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In remote and mobile contexts, staff may feel powerless to offer support to VAWG survivors, which in turn can be very distressing. It is important to constantly monitor staff wellbeing and safety throughout service delivery, not only to prevent burnout, but to facilitate service providers’ capacity to provide the best care and services to survivors. Organisations need to make an explicit commitment to staff wellbeing and implement specific strategies for promoting it. This can be done as a part of the design phase, in order to anticipate and address any potential safety issues, as well as…

Community focal points are an essential part of implementing mobile and remote service delivery; not only can they support the social and cultural contextualisation of programming, they can also provide informed outreach to the community, and support with activity implementation. Providing them with key resources, training and capacity building can ensure safe and effective mobile and remote service delivery in the short and long-term, and guarantee a whole of society approach to programme delivery. EVAWG sustainability should be considered and planned for from the outset of programming…

Security and needs assessments should inform the design and delivery of remote and mobile response services, which can provide a range of survivor support services, including health, judicial and protection responses. These models can be designed according to the Leave No One Behind Principle to meet the needs of GBV survivors from vulnerable, displaced, out-of-camp populations, dispersed in urban and rural settings, who are often hidden, difficult to reach, isolated, and at heightened risk of violence or disabled.

Before designing remote or mobile responses, ensure services are made…

Remote and mobile services can be designed and implemented as both stand-alone or combined interventions. The best combinations might vary based on the situation. To ensure the target population uses the services, and feels safe and confident in doing so, it’s important to consult them and consider potential barriers to access. It’s also important to consider the staffing, funding and training needs for each service delivery model, to ensure that they can be sustainably managed. Some examples of remote or mobile services include:

Remote Service Delivery
Mobile Service Delivery

P…

Survivors of VAWG are at high risk of social ostracisation, isolation, discrimination, and further violence and harassment by communities and families. This is especially the case in contexts where sexual violence is considered taboo and where there is a culture of victim blaming. In some cases, where violence has been experienced within the family or communities, survivors may choose to relocate to a different community where they feel safer. In this context, they may lack existing social networks that can help them recover and navigate their lives, while healing from the violence they were…

Survivors of VAWG face compounded risks of violence, abuse and harassment. It is essential that they understand their human rights, including their sexual and reproductive health rights. In many contexts, discussion about sexual and reproductive rights is taboo, making it difficult for women and girls to access this information. Programmes can support survivors to learn about their rights through education and training initiatives. These initiatives should be clear about what their rights are and delivered in a culturally sensitive and age appropriate manner in order to maximise impact and…

Survivors of VAWG are at risk of feelings of isolation and loneliness when returning to communities or starting new lives in new communities. Developing networks of survivors can help ensure survivors are in touch with others who have had relatable experiences, can share the challenges they have faced and work together to overcome these challenges. Engaging with survivor networks can also support survivors to build solidarity, offer opportunities to support other survivors to recover from their experiences and witness progress made by other survivors towards healing, and increases the…

Children and adolescent girls may face different challenges to adult survivors following VAWG. Programmes should ensure that the specific challenges faced by children and adolescent girls are identified during the design phase so that age-appropriate interventions can be implemented. For example, while it may be appropriate for adolescent girls to engage in income-generation, these should not interfere with school attendance, may need to be part-time and may need consent of their legal guardian. In addition, children and adolescent girls may face stigma when returning to school. Programmes…

While women’s economic empowerment initiatives can help protect women from violence, they can also increase risks of violence in some cases. This is influenced by a range of factors, including: social norms around the acceptability of VAWG and the types of work women should do; whether they have control of their income; household dynamics related to economic decision-making; women’s access to social networks; and women’s visibility within the community.

For example, economic empowerment may provide women with more economic autonomy, increased household status, and bargaining power, along…

Programmes might consider funding women’s or family economic empowerment initiatives more broadly, rather than those focused solely on the socio-economic reintegration of VAWG survivors. This is to help avoid stigmatisation and reduce the risk of exclusion, especially for survivors who may not feel comfortable reporting or accessing services. In addition, by focusing on economic empowerment more broadly, these initiatives are better positioned to simultaneously support survivors of VAWG and their families and support other women and girls by establishing protective mechanisms that can reduce…