Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access & Protection in Crisis Response

Areej is engaged in UN Women’s cash for work programme as an assistant within the Oasis. The Oases are Safe Spaces which offer comprehensive gender focused support to refugees through protection services, employment opportunities, community engagement and decision-making. Photo credits: UN Women Jordan/Christopher Herwig

Areej is engaged in UN Women’s cash for work programme as an assistant within the Oasis. The Oases are Safe Spaces which offer comprehensive gender focused support to refugees through protection services, employment opportunities, community engagement and decision-making. Photo credits: UN Women Jordan/Christopher Herwig


Period: 2nd March 2016 - 31st April 2017


Donor: Government of Japan


Budget: $1,981,800.00


Project goal: Promote self-reliance and social cohesion for Syrian displaced women and their Jordanian host communities. The programme will support women’s access to livelihoods and their political inclusion as well as enhance women and girls’ protection from all forms of violence.

UN Women Jordan in partnership with the Government of Japan, introduced the regional project; Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access & Protection in Crisis Response (LEAP), working to consolidate its ongoing initiatives including those related to women’s economic opportunities - with the objective of supporting sustainable solutions for refugee, displaced, and host communities where viable, and working with regional bodies to support an end to conflict and instability. The LEAP project is funded by the Government of Japan, building on previous funding received for the ‘Enhancing Syrian Women’s Empowerment in Camp Settings’ project.

Within the framework of LEAP, the project addresses the humanitarian priorities of women refugees living in camp and non-camp settings through an approach that seeks to build resilience and empowerment: through the provision of employment, services for those at risk of and surviving gender-based violence, and engagement with the national authorities to promote access to justice and accountability for violent crimes against women. To this end, within camp settings the project will work in Za’atari camp to provide employment opportunities to refugee women. The project will include the continuation of UN Women’s cash for work programming and efforts to create women’s cooperatives and transition them into small business enterprises – servicing the camp economy. Outside of camps UN Women will focus on service provision through support to Government and non-governmental women’s centres and shelters – providing legal aid, skills training, medical services and psychosocial support. This will be tagged with efforts to address the culture of impunity for violent crimes against women in Jordan by working with the justice sector to engage justice officials on adjudicating crimes related to violence against women.

LEAP key framework goals;  

  • Ensuring Humanitarian response planning, frameworks and programming are gender inclusive & responsive.
  • Gender analysis and assessments conducted to inform multi-sectoral humanitarian/crisis planning and response frameworks.
  • Increased access to effective services & protection mechanisms through social spaces and in host communities.
  • New sources of income and economic opportunities created through targeted cash for work & development of capacities and skills.  

 

UN WOMEN OASIS: In 2012, UN Women opened its first women and girls safe space in Za’atari refugee camp to support the Government of Jordan’s response to the impact of the Syria crisis. 

UN Women programme in the Syrian refugee camps does not only include a protection component to address GBV cases, but the programme itself is intended to be a holistic response to GBV prevention and protection needs with the desire to achieve these two outcomes:
1. Syrian women refugees empowered through increased access to economic recovery opportunities and enhanced capacities for participation in community mobilization initiatives; 
2. Men are engaged in work to address gender-based violence and gender inequalities; Un Women intend to support men behavioral change interventions in the camp through dialogue, understanding and communication.

The Safe Spaces offer comprehensive gender focused support to refugees and Jordanian nationals living in refugee camps and host communities through protection services, employment opportunities, community engagement and decision-making. UN Women’s implementation of these services in refugee camps reached about 16,000 people through three safe spaces in Za’atari. The three safe spaces (Oases) for Syrian women Za’atari refugee camp consist of rooms and out-door areas equipped and furnished for educational activities, for hosting women working at the production of different handcrafts, as well as children enrolled in day care activities and games. The spaces are open to all women of the community for recreational activities.