Rapid response grants were provided to WHRDS to support relocation and legal and psychosocial support services.

Rapid response grants were provided to WHRDS to support relocation and legal and psychosocial support services.

30 AWHRDS from 12 countries in the Sahel region received support. The grants provided tangible financial and technical support towards initiatives fostering cultures of care among AWHRDs and their movements.The current capacity of individuals, particularly AWHRDs, involves building feminist strategies for resisting fundamentalism and violence under the guise of culture and religion. They are engaged in transnational, cross-movement organizing and increasingly focus on centring care in their work and lives. The desired future capacity for individuals, particularly AWHRDs, is to continue fostering transnational, cross-movement organizing that centres care in their work and lives. They aim to strengthen their feminist strategies for resisting fundamentalism and violence and to further develop their knowledge and skills in advancing women’s rights and gender equality. The capacity-building initiatives focus on providing collective care accompaniments, both financial and technical, to AWHRDs and their movements. The initiatives aim to support AWHRDs in linking, learning, sharing, amplifying voices, and taking action to resist fundamentalism and violence. Changes in knowledge and skills included capacity-strengthening initiatives aimed to enhance AWHRDs’ knowledge and skills in feminist strategies, transnational organizing, and centring care in their work and lives

The capacities developed by the CSOs include negotiation for positive community response to traditional forced and early marriages; increased visibility on unpaid care work through strategic advocacy initiatives. Developed expertise to conduct advocacy on Informal Traders and Duty Bearers in Mombasa County. The provision of legal aid and capacity building to women informal business traders enabled them to access better investment opportunities. Strengthen their financial management capacities while promoting economic resilience and job creation. Strengthened capacities of adolescent girls and young women on sexual and reproductive health and rights with a focus on GBV, to carry out a media and digital campaign and to conduct advocacy at the local level. Capacities to advocate for safer public transport and economic equality for women during the pandemic and after. Capacities of female university students around the knowledge of women's human rights and linking and/or providing victims with appropriate psychosocial services to address and deal with GBV. To raise awareness among women entrepreneurs about the existing government financial packages in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.To create and introduce market vendors to an online database because of the existing covid restrictions during the pandemic. CSOs were supported to implement transformative and sustainable solutions to revitalize women’s businesses and economic independence.CSO used peaceful Marches as a call to action to stop violence against women. CSOs engaged decision-makers at the policy level to support women to fully participate in e-commerce and attain equitable inclusion in the online financial markets and instruments. Advocacy skills developed to push for the recognition of female domestic workers advocating for favourable and decent work environments through advocacy and awareness campaigns to ensure a responsive and enforceable legal and policy framework.

There is enhanced collaboration between the paralegals and journalists which has led to increased coverage of SGBV cases in the mainstream media. 538 people (358 women, 180 men) participated in the intervention; the Judiciary and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions committed to work closely with COVAW based on their reports to ensure development of guidelines and procedures to ensure access to justice for survivors of SGBV Safe spaces created for women to speak up against GBV and obtain recommendations and feedback from various stakeholders on how best to improve GBV response interventions. These recommendations included establishment of GBV reporting mechanisms which have been effected by the community members and the police 600 women (312 young women and 288 women) were mobilized to speak up on GBV through public awareness and dialogues women’s role in GBV prevention and response. Social actors committed to incorporating youth friendly approaches in the GBV response initiatives and to incorporate GBV response in the 2022-2023 annual plans. Increased awareness about the GBV cases within the Internally Displaced Persons Camps. A GBV reporting mechanism has been established and the people are utilizing the reporting mechanism to report any GBV cases. Women are now able to demand for their rights to be respected and denouncing any form of violence in the camps. 106 women participated in the intervention, the community leaders in the IDP camps committed to support the realization of the rights of women and girls by denouncing GBV and ensuring the established reporting mechanism is utilized. Increased awareness and women involvement in political and peace processes. Women took up leadership positions by championing peace dialogues and door to door peace campaigns with support from local leaders within Kisumu County. 200 people (178 women, 22 men) participated in the intervention which has contributed to a reduction in cases of GBV and Intimate Partner Violence which had been on the rise because of the elections.Improved capacity of the community and state security agencies to support GBV initiatives. The relationship between the camp paralegals and the security & state GBV response officers has been strengthened to ensure sustained linkages to track & report cases of violence and ensure victims have access to justice and other support services 35 women were trained as paralegals and this has contributed to increased access to justice by victims of GBV within the camps. The established GBV response mechanism is functional, community members are able to report cases and perpetrators have been arrested.Increased awareness about the need for access to SRHR services for women within the communities with focus on deconstructing myths and perceptions around SRHR. Community members obtained a better understanding on the need for sexual education and services and the need to prioritize the access for young people. SRHR champions who were identified and trained are now taking lead on creating more awareness and providing sexuality education in the communities 1,526 people (397 women, 582 young women, 218 men, 329 young men) participated in the intervention. Community leaders committed to support initiatives aimed at increasing access and utilization of SRHR services and to promote sexuality education in the communities.Increased awareness about various forms of GBV in the community with focus on schools. Students obtained a deeper understanding of different ways in which they can be violated and parents, teachers and community leaders equally understood how best they can support young women who face any form of violence. A GBV reporting mechanism in schools was established, students were made aware of this mechanism and are currently using it to report any forms of violations that they face. 100 people (68 women, 32 men) participated in the intervention. Parents, teachers and community leaders committed to collaborating together to identify strategies of averting sexual violence in schools and established a reporting mechanism which students can use to report cases of violence and obtain support. Increased awareness about women’s land and property rights within the community. Women are more aware about their rights to control, own and access land without any limitations and this has contributed to more women inclusion in decision making processes in land and property matters as well as a reduction in GB. 200 women participated in the intervention. The religious, traditional and community leaders are actively sensitizing people about women and land rights in their various platforms and have committed to support realization of women’s land and property rights.

6 WROs were provided funds aimed at combating gender-based violence (GBV), raising awareness of women’s rights, and strengthening the capacity of women leaders and activists. This included campaigns to increase awareness about violence against women and girls, focusing on enabling leaders to identify, adapt, and manage GBV prevention initiatives. This included informing communities about violence, discrimination, and stigmatization, to increase access to non-discriminatory health services for women and girls. Funding was provided to facilitate awareness-raising sessions on the diversity of gender-based violence, with an emphasis on improving reporting mechanisms within communities. This involved the creation of a reporting system comprising local leaders, police, health care providers, and community members, alongside encouraging amicable solutions over legal action in some cases. Grants supported awareness campaigns for women’s groups on human rights protection to prepare them to play an active role in combating GBV. This included raising awareness about all forms of GBV and providing psychological support for GBV survivors, emphasizing mental health care in the healing process. Financial support was given for the development of feminist podcast episodes and the training of young women in feminist podcast production. The goal was to increase the number of skilled feminist podcasters and create new spaces for women in the podcast world, facilitating discussions on women’s issues and GBV in Egypt. Grants were provided to maintain a full-time GBV first responder team to ensure continued support for survivors, particularly those needing specialized legal aid, legal representation, and psychosocial support. This improved access to legal aid for survivors and contributed to a reduction in GBV incidences within the community. Funding supported revamping strategies focusing on strengthening care systems and reducing gender disparities. This included forging partnerships with esteemed entities and securing funding from various sources to promote gender justice and more inclusive and equitable development in the region.These grants are collectively aimed at enhancing the capacities of WROs and CSOs to effectively address GBV, advocate for women’s rights and gender equality, and support survivors through various initiatives, including awareness campaigns, legal support, digital advocacy, and strategic planning.The advocacy capacities built included awareness and Knowledge: understanding forms of GBV, human rights, and the law; skills in Digital Media: production of feminist podcasts; Legal Expertise: providing legal aid and representation for GBV survivors; and Strategic Planning: revamping strategies for gender justice and building partnerships.The types of capacities developed across these initiatives demonstrate a multifaceted approach to empowering women and girls, addressing GBV, and advocating for gender equality through awareness, legal support, digital advocacy, and strategic planning. (The grants were provided in the following: Mali, Senegal, Egypt, Kenya & Zimbabwe). A total of 100 women’s capacities were built in gender-based violence. The project, through CREAW's legal team, helped 1,675 GBV survivors access legal services, including accompanying them to the police station, drafting pleadings, providing legal advice, representing them in court, and organizing mediation sessions.