Leaving No One Behind in Action

The space is warm, homely and welcoming. Everyone who has come and gone through the corridors cannot help it but just be generous with their smiles. It is ‘bitter sweet’ feeling as one of the visitors dubbed it. The figures presented spoke volume of the details of how low human beings can sink at times, shocked at the number of rape cases on young girls as young as 6 years old, and perpetrators as close as fathers. The stories are to some extent heartbreaking but what the safe house has done to these women is powerful, and such a noble cause. 

The Association for Women’s Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) is the largest Safe House in Ethiopia and one of the projects supported by UN Women to provide a comprehensive package of services to survivors of violence. The AWSAD safe house in Adama was set up in 2011, becoming the first safe house in Oromia region, providing comprehensive services to over 100 women and girl survivors of violence at any one given time. The service includes shelter, food, medical care, legal aid, psychological support and counseling.