The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene a virtual Regional Dialogue on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in refugee and other humanitarian settings on 25th November 2021 to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against GBV.
The theme of the commemoration of 16 Days Activism against GBV this year is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!” and calls on Member States and stakeholders to accelerate action and response on eliminating GBV.
The regional dialogue will therefore deliberate on global and regional trends on GBV in refugee and other humanitarian settings and the involvement of State and non-state actors in a whole-of-society approach on prevention and response to GBV in refugee and other humanitarian settings.
GBV continues to feature in humanitarian settings as well as in refugee settings across the Region and is commonly characterised by, amongst others, sexual violence, child marriages, domestic violence, coerced prostitution, trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labour, all of which are perpetuated by social and systematic structures.
The dialogue, which will be addressed by representatives from the European Union (EU) Delegation to SADC, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as well as Refugee Commissioners from Member States, will unpack the unique dynamics, service provision, challenges and best practices as well as the rate of inclusion of GBV services in national services. The platform will also be used to popularise different SADC guidelines on GBV tools and strategies.
The dialogue is in line with the implementation of the SADC Regional Strategy and Framework of Action for Addressing GBV (2018 – 2030), in particular thematic area 3 on capacity building. The SADC Regional Strategy and Framework of Action for Addressing GBV (2018 – 2030) was approved by SADC Ministers responsible for Gender/ Women’s Affairs in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa in July 2018 and serves as a blueprint on priority interventions to ensure a coordinated approach and effective and efficient implementation of Articles 20-25 of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
The dialogue is part of the 11th European Delegation Fund Programme on Support to Peace and Security in the SADC Region (SPPS) Programme, which aims to strengthen the peace and security architecture in the areas of conflict prevention and resolution and public and human security.
