UN Women Ethiopia, a local women’s rights organization, are working to Strengthen community-based GBV prevention and response mechanisms in Afar

The Northern Ethiopia conflict that lasted from November 2020 to November 2022, has caused severe damage to Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions. The Afar pastoral women and girls have faced various critical challenges. Internally displaced women and girls living in the Region have been particularly exposed to sexual violence.

Increase in gender-based-violence has been reported especially in Aba’ala, Konoba, Berahele and Irebti woredas of the Afar Region in Ethiopia. The impact and prevalence of these human rights violations is exacerbated by limited access to critical GBV prevention and response mechanisms and structures, particularly in communities where access has been a challenge. Harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage have also increased due to the absence of safe networks that have become inactive because of the security crisis. 

To address these multi-faceted challenges, UN Women, through the Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) supports the local women’s rights organization, Afar Community Initiative Sustainable Development Association (ACISDA), to improve the lives of marginalized and hard-to-reach pastoral women and girls in Afar. The project aims at improving their safety, security, and mental health and increasing the responsiveness of the communities and service providers to prevent and protect from SGBV risks.

Zahra Mohammed, a dedicated women and children’s officer at Aba’ala district police in Afar region, has witnessed firsthand the difference the project is making. She believes there is significant improvement in GBV response and case handling in the district, and she points to one critical reason: the establishment of a coordination platform that brings all service providers and community leaders responsible to respond to VAWG. This platform, established through UN Women and ACISDA’s joint project, has given Zahra and her colleagues the tools to work hand in hand, ensuring that no survivor is left without protection or a path to justice. 

Zahra noted that the platform strengthened collaboration among all service providers to ensure that GBV cases reported are effectively referred to the different police, health, legal and other response services. “Taking cases to elders and solve them the ‘traditional’ way did not allow holding perpetrators accountable, but the newly established coordination mechanism helped us narrow this gap” Zahara reckons. 

Although Zahra remains hopeful for greater change, she does not shy away from speaking about the challenges. “When we take cases to court, the lack of medical evidence in rape cases makes it almost impossible to secure convictions or appropriate sentences. On top of that, tribal and religious leaders create many hurdles—sometimes even going as far as removing perpetrators from prison. We hope this project will help us change this reality,” she concludes. ACISDA already provided training to 45 established grassroot law enforcement body forum members on women’s rights, gender equality, and prevention of GBV for them to ensure effective access to justice. By developing their own GBV mitigation action plan, these law enforcement body forums are now able to monitor GBV cases within the communities. As a result, eleven GBV cases were reported to court and have resulted in legal actions and the survivors were provided with Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) services. 

Mekia Abdella, a Women and Social Affairs officer in Aba’ala district, has seen the devastating toll that conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) has taken on her community. “There is a one stop center, and when cases get reported, we immediately refer survivors to receive comprehensive essential services. We also follow up their cases in court.” Thanks to the community mobilization campaigns supported by ACISDA’s projects, Mekia has also witnessed a decline in harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage—an encouraging sign of progress amidst the challenges.

Both Zahra and Mekia recall that before the conflict, rape was extremely rare in their communities. It was such a cultural taboo that perpetrators risked being ostracized by their tribe, and in some cases, even faced violent retribution from survivors’ families. “The war changed everything,” they explain. Sexual violence has become rampant, especially in areas directly affected by fighting and in neighboring districts. Yet amidst these challenges, there are glimmers of progress. Fatuma Aliyu, a community member from Koneba district points out how harmful practices like child marriage and FGM are beginning to decline. “It used to be very common – girls as young as 10 being married of to men in their fifties. Now, with so much awareness and effort, things are improving. People are learning what these practices do to our girls, especially child marriage,” she says with cautious optimism. 

Fatima speaks not only as a community member but also as a mother determined to lead by example. “I refuse to marry off my daughter, even though she is 17 and the pressure from the community is strong. She is still in high school, and I want her to finish her education,” she says firmly. Fatima has begun to see the impact of such choices ripple through the community: more girls are going to university and even graduating. She recalls one powerful example—a young woman who successfully stopped her own arranged marriage after learning about her rights in a school girls’ club. “Change is possible when girls are informed and supported,” Fatima notes with pride. 

Adnan Hussien, Program Manager at ACISDA, states that the partnership with UN Women and the support of WPHF funding has enabled the organization to expand its reach from one to four districts, including some of the most hard-to-reach areas of Afar. The project has also elevated ACISDA’s visibility and sparked wider public discussion on GBV. As part of this effort, ACISDA trained 20 journalists from Afar TV, radio, and social media, equipping them with the skills to report more responsibly and effectively on gender-based violence—particularly in the context of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region. 

As someone who was born and raised in region, Adnan has seen the reality of women’s and girls’ rights up close. “I worked in Bureau of Women and Social Affairs of the region for 12 years. From my experience, I can say that thanks to organizations like UN Women, women’s issues are finally being acknowledged in the region and are starting to get the attention they deserve,” he explains. He reflects on how deeply rooted gender inequalities once were. “The status of women used to be so low—some weren’t even allowed to eat with their husbands, and most never dared to speak up. But now, slowly, this is changing as women gain access to education,” Adnan adds, with guarded hope for the future.

Through the project led by Adnan and his colleagues at ACISDA, more than 33,000 women and girls have already been reached across conflict-affected areas of Afar. A key part of this impact has come from strengthening the influence and agency of 70 women development association leaders, women’s rights defenders, and women political representatives, enabling them to play a more active role in ending sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The project has also promoted a human right–based approach, introducing “community scorecards” and building community-based protection systems that link with livelihood services to ensure a sustainable response to GBV cases.

At the institutional level, grassroots law enforcement bodies—comprising judges, attorneys, and police—are now more engaged in protecting women’s rights and reducing harmful practices, including FGM/C. Meanwhile, 64 health professionals have been trained on survivor-centered care, including clinical management of GBV, referral pathways, safe reporting, and psychosocial support. Recognizing the power of media, the project also worked with Afar’s journalists and social media activists, strengthening their skills in ethical reporting and GBV-sensitive communication to help shift harmful gender norms in the region.