Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2012 2013

Details for Mechanism ID: 14342
Country/Region: Burundi
Year: 2012
Main Partner: EngenderHealth
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Private Contractor
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $488,783

The objective of the RESPOND activity is to improve sexual violence (SV) prevention and response efforts in Burundi. The proposed activities will be articulated around 3 specifics objectives which are:Objective 1: Health sector response for SV survivors strengthened (Supply)Objective 2: Gender norms transformed to prevent SV and support survivors (Enabling environment)Objective 3: Capacity of communities and civil society to prevent SV Increased (Demand)The RESPOND activity will be implemented in two of the four provinces currently supported by PEPFAR: Muyinga and Kayanza. The selection of these provinces is based on the need of building upon the relationships existing between the MCH and the PEPFAR programs. The target population is 1.5 million.To implement specific SV activities, RESPOND will identify and partner with local NGOs. With the technical assistance from RESPOND, the identified NGOs will train Health providers in medical response, counseling of survivors, and the ethical management of survivors information. They will also coordinate community mobilization interventions and link with local authorities.RESPOND will track the number of people trained as well changes in the knowledge, attitudes, and skills based pre and post-tests and follow-up visits three to six months after the training. It will also track the number of survivors assisted.

Funding for Health Systems Strengthening (OHSS): $488,783

In order to understand more deeply the problem of sexual violence, the USG, through PEPFAR, conducted a sexual violence assessment in 2011 to inform programming. Two key findings from the assessment are stated below:Burundis discriminatory legislation, stereotypes and prejudice against women all contribute to attitudes that value girls less than boys, impede girls education, and also put women in a secondary position within their homes. They also contribute to the exclusion of women from inheriting land and obtaining jobs, and participating in decision making at all levels. This deeply entrenched gender inequality has provided an enabling environment for high levels of sexual violence. The civil war in Burundi exacerbated this violence, which continues today, with near total impunity.Data on the prevalence of sexual violence are available, but not collected in a coherent and coordinated manner. There is also significant underreporting of violence due to a number of factors. First, discussion about sex is taboo in Burundian society. As sex is not talked about, neither is sexual violence. Second, stigmatization of the victim can lead to her exclusion from her family home. As well, the acceptance and normalization of the crime, the ignorance of the fact that sexual violence is a crime, the lack of victim protection, the lack of access to legal services, the distrust of the police and negative attitudes from service providers in general discourage victims from denouncing the crime. Widespread impunity discourages women to trust and use the legal system.As a first step toward strengthening the referral system for SV survivors and building capacity for SV prevention and response, RESPOND will map existing services for SV survivors in the two target provinces. Methods will include facility audits and a stakeholders community consultation. Results will inform the development of a training strategy, help select the health facilities to work with and highlight the urgent equipment needs for facilities to better respond to SV.In addition, RESPOND will undertake a formative study of social norms around SV. The project will conduct a literature review as well as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and other qualitative methods with men and women in the target provinces. In partnership with the Ministry of National Solidarity, Human Rights and Gender, and NGOS, RESPOND will use the results of the social norms study to develop a BCC strategy to transform the inequitable gender norms that underlie SV.The project will develop BCC/IEC messages and materials based on the results of the social norms study and materials already available in Burundi and similar contexts. Messages and materials will be pre-tested with the target audience, refined, produced, and disseminated. With the assistance of RESPONDs local consultant, the NGOs will put in place a referral network for the SV survivors at the provincial level that will encompass:- linkages with trained health care providers to treat SV survivors- active referral of the survivors, as appropriate, to legal aid, the police, and social support services- organization of community activities aiming at transforming gender norms and raising awareness around SV (e.g., training of CHWs in SV, group discussions with men, advocacy with religious and traditional leaders). The interventions will be based on the recommendations from the BCC strategy that will have been developed before.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $200,000
Gender: Reducing Violence and Coercion $150,000
Human Resources for Health $50,000
Key Issues Identified in Mechanism
Addressing male norms and behaviors
Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS activities and services
Increasing women's legal rights and protection