Location: Baidoa: 07- 08/09/2024.
Participants: Total: 30 (Male:16 Female:14)
In the heart of Baidoa, Somalia, a transformative training program has been making waves in the fight against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). This initiative, known as the “Enhancing Monitoring and Reporting of SGBV Cases” program, has been instrumental in equipping local professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to address and report SGBV cases effectively.
I, Yaqub Mohamednor Mohamed, found the level of reporting of SGBV among survivors in Baidoa to be low, even lower than the 39.9% reported for female survivors of gender-based violence. Reporting was also found to be more prevalent among women. This could be related to the patriarchal nature of our societies in Somalia. These uphold masculinity idealizations that condition male survivors of SGBV to remain silent about the violence experienced. I found reporting to be lower among survivors aged 45 years and older as compared to those younger than. This finding may imply that, because of awareness creation, survivors have gradually become more knowledgeable about the importance of reporting and the available reporting channels. And, because life-time experience of SGBV was used in the assessment, the younger survivors who had more recent experiences of SGBV may have been more likely to report than those 45 years and older who may have experienced violence over a longer period.
Survivors who were separated from their partners or widowed had a higher prevalence of SGBV reporting than those who were never married. The 2024 Kalkal also found separated and divorced men and women to be most likely to seek help for the violence experienced, as compared to the married and those who were never-married. This could be related to the ignorance among the married about the fact that marital rape is a crime that needs to be reported.
Hawo Abdi also reported that family matters, including violence and abuse against women, in Somalia were considered secrets to be retained within the family, which also affected reporting and help-seeking among survivors of intimate partner violence. As such, divorced and separated survivors may feel less bound by such expectations of secrecy and may be more open to speaking out about the violence experienced both in and outside marriage. I, however, did not observe any statistical difference in reporting between the married and those who were never married.
The reporting of SGBV was found to be low among survivors in SWS Somalia. Reporting was more prevalent among female survivors and those who were separated from their partners or widowed. On the other hand, it was less prevalent among survivors aged 45 years and older, those with higher than a primary education and among those who received their main source of financial support from their partners.
I recommend interventions that promote dialogues about SGBV and its reporting, especially among the men, older survivors and the educated to encourage reporting and promote help-seeking to stop the violence and to increase utilization of the available support services for survivors. I also recommend economic empowerment for those most vulnerable to SGBV to increase their autonomy in relationships and ability to report the violence experienced. Additionally, leaders at the community level, such as the religion and local leaders should be empowered with information and resources to effectively provide support to survivors of SGBV in their communities, as these are sometimes the survivors’ first points of contact, said by Ahmed Sheik Muktar from Youth In Action, Baidoa.
My name is Lul Ibrahim Hassan. I reside in Berdaale village, Baidoa district. I work as focal point persons here at the Kalkal LNGO. I support in making referrals, creating awareness on SGBV, handling simple domestic violence cases and so on. Wives are being mistreated, children are not going to school and their parents are not bothered. When the programme came, it supported me in creating awareness for these issues and through the different interventions I have seen positive changes in most home hold to women supporting themselves in order to be financially independent.
Kalkal has trained women, girls, and young teenage mothers’ income generating skills like hairdressing and tailoring so that they can get some income to sustain themselves. This has supported in keeping them financially sound. I have been able to speak to men and women, husbands and wives in order to get to the root causes of their home quarrels and now the reports that I get are that peace prevails in their households. Defilement cases are many before the coming of the project but as I speak, I am able to sensitize our people through community dialogues and these cases have systematically reduced. In the IDP camps I used to get 5 to 6 defilement cases but now it is 2 to none
I have carried out sensitization through community mobilization still on SGBV with our fellow women and made the referral pathway clearer to them as Ill as give them the toll free number to call for support if the need arise. When women come to the advisory center I provide support in terms of hand holding, counseling, rights education and then referral for further support to police and other arms if need be. I eased the burden of the LCs because the referral pathway has become clearer and easier and most SGBV cases are attended to starting from here.