1.0 INTRODUCTION
The patterns and persistence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) are interwoven into social norms and power relations. However, GBV is not only a fundamental violation of human rights, but leaves deep scars on societies that it affects, both in terms of psychosocial trauma, community cohesion and stigmatization of survivors, and development outcomes. The threat of Gender Based Violence (GBV) is amplified by the conflict in Dikwa LGA and northeast Nigeria. These have underscored the findings by numerous scholars that throughout the world, the occurrence of GBV is exacerbated when an emergency hits. The humanitarian situation in the Dikwa LGA continues to expose communities and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to major protection risks – with limited access to reproductive health and GBV prevention and response services. As a result of the ongoing humanitarian crises in Dikwa LGA between the ((Organized Armed Group) and the Government forces (GF) which had claimed several lives and rendered many other people refugees and homeless as many now live in IDP camps and had no source of livelihood. SSFA was signed between Learning Through Skills Acquisition Initiative (LETSAI) and (United Nation Children’s Fund). This is done to urgently support protection response in Dikwa that will increase survivor access to psychosocial, livelihood, and GBV support services, as well as ensure that women and girls can live sustainable and happy life. Under the SSFA LETSAI is to support a ‘community-centered’ and ‘survivor-focused’ GBV programming that seeks to upscale prevention and response in camps and host communities in Dikwa local Government of Borno. LETSAI is to upscale prevention and response in camps and host communities in the Dikwa local Government of Borno State. The targeted number is 6,060 beneficiaries (2950girls, 700women, 1260 boys, and 550 men) in identified camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and vulnerable women-led households in Dikwa for three months
2.0 CONTEXT ANALYSIS
More than a decade of conflict between armed groups and government forces in Northeastern Nigeria has resulted in millions of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Insecurity often has a disproportionate effect on women and girls, who are exposed to violence during their daily routines. Organized Armed groups frequently engage in attacks on women and girls, including rape, as a means to disempower and terrorize populations. These sorts of attacks, categorized as gender-based violence (GBV), are a significant humanitarian concern in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. Dikwa Local Government Area (LGA) is located in eastern Borno, Dikwa town lies 90km east of Maiduguri and is a gateway to Bama, Ngala, Mafa, and Marte LGAs, nine (9) of the ten wards in Dikwa LGA are inaccessible to humanitarian partner due to insecurity. The humanitarian response is therefore limited to the people in Dikwa town. Who are dependent on humanitarian assistance due to a lack of livelihood opportunities? Most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are farmers from the inaccessible neighboring villages /LGAs. The estimated population of Dikwa LGA is 113902 which includes 75470 internally displaced persons =s (IDPs). 81% of the IDPs live in formal camps, while 19% live in the host communities. 38% of households are female-headed in the formal camp and 23% in the host communities.
3.0 PROJECT DELIVERABLES
Project Outcome: Children who are victims or at significant risk of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including those in humanitarian settings, receive quality preventive and responsive services from a functioning child protection system at the federal level and in targeted states.
Output 1: Number of GBV/SEA survivors and vulnerable individuals that access comprehensive multi-sectoral and life-saving GBV services by sex by age. The services include: case management, mental health and psycho-social support, psycho-social support, clinical management of GBV, post-exposure prophylaxis, emergency contraception, safe shelter, and access to justice, livelihood, reintegration, and referrals).
Output 2: Humanitarian assistance and programs are safe, protective and responsive to the needs of girls and women across all the sectors and program sites.
Output 3: Children and community members reached with GBV/ PSEA messaging and reporting mechanism (IEC materials will include COVID 19 prevention messages in line with WHO and NCDC guidelines).
Output 4: Effective and efficient program management
GBViE Program Objective: Provide responsive and preventive services to child survivors of GBV & sexual exploitation and abuse
4.0 KEY ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED OVER THE PERIOD
| PROGRAMME RESPONSE: Prevention |
Training of caseworker, Agency staff, Enumerators, community volunteers, mobilizers, survivors and VSLA representatives
The three days of intensive training were done for agency staff in LETSAI Borno state office.
The following are the topics covered for the three days of intensive training facilitated by Mariam Aliyu. The Executive Director of LETSAI.
Protection from SEA by Humanitarian Personnel Nigeria (SOPS)
Inter-Agency Cooperation on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of PSEA Initiatives by Humanitarian Personnel in Nigeria
Principles Guiding this Inter-Agency Cooperation on SEA CBCM
The Inter-Agency SEA Community Based Complaints Mechanism/System (CBCM).
Group work on Inter-Agency Training for Focal Points on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
Understanding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEAH)
PSEAH core Principle
Exploring the linkages of PSEAH to GBV
Obligations of all Aid Personnel
United Nations Protocols on the provision of assistance to victims of SEA
At the end of the training, the participants were able to understand and retain the following: –
Protection from SEA by Humanitarian Personnel Nigeria (SOPS)
Inter-Agency Cooperation on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of PSEA Initiatives by Humanitarian Personnel in Nigeria
Principles Guiding this Inter-Agency Cooperation on SEA CBCM
The Inter-Agency SEA Community Based Complaints Mechanism/System (CBCM).
Group work on Inter-Agency Training for Focal Points on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
Understanding Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEAH)
PSEAH core Principle
Exploring the linkages of PSEAH to GBV
Obligations of all aid Personnel
United Nations Protocols on the provision of assistance to victims of SEA
Conduct GBV Safety Audit in all Child Protection Service points and develop plan of action to mitigate the risk identified
The safety audit is usually conducted to establish whether an organization complies with safety programs and processes. A safety audit identifies different levels of risk areas in program locations. During the implementation stages, a total of three GBV safety audits were conducted during August and September in all Child Protection Service points, and a plan of action was developed to mitigate the risk identified. Safety Audit was conducted by LETSAI in all program locations in Dikwa LGA, Borno State on the 18th of August and 25th of September 2021 in the following locations: Sangaya camp, Fulatari camp, 1000 camp, Kamcheji camp, (Kalagaru camp, ministry of works camp, and Ajari, Bulabulin, Chingozarma, and Shuwari host community)
ACTIONS COMPLETED:
- LETSAI provided case management, MHPSS and livelihood services to women and girls in Dikwa.
- LETSAI provided locks for the Toilets/Latrines that needed them.
- LETSAI Staff conducted sanitations in some selected areas where toxic, dangerous and poisonous materials were found during the audit
- Latrine/Toilet signs were also provided by LETSAI demarcating male and Female Toilets/Latrines.
Support the activation of safe spaces and provide relevant activities to child and adolescent GBV survivors
A safe space is a formal or informal place where women and girls feel physically and emotionally safe, with the absence of trauma, excessive stress, violence, or abuse. It is a space where women and girls feel comfortable and enjoy the freedom to express themselves without fear of judgment or harm. The safe space activities commenced with general awareness and sensitization on the organization, what we do, our vision and mission, after which the next session was on personal and environmental hygiene and finally psychosocial support for women and girls. We have a total of 200 beneficiaries of the safe space activities.
Methodology:
Discussion/Interaction
In this session, discussion/interaction was used in which the participants were allowed to ask questions and make contributions based on the presentation to enhance the proper understanding of information.
Psychosocial activity for women and girls:
In this session women and girls were divided into two according to their age range and various activities were conducted such as; Playing games, singing songs, telling stories, questions and answers to issues that affect them as women and girls and how to resolve such issues, encouragement as well as some soft skills such as communication skills, negotiation, problem-solving etc. these are some of the activities conducted in this session. The activity was conducted in the UNICEF Women-friendly safe space in Muhammed Kyari during the periods of intervention.
Child-friendly Spaces activities
During the program implementation period, LETSAI enrolled 406 children into the PSS activities through sensitization and awareness in the communities across the program location in Dikwa LGA in which 70% of the children are girls. The PSS activities are divided into sections by colored sticky notes to identify their various days of participating in the activities. In the CFS the children are involved in playing different games such as football, volleyball sack race, spoon race, and thug of war rope dragging which is being handled by the coach and supervised by the PSS officer. Based on this there is going to be competition among the various camps. Mohammed kyari has 41% of the total population of which 58% are boys while 42% are girls Sangaya IDPs Camp has 35% of the total population of which 39 percent are boys and 59 percent are girls. The average percentage of each age range in the total population is 70% while boys are 30%. The total number of children enrolled in PSS activities is 406.
In all the program locations PSS activities commence daily from 9 am to 11 am. In addition, the children were also taught the alphabet, numbers, words, and a lot more. On Tuesday the children have some recreational activities such as lido, swing, skipping slide flow, and lot more. Wednesday is the counseling section for adolescent children and women who are having some emotional and psychological problems and require counseling. While counseling is ongoing with the women and adolescent children, the community volunteers spend more times with other children in which they play.
Counseling;
20 adolescents from age 13-17 and 37 women from age 18-59 making a total of 57 women and adolescent children who require psychological support who were refer from GBV officer have been undergoing counseling section on emotional wellbeing and how to control emotion and how to relate to people generally.
Inter-community sports fiesta
A total number of over 135 children has been properly trained in various activities in preparation for the inter community sports fiesta in Dikwa LGA. The training was done for a month from 10th August – 11th September, 2021. At the end of the training the children were selected from different program locations to participate in the following games which was scheduled for 1st of October, 2021. The games includes: Football, Egg Race and Sack race. The finals of the football competition took place on the 1st of October 2021, between the children of Dikwa Central and Mohammed Kyari at Sangaya IDPs cam p field in Dikwa LGA. The match ended in favor of the children of Muhammed Kyari Host community beaten their counterpart 1- 0. Medals were presented to both team and a customized trophy was also presented to the football captain of Dikwa central HC by the Project Coordinator of LETSAI.
Egg race / Sack Race
The egg race competition took place on the same day with the three locations i.e. Sangaya IDPs Camp, Bullabulin HC and Muhammed Kyari, the total number of six (6) girls participated from the three locations. The adolescent girls were within the ages of 14 -17. At the end of the well contested events, Falmata Kyari of Muhammed Kyari host community came first, followed by Aishatu Abubakar of Sangaya IDPs Camp and Fanna Lawal from Bullabulin came third. . They were all presented with a gift for participating.At around 4.45pm the inter community sports fiesta comes to an end with the project coordinator giving a word of encouragement to the children and presentation of gifts to the participants
