Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence in Internally-Displaced Persons and Returnees' Communities (PARGIRC)

Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence in Internally-Displaced Persons and Returnees' Communities (PARGIRC)

Funder: UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women

Partner: Women for Afghan Women (WAW)

Launch Date: 2020

Program Status: Active program (launched during COVID-19 pandemic)

Geographic Scope

• Currently Operating: Balkh, Faryab, and Kunduz provinces, Afghanistan
• Planned Expansion: Additional 21 Afghan provinces
• Selection Rationale: These three provinces host the highest numbers of IDPs and refugee returnees with the highest reported GBV cases

Overview

A comprehensive project aimed at improving overall access to essential, safe, and adequate multi-sectoral services and addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in the context of forced displacement and refugee returnee crisis in Afghanistan.

Key Services

#### Mobile Women's Centers

Medical services

Access to education

Vocational and life skills classes

Psychosocial counseling

Referrals to Women's Protection Centers (WPCs) for:

- Safe shelter
- Social services
- Legal support

#### Project Mobile Teams (PMTs)

Staffing: Psychologist, medical doctor, social worker, case worker, outreach trainer, vocational trainer

Operations: Biweekly needs assessments in settlement communities

Frequency: Services provided biweekly

#### Training & Awareness

Human rights training in all settlement communities

Training for Community Development Councils (CDCs), government officials, community leaders, and IDPs/returnees

Women's rights awareness sessions

Children's rights education

Resource availability information sessions

#### Economic Empowerment

Vocational training

Life skills training

Job readiness support

Connection to Women's Protection Centers and Family Guidance Centers

School enrollment for children

Long-term care and protection for vulnerable women

Target Beneficiaries & Goals

By 2023 Project End:
• 3,528 vulnerable IDPs and refugee returnees who survived gender-based violence
• 350+ survivors to receive shelter services
• 14,040 beneficiaries from IDP and returnee groups to benefit from training and resource sessions on women and child rights
• 1,620 children of beneficiaries to receive medical services and educational supplies (stationery and school uniforms)

Context

In response to:
• Ongoing conflict and instability in Afghanistan
• COVID-19 pandemic challenges
• Exponential growth of IDPs and refugee returnees since 2017
• Nearly 300,000 Afghans internally displaced in 2020 alone
• 3 million previously displaced persons
• 9 million people who lost livelihoods due to COVID-19
• High prevalence of GBV including sexual and physical abuse, child labor, and human trafficking

Contact Information

• WAW Afghanistan HQ: Kart-e-Char, Kabul, Afghanistan
• Phone: +93.728.859560