Community Outreach: Violence Prevention & Support
There are currently 79.5 million people around the world who have been forcibly displaced—the highest figure ever recorded (UNHCR). We recognize the immediacy of this issue and are working every day to create programs and solutions that will reach the most vulnerable refugees. Our goal is to grow community capacity by educating refugee women in Nairobi to act as leaders and mentors for their peers.
Some of RefuSHE’s current efforts include collaborating with refugee-led Community Based Organizations (CBOs) on self-care with the support of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Through our partnership with Kenyan insurance group, Minet, we are also connecting Children’s Charitable Institution (CCI) workers in refugee populated areas to much-needed psychoeducation services. RefuSHE also provides up to three months of group therapy for members of our Women’s Ambassador Groups (WAGs) to boost levels of resiliency among women before helping them expand their businesses.
Another piece of our community outreach work involves conducting workshops on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and economic violence for female refugees in Nairobi. RefuSHE leads these workshops to promote community dialogues around SGBV prevention and response, and help survivors find shelter, education, and psychosocial counseling.
Economic violence, as defined by UN Women, involves making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by controlling financial resources, withholding access to money, and/or forbidding attendance at school or employment. For women who have their own businesses, their male partners may attempt to control their profits. Women who are financially unstable may also be vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In a family with both boy and girl children, the father will often choose to pay for the boy to go to school rather than the girl. These are all forms of economic violence that may affect vulnerable refugee women and girls in Nairobi. Our goal is to educate the women in these communities so they know how to recognize economic violence and are prepared with the resources and support they need to stand up for themselves and their peers. We are grateful for our partner Zakat Foundation of America for helping fund this program.
On World Refugee Day (June 20, 2022), RefuSHE held a training on economic violence for nearly 300 refugee women living in Nairobi. The women who voluntarily attended the workshop had the opportunity to ask questions and share their stories. We partnered with Médecins Sans Frontières and the Foundation of Health and Social Economic Services of Africa (Hesed Africa), who provided resources and information on sexual assault. Women received a small stipend for participating and were encouraged to learn more about the services RefuSHE offers to refugee-led Community Based Organizations (CBOs), informal groups or “chamas,” and unaccompanied urban refugee girls.
The number of refugees in the world today is overwhelming and it can be difficult to know how to help. RefuSHE is dedicated to building sustainable solutions to these problems and leading the way toward a brighter future for refugee women, girls, and their children.