Response, Recovery and Resilience
UN Women’s recovery and resilience work in Jordan supports Jordanian nationals and refugees through the provision of economic opportunities as an entry point for gender equality and the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence. This is done both in refugee camps and in Jordan’s hosting communities. In Za’atari refugee camp UN Women runs the camp’s largest female-focused cash-for-work programme. Many of those it supports are earning a waged income for the first time in their lives, and this enables them to contribute to the family income, with moneys made spent on diversifying family diets. Engagement in this programme also results in a decrease in domestic violence and women’s increased engagement in household and community decision-making. This is complemented with community mobilization, protection referral services and #HeforShe dialogues to engage men in gender equality efforts.
Recognizing gender disparities in employment in Jordan, and understanding access to jobs as a trigger for social tensions, UN Women is rolling out a portfolio of employment related work in Jordan’s host communities–creating job opportunities for over 800 women living in Northern Jordan both through access to finance and job placement. This is includes support to national service providers to expand essential services for women in these areas, and technical assistance to unblock challenges to women’s access to services. In these areas UN Women is also promoting dialogue and gender equality through recreation and access to public space. At the national level UN Women supports the Ministry of Social Development in delivering services to people in Jordan’s hosting communities and to support policy reform.
The contribution of UN Women in Jordan stems from an integrated strategy that takes into consideration the critical links between humanitarian action and development efforts to enhance resilience and sustain transformational changes in the lives of women and their communities.
Since the onset of the Syrian crisis, UN Women has been collaborating with UN Agencies based in Jordan to support refugees and affected Jordanian host communities through its active involvement in inter-agency coordination mechanisms. The UN Assistance Framework (UNAF) represents a common strategic framework that enables the UN system to provide a comprehensive, coherent and synergistic response to nationally identified needs and priorities. UN Women has also supported national authorities in mainstreaming gender equality principles in the implementation of the Jordan Response Plan for the Syrian Crisis 2016-2018.
Within the framework of its Response, Recovery and Resilience work, UN Women Jordan is implementing the following initiatives:
- Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access & Protection in Crisis Response. Read more
- Expand self-reliance & social cohesion opportunities for Jordanian women in Mafraq Governorate and camp-based Syrian refugee women and promote meaningful engagement in community life (Eid bi Eid). Read more
- Women, Peace and Security in the Arab States. Read more
- Promoting social cohesion through women’s economic empowerment and protection initiatives in Irbid and Zarqa. Read more
- Enhancing Syrian Women’s Empowerment in Camp Settings. Read more
- Promoting rural women’s food security in Jordan. Read more