Gender-Based Violence and Violence Against Children : Prevention and Response Services in Uganda’s Refugee-Hosting Districts
Uganda currently hosts the third-largest refugee population in the world, and the largest in Africa. In May 2020, the country was hosting about 1.4 million refugees and asylum seekers, mostly in the West Nile, Northern, and Western parts of the cou...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/114931600717925673/Linking-Aligning-and-Convening-Gender-Based-Violence-and-Violence-Against-Children-Prevention-and-Response-Services-in-Uganda-s-Refugee-Hosting-Districts http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34494 |
| Summary: | Uganda currently hosts the third-largest
refugee population in the world, and the largest in Africa.
In May 2020, the country was hosting about 1.4 million
refugees and asylum seekers, mostly in the West Nile,
Northern, and Western parts of the country. The majority of
these refugees are from South Sudan and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. Women and children comprise 82 percent of
Uganda’s overall refugee population, about 56"percent
of refugees are below the age of 15, and 25 percent are
younger than five years of age (World Bank 2019).
Gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against children
(VAC) are key protection concerns for refugees and host
communities alike, with women and girls disproportionately
affected. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) recorded 4,297 cases of GBV in refugee settlements
between January and November 2019. In addition, the 2016
Uganda Demographic and Health Survey reveals a high
prevalence of GBV in districts that host refugees. The
Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP)
is a World Bank-funded project that seeks to address the
impacts of forced displacement in communities hosting
refugees in 11 districts in Uganda. DRDIP provides access to
basic social services, expands economic opportunities, and
enhances environmental management targeted at both refugees
and host communities. DRDIP conducted a rapid assessment in
11 of the 12 refugee hosting districts to: (1) identify key
risk factors for GBV and VAC and to examine the
intersections between them, with an emphasis on host
communities; (2) map existing GBV and VAC prevention and
response services in both refugee and host communities,
including the effectiveness of existing referral pathways;
and (3) provide recommendations to align and link the GBV
and VAC prevention and response services provided in refugee
settlements and host communities. The contributions of this
assessment will strengthen GBV and VAC risk management
associated with the implementation of DRDIP. Data for this
assessment were collected before the COVID-19 outbreak, but
subsequent data show an increase in GBV and VAC, exacerbated
by confinement measures, particularly adolescents girls and
women at risk of intimate partner violence. This assessment
complements the UNHCR-led interagency assessment that
focused on GBV and VAC in 11 refugee settlements (UNHCR and
OPM 2019). The DRDIP analysis includes a comprehensive
mapping of services for GBV and VAC prevention and response
across the key sectors of health, police, justice, and
social services in refugee settlements and host communities.
In addition, qualitative data were collected through focus
group discussions with refugees and local populations;
interviews with key informants, including duty bearers such
as health workers and police officers; and consultations
with local stakeholders. |
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