Internally displaced (IDP) women in
Somalia are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violations within IDP
communities. Somalia is a clan-based society that has strict socio-cultural
structures for its members. Displacement and relocation disrupt these
structures, leading to gender-based violations of women during times of transit
and at their settlement areas. Protection for IDPs has emerged as a key
component for humanitarian actors in Somalia, including UNIFEM, and a UN Joint
IDP strategy is providing a framework of action and calling for collaboration
among all stakeholders, including IDPs themselves. There is a clear need to
identify, recognize and address the special vulnerability of IDPs and raise
awareness of their special needs among local authorities and other relevant
stakeholders.Participants of a recently concluded series of training workshops for humanitarian actors in Somalia reiterated the importance of exploiting all protection mechanisms available within the Somali community to protect IDPs, with host communities and traditional elders having the responsibility of overseeing implementation. They stressed the importance of sensitizing displaced communities about their rights and empowering them to claim them. They also agreed on the development of programmes aimed at preventing displacement with an emphasis of tackling the root causes of displacement in Somalia. Civil society and women's organizations were seen as key players in the provision of psychosocial support and counselling often needed by survivors of various forms of abuse. UNIFEM and its partners are working in the country to train peer psychosocial counsellors on dealing with gender based violence and its link to HIV/AIDS infection within their communities. For more information, please contact Roselyn Gicira, roselyn.gicira@unifem.org