Developing a screening tool to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) in refugee and conflict-affected population

Led by Alexander Vu, Nancy Glass, Leonard Rubenstein, Sonal Singh, Kiemanh Pham, and Andrea Wirtz
In collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Supported by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

In collaboration with the UNHCR and other partners on the ground, such as the IRC, the research team will develop a screening tool that can be used efficiently and effectively to 1) screen for SGBV among refugees and displaced populations in camp and urban areas for referral; and 2) improve programming for protection of IDPs and refugees against SGBV.  The proposed project will design a tool grounded in scientific methods to ultimately enable UNHCR staff and partners to identify survivors of SGBV so that appropriate interventions can be made; to improve data collection in harmony with UNHCR’s Health Information System and Gender Based Violence Information Management System; and to enhance protection function for survivors of SGBV provided by UNHCR and other local and international implementing partners. It is hoped that the proposed screening tool will also have the potential to be adapted and used for future implementation by local and international organizations providing services and protection for all displaced populations.  Future coordination activities with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to incorporate the screening tool into the IASC’s Task Force’s for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises guidelines and to train IASC partner organizations and agencies on the implementation of the screening tool will further the effort to improve the understanding of the global burden of gender based violence and mitigate its devastating consequences. 

The tool will be developed through a series of mixed-methods research conducted in Ethiopia and Colombia.  To-date, the team has concluded qualitative research among camp and urban refugees and implementing organizations in Ethiopia and will return to Colombia to conduct analogous research to develop the screeing tool.  Following development, the research team will return to both site for validity testing prior to final development and implementation.