors. However, at the end of the day, none of this works if survivors don’t feel safe or ready to tell us what they experienced or what they need. Understanding ‘disclosure’ in this context is critical to make it easier for those who do actually want to speak and seek help.
Kim Thuy Seelinger, director, Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration
Available in seven languages, the Gender-based Violence (GBV) Disclosure Toolkit provides guidance on how to safely, ethically and appropriately support and respond to disclosure of GBV in contexts impacted by displacement and other humanitarian crises.
Also available in multiple languages, the project report discusses the background and findings from the study on the disclosure of Gender-Based Violence in conflict settings.
The report summarizes the study and alludes to the fact that “nearly 90 million people on the planet forcibly displaced from their homes and homelands, and with growing acknowledgment that gender-based violence can be both a driver and consequence of this flight, the challenge of ensuring survivors’ access to protection and support has never been more urgent.”
The report outlines GBV and displacement in Mexico, Greece and Kenya; study findings on topics such as when GBV disclosure happens, barriers of disclosure, and service provider strategies; and offers discussion and conclusions based on the research and in-depth interviews with service providers.
The toolkit, report and other materials such as case studies from individual countries, can be found in multiple languages and downloaded from the center’s website.
The Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration at the Institute for Public Health bridges research, policy and practice to improve evidence-based response to serious human rights abuses.
Funding provided by the United States Government (Department of State, Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration).
Supplemental financial support was provided by an anonymous donor to the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration.