GOAL GLOBAL

 

 

 

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) PROGRAMMING

Introducing GOAL

GOAL is an international, non-governmental organisation (INGO), with a proud history spanning more than four decades of humanitarian response in some of the most challenging and difficult contexts around the world. Our mission to help vulnerable communities respond to and recover from humanitarian crises, and to assist them build transcendent solutions to mitigate poverty and vulnerability, remains as clear today as when the organisation was first established in 1977. The realities of our work have changed and grown immeasurably in complexity and scale but our vision – a world without poverty – drives us onwards.

GOAL delivers humanitarian aid programmes, focused on healthcare, nutrition and livelihoods support and provision of water and sanitation facilities, across four regions and 14 countries of operation including Africa (Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Niger) Middle East (Syria, Turkey and Iraq) Latin America (Columbia, Haiti and Honduras) and Ukraine.

GOAL and GBV Programming

GOAL recognises that gender-based violence is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms, and it is a serious violation of human rights and a life-threatening protection issue. GOAL works in many crisis-affected and conflict contexts, where the risks of gender-based violence can increase, often alongside displacement, breakdown of social protections and use of negative coping mechanisms. Therefore, GOAL’s programming seeks to integrate gender-based violence prevention and response considerations through risk identification and mitigation processes. GOAL also undertakes specific work to raise awareness on and tackle gender-based violence.

Examples of GOAL Safeguarding, Protection and GBV Programming in GOAL countries of operation

  • In Zimbabwe GOAL uses the Gender Action Learning System as an approach to integrate and address gender issues and promote discussion and change in areas such as the gendered division of labour, joint decision-making and gender-based violence, while also working with partners Musasa and Childline to address gender-based violence and child protection issues.
  • GOAL’s work in Turkey engages with marginalised nomadic and semi-nomadic communities and seasonal agricultural workers, with protection teams providing individual protection assistance to women and girls at risk or survivors of gender-based violence, conducting gender-based violence awareness-raising activities among the community, and providing gender equality trainings to community committees to help facilitate access to social protection and basic services.
  • In Sudan, GOAL integrates gender-based violence considerations into its emergency response and health work, to support access to safe spaces and referral pathways as needed.
  • In Ethiopia, GOAL has a team of 55+ protection staff, which implements community based integrated child protection, gender-based violence and psychosocial support services to crises affected communities in multiple locations.
  • In Syria, we are building up GBV prevention and intervention related expertise and capacity and our team of 16 protection staff disseminates comprehensive GBV related information. In preparation for this, the Syria Protection Team conducted 14 FGD’s with both staff and programme participants to assess the key protection issues in Northern Syria.

This data informed the development of a suite of comprehensive trainings on topics including

  • Rights and expected behaviours
  • Child labour
  • Domestic violence
  • Early marriage
  • Child neglect
  • Parenting skills
  • Prevention from sexual exploitation and abuse.

These topics were reviewed by a number of staff, including the Global Safeguarding Advisor and then the training and associated training materials were piloted amongst staff to test the training and adapt where needed. The materials were translated into different languages and trainings are currently being rolled out by the Syria Protection Team in both Idlib and Azzaz in Northwest Syria. To date approximately 1,717 staff and programme participants have been trained and the training sessions continue.

The Syria Protection Team also continues to detect and refer cases of GBV and child protection to relevant services. This is complemented by regular service mapping to track available services within GOAL’s area of operation in Northwest Syria.

How GOAL resources and influences the Safeguarding agenda

GOAL teams engage in awareness raising activities and campaigns globally to call for the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence, including the global ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ campaign.

GOAL seeks to ensure that its approach to programming is Safe, Accountable, and Inclusive, believing that this provides the foundation for quality, safe, relevant and impactful programming.

Additionally, safeguarding underpins all GOAL’s programming related work across the world. GOAL takes all reasonable steps to prevent harm, sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment from occurring; to protect people, especially vulnerable adults and children, from that harm; and to respond appropriately when harm does occur. This definition draws from our values and principles and shapes our culture. It pays specific attention to preventing and responding to harm from any potential, actual or attempted abuse of power, trust, or vulnerability, especially for sexual purposes.

GOAL has a full-time Global Safeguarding Advisor, Safeguarding Officer and a designated Safeguarding Focal Point on its Board of Directors. Each country of operation also has a dedicated Safeguarding Focal Point in place who has been trained to monitor, report, and disseminate Safeguarding policies. These Focal Points have in turn selected Field Level Safeguarding Focal Points.

Please visit https://www.goalglobal.org/safeguarding/