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2DTake concrete steps to improve compliance and accountability
Individual Commitments (3)
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
- As a founding partner of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies, the WRC will support implementation of the Call to Action Road Map 2016-2020, help bring new partners into the initiative, and conduct sustained advocacy with all stakeholders for strong, comprehensive programs to address gender-based violence from the start of an emergency.
- Policy
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- The WRC will gather the evidence for community-based care for survivors of sexual violence where insecurity and other factors prevent survivors' access to health facilities.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- The WRC will identify effective interventions to prevent and address forced early child marriage in three diverse humanitarian settings and disseminate learning to all stakeholders.
- Operational
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
Core Commitments (2)
- Commitment
- Core Responsibility
- Implement a coordinated global approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in crisis contexts, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity
- Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.
Gender-based violence prevention and response
The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) continued to play a leadership role in the multi-stakeholder Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies. Under Sweden's leadership, WRC managed the process for partners' annual reporting on their commitments, and facilitated the March 2017 annual meeting where partners reviewed progress under the Call to Action's 5-year Road Map and identified priorities for 2018. In support of the priority to strengthen field implementation, the WRC, with Sweden's support, began a pilot project with stakeholders in northeast Nigeria to develop a localized Road Map to improve GBV response in a particular setting.
WRC also completed a three year project on Preventing and Responding to GBV in Urban Areas. In 2017, a training package and facilitator's guide was published and workshops were held in Quito, Beirut, Delhi and Kampala that brought together international organizations as well as local officials and community based organizations. See https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/gbv/resources/1462-urban-gbv-case-studies.
2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
- Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?
The Call to Action's Road Map 2016-2020 provides a framework for measuring progress in addressing GBV from the start of an emergency. Through implementation of the initiative's monitoring and evaluation plan, WRC and Call to Action partners have a mechanism in place to chart progress and identify gaps that require collective action.
3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Funding amounts
- Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
- Human resources/capacity
B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?
Gender inequality perpetuates norms which promote GBV, but many humanitarian actors do not yet understand the link and the relevance to their work. Capacity to address GBV remains insufficient in international, national and local organizations. Funding has improved, but more resources are required to meet survivors' needs and support effective prevention.
4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.
The WRC will continue to support efforts to take the Call to Action initiative forward in northeast Nigeria, and will partner with UNFPA and the global GBV Area of Responsibility on a second Call to Action initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We will also continue to serve on the global Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility's Advocacy Group.
5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?
See above in terms of challenges to be addressed and the opportunities to affect change through collective efforts under the global Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies.
6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.
The WRC in its project on Preventing and Responding to GBV in Urban Areas worked with local partners to pilot innovative GBV risk mitigation projects in several cities. These partnerships demonstrated the value of building linkages with local actors who can bring specialized knowledge to GBV efforts in urban areas.
Keywords
Urban
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3DEmpower and protect women and girls
Individual Commitments (9)
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
-
As a member of the secretariat of the Inter-agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises, WRC will facilitate implementation of the Every Woman Every Child Everywhere Initiative and its roadmap and work to end all preventable deaths of women and adolescent girls in crisis settings.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
- As a Steering Committee member and seat of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, the WRC will advocate - in partnership with national women's organizations - for reform of gender discriminatory nationality laws which exacerbate the risks to crisis-affected women and their families, limit their access to reproductive health care, create barriers to education and sustainable livelihoods and deny them opportunities to participate in community decision making and electoral processes. As a leader of the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, the WRC will support increased engagement of youth in this work.
- Advocacy
- Leave No One Behind
- In its role as a member of the inter-agency group developing guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, the WRC will provide technical expertise and leadership on gender equality, gender-based violence prevention and response, and women's protection and empowerment to the guidelines development processes, as well as in the implementation strategy that follows.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
- The WRC commits to conducting a gender analysis with age, sex and disability disaggregated data when developing and implementing projects, ensuring that the different needs, vulnerabilities and capacities of women, girls, boys and men, including those with disabilities and sexual and gender minorities are reflected in WRC's research, programs and advocacy to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of its activities.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
- The WRC will build humanitarian partners' capacity to deliver programming that links adolescent girls, including those with disabilities, to essential services and builds their capacity to fully participate in the decision making processes that affect their lives.
- Capacity
- Leave No One Behind
-
The WRC will continue to assess, report and advocate on stakeholders' compliance with established inter-agency standards on gender-responsive humanitarian action, focusing in particular on women, girls and youth displaced by crises.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
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The WRC will improve community resilience, particularly among women and girls, through roll out of its community-based training curriculum on mitigating gender and sexual and reproductive health risks in emergencies supported by Disaster Risk Management for Health at the district and national levels.
- Training
- Leave No One Behind
- The WRC will monitor and advocate for immediate implementation of the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) for reproductive health at the onset of all new emergencies and for the transition to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care as soon as the situation stabilizes.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
-
The WRC will partner with local and national groups of women with disabilities to provide capacity development and mentoring, thereby increasing their ability to participate in humanitarian program design, delivery and monitoring.
- Partnership
- Leave No One Behind
Core Commitments (4)
- Commitment
- Core Responsibility
- Empower Women and Girls as change agents and leaders, including by increasing support for local women's groups to participate meaningfully in humanitarian action.
- Leave No One Behind
- Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the Outcome documents of their review conferences for all women and adolescent girls in crisis settings.
- Leave No One Behind
- Ensure that humanitarian programming is gender responsive.
- Leave No One Behind
- Fully comply with humanitarian policies, frameworks and legally binding documents related to gender equality, women's empowerment, and women's rights.
- Uphold the Norms that Safeguard Humanity Leave No One Behind
1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.
The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) has multiple commitments under this transformation. We focus in this report on three commitments.
WRC leadership in the Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Reproductive Health in Crises: WRC continues to host the IAWG Secretariat. Funding was also secured for the IAWG's Training Partnership Initiative to expand development and dissemination of training modules to implement life-saving sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services at the onset of an emergency. The IAWG completed revision of the Inter-Agency Field Manual for Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings.
Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights: WRC houses and leads the Campaign. In 2017, the Campaign organized a national workshop in Togo in partnership with a national Women's Rights Organization, Question des Femmes, UNHCR and Equality Now. It also hosted with the League of Arab States, UNHCR, UN Women and UNICEF the first Arab conference on Good Practices and Regional Opportunities to Strengthen Women's Nationality Rights. The Campaign helped organize and develop material for the OHCHR-UNHCR Expert Workshop in May 2017 in Geneva on best practices to promote women's equal nationality rights.
Researching Child Marriage in Emergency Contexts: WRC designed and received Institutional Review Board approval for a multi-country prevalence study of child marriage across diverse humanitarian contexts--Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Somali refugees in Ethiopia, and internally displaced persons in Myanmar. The Ethiopia study was completed in 2017. We also developed program evaluation protocols for child marriage interventions in these three settings.
2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
- By reporting to, or using reports prepared for, UN principal organs, UN governing boards, or other international bodies
- Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?
Two of the WRC's three commitments reported on during this period relate to WRC's leadership of coalition efforts to address two critical protection and empowerment concerns--access to quality SRH services and equal citizenship rights. These coalitions provide a strong foundation for evaluating global change in support of the broader transformation.
3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Funding amounts
- Multi-stakeholder coordination
B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?
*Limited funding for the Global Campaign constrains its reach within and across countries, and its ability to provide ongoing support and follow up with governments and civil society.
*Funding constraints also affect access to quality sexual and reproductive health services.
*The multiplicity of partners is both a strength and a coordination challenge.
4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.
With regard to the three commitments chosen for this section of our report, 2018 activities include:
*IAWG will launch and disseminate the revised Inter-Agency Field Manual for Reproductive Health in Humanitarian Settings and co-host with Danida a meeting with stakeholders to set priorities for sexual and reproductive health research.
*Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights will conduct a national workshop in Malaysia and a Gulf Regional Workshop in Kuwait.
*Work on Child Marriage will move ahead in Lebanon and Myanmar.
5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?
To make collective progress on ending gender discrimination in nationality laws, it is critical to develop additional allies within governments and provide greater support for the advocacy efforts of national organizations.
In the area of SRH, it is vital to build the capacity of service providers in preparedness as well as response. And ensure that inter-agency standards and guidelines are implemented at the beginning of every humanitarian response.
6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.
In Pakistan, the WRC continues to support a local partner, Rahnuma, to take forward the WRC's curriculum Community Preparedness for Reproductive Health and Gender in training of trainers workshops for national, provincial, district and community level actors.
Keywords
Displacement, Gender, Protection, Youth
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3FEnable adolescents and young people to be agents of positive transformation
Individual Commitments (3)
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
-
The WRC will continue to assess, report and advocate on stakeholders' compliance with established inter-agency standards on gender-responsive humanitarian action, focusing in particular on women, girls and youth displaced by crises.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
- The WRC will integrate the goals of the Compact for Young People in Humanitarian Action into its own research, program, and advocacy work, giving particular attention to the inclusion of displaced adolescents and youth, including those with disabilities and sexual and gender minorities, as partners in decision-making processes and the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs.
- Policy
- Leave No One Behind
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The WRC will provide technical support to operational partners in humanitarian settings to strengthen protection and increase the participation of adolescent girls, sexual and gender minorities, and young people with disabilities in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.
The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) works to build the protective assets of displaced adolescent girls by identifying the most vulnerable and connecting them to interventions that meet their needs and build their capacities. The centerpiece of this work is the WRC's I'm Here Approach launched in 2014. Last July, WRC began a partnership with UNICEF Lebanon to train GBV partners on conducting more intentional outreach, including using steps and tools in the I'm Here Approach. In 2017, six international and local organizations implemented the Approach across 4 crisis-affected countries, identifying more than 1700 girls and engaging them in non-formal education programs. WRC also co-led with IOM a two-day workshop for key actors from the Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster to share tools and resources aimed at enhancing women and girls' participation. Over 25 representatives from the Cluster attended.
In support of refugee youth, the WRC continued to partner with UNHCR to take forward the work begun during the 2015-16 Global Refugee Youth Consultations. In 2017, we supported refugee youth to participate in the various consultations in Geneva related to the development of the Global Compact on Refugees. The youth spoke on panels, drafted their own recommendations for youth inclusion in the Compact and presented their recommendations to the UNHCR High Commissioner. Last December, UNHCR with assistance from the WRC, established a Global Youth Advisory Council comprised of 15 refugee youth who will advise UNHCR on high level policy and program decisions.
2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?
WRC does this through regular communication with implementing partners and direct consultations with adolescent girls and their caregivers. Multi-year funding has also helped WRC better measure progress.
3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Buy-in
- Funding modalities (earmarking, priorities, yearly agreements, risk aversion measures)
- Human resources/capacity
B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?
*It still requires advocacy and effort to secure buy-in from those field actors who believe there is neither the time nor the resources to be intentional about the inclusion of adolescent girls.
*Funding streams and staffing changes impact capacity.
*Limited funding for the refugee youth work is hindering support for implementation of national-level action plans.
4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.
In the Adolescent Girls' Initiative, we will continue the work with UNICEF Lebanon and with IOM. We also expect to pilot the I'M Here Initiative in 3 more locations in 2018, and pilot a real-time monitoring tool and analysis dashboard that allows practitioners to monitor the most vulnerable girls' access to non-formal education and other services.
We will continue to support the Youth Advisory Council and also hope to secure funding for the country-level action plans developed during the Global Consultations.
5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?
See above on address buy-in, capacity and funding challenges.
6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.
A good practice the WRC is refining through its I'm Here Approach is using low-cost technologies that enable real time analysis and presentation of data for timely decision-making by practitioners.
Keywords
Displacement, Education, Gender, Youth
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3GAddress other groups or minorities in crisis settings
Individual Commitments (3)
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
-
The WRC will provide technical support to operational partners in humanitarian settings to strengthen protection and increase the participation of adolescent girls, sexual and gender minorities, and young people with disabilities in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
- Operational
- Leave No One Behind
- The WRC will serve as an active member of the inter-agency group developing globally endorsed guidelines on inclusion of persons with disabilities in humanitarian action, and will support their rollout and implementation through 2020.
- Partnership
- Leave No One Behind
- WRC endorses the Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action.
- Policy
- Leave No One Behind
1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.
The Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) serves on the Inter-Agency Task Team that is developing the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. Given its mission, WRC offered to lead the effort to integrate gender and GBV prevention and response considerations into the Guidelines. In support of this commitment, the WRC engaged with the global Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility and the IASC's Gender Reference Group to brief stakeholders on the Guidelines development process and to invite interested colleagues to join in the drafting and review of the gender and GBV elements.
In support of the WRC's commitment to help strengthen resilience-based approaches in humanitarian action that reflect diversity and social inclusion, the WRC published a report on Vulnerability and Resilience-based Approaches in Humanitarian Response to the Syrian Crisis that documents positive practices on inclusion of girls with disabilities in asset-building programs.
WRC also undertook a series of activities in Lebanon to support more effective inclusion of persons with disabilities. WRC is partnering with UNICEF Lebanon to strengthen disability inclusion in national systems for child protection and gender-based violence prevention and response. And WRC conducted a comprehensive needs assessment in Lebanon among women, children and youth with disabilities, which included documentation of the GBV risks and psychosocial support needs of adolescent girls with disabilities.
In keeping with its commitment to support national organizations of women with disabilities to conduct their own advocacy, the WRC sponsored women with disabilities from Uganda and Lebanon to participate in the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
- Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?
We do this in part through ongoing direct consultations with affected communities.
3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
- Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis, planning, funding and/or response
- Multi-stakeholder coordination
B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?
*It remains a challenge for many humanitarian actors to understand and address inclusion and intersectionality in their work
*Grassroots organizations of persons with disabilities cannot access development and humanitarian funding processes
*On coordination, organizations' work on inclusion is largely led by focal point specialists which can hinder mainstreaming and inclusion
4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.
With funding from the Australian government, the WRC will continues its work on the development of gender-sensitive IASC Guidelines on Disability Inclusion that also capture GBV risk mitigation as a cross-cutting issue. This will include regional workshops with GBV actors in Asia and Africa.
WRC will also roll out tools and guidance on disability inclusion in GBV and psychosocial support programs in Lebanon with a wide range of actors including those implementing adolescent girls programs.
5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?
*Develop practical tools and support humanitarian actors to address inclusion and intersectionality in assessments, program design and implementation
*Ensure development and humanitarian funding is accessible to grassroots organizations, including organizations of persons with disabilities
*When IASC Guidelines on Disability Inclusion are finalized, donors require the programs they fund to be consistent with those guidelines.
6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.
In 2017, the WRC released a facilitators guide for strengthening the role of women with disabilities in humanitarian action. See https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/populations/disabilities/research-and-resources/1443-humanitarian-facilitators-guide.
Keywords
Disability, Gender, Local action, Youth
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4AReinforce, do not replace, national and local systems
Individual Commitments (1)
- Commitment
- Commitment Type
- Core Responsibility
-
To ensure the growing area of cash-based programming is gender responsive, minimizes protection risks and maximizes protection benefits, the WRC will train practitioners on the use of the Guide for Protection in Cash-based Interventions developed by a consortium of UN agencies and NGOs.
- Training
- Change People's Lives: From Delivering Aid to Ending Need
1. Highlight the concrete actions taken between 1 January – 31 December 2017 to implement the commitments which contribute to achieving this transformation. Be as specific as possible and include any relevant data/figures.
Cash-based programming
In the growing area of cash-based programming, the Women's Refugee Commission's (WRC) commitment is to ensure that this programming is gender responsive, minimizes protection risks and maximizes protection benefits. The WRC has been taking this forward under a three year project funded by the U.S. State Department. During 2017, the WRC partnered with African Development Solutions, Mercy Corps, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee to pilot guidance, tools and monitoring frameworks in Somalia, Jordan and Niger. There is a package for actors working in cash on how to mitigate GBV risks in their work, and a package for GBV actors on how to use cash interventions to support survivors. WRC also agreed to co-lead the new Global Protection Cluster Task Team on Protection Outcomes with Oxfam. The Task Team will build on WRC's work on cash and protection, and build the evidence for cash as a tool in protection case management.
2. A. How are you measuring progress toward achieving your commitments? Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Through existing, internal systems or frameworks for monitoring, reporting and/or evaluation.
- Through multi-stakeholder processes or initiatives (e.g. IASC, Grand Bargain, Charter for Change, etc).
B. How are you assessing whether progress on commitments is leading toward change in the direction of the transformation?
WRC can monitor progress through the Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP) framework.Through its work on the Protection Cluster Task Team, WRC will also be mapping the evidence on how cash can be used for protection outcomes.
3. A. Please select no more than 3 key challenges faced in implementing the commitments related to this transformation. Only the categories selected by the organisation will be seen below.
- Data and analysis
- Gender and/or vulnerable group inclusion
- Human resources/capacity
B. How are these challenges impacting achievement of this transformation?
*Data regarding gender and protection is often not collected. Analysis too often "put on shelf"; not applied to programming.
*Failure to tailor cash assistance to ensure access, inclusion and safety means interventions fall short in quality and effectiveness.
*Staff untrained in gender and protection so not equipped to support the transformation at scale.
4. Highlight actions planned for 2018 to advance implementation of your commitments in order to achieve this transformation.
In 2018, WRC will release and broadly disseminate the guidance and tools on optimizing cash-based interventions for protection from GBV that were piloted in 2017.
5. What steps or actions are needed to make collective progress to achieve this transformation?
See above response to question 3b.
6. List any good practice or examples of innovation undertaken individually or in cooperation with others to advance this transformation.
The IRC's work in Jordan using cash interventions to support GBV survivors is an innovative approach that is detailed in the toolkit piloted in 2017 and released in early 2018.
Keywords
Cash, Gender, Protection