RDPP II Partners Implement Powerful Initiatives for the 16 Days of Activism against GBV / Regional

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Within the ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’, RDPP protection and advocacy partners in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan have implemented a series of powerful advocacy initiatives.

In Lebanon, ABAAD launched a song and music video on December 4^th 2019 titled Not Your Honor that went viral on social media with over 3,200 shares on Facebook. Co-funded by RDPP and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the music video tackles issues related to sexual crimes against women, victim shaming and honor crimes: a loud message to call for enforcing a more stringent application of penal sentences for sexual abusers.

Abaad's video moved many, both on social media, where hundreds expressed their views over its release via the hashtag #NotYourHonor, and offline, where thousands of women, girls, men, and boys marched through the streets of Beirut following the launch of the video to protest sexual harassment and demand for women’s rights. The heavily media-covered march was concluded by a choreography and chant inspired by the global campaign ‘The Rapist is You’.

In Iraq, RDPP partner UNFPA, in cooperation with the Kurdistan High Council for Women Affairs (KHCWA), launched a Communication for Behavioural Impact Plan (COMBI) to combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The plan brings together teams from the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Religious Affairs, Health, Education, Labour, and Social Affairs to implement awareness raising campaigns to an initial 7,500 mothers in the next year in order to save young girls from this harmful practice. The plan focuses on the Kurdistan Region, especially the Governorates of Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, Duhok, and Halabja, where the prevalence of FGM is higher than the rest of Iraq.

The launching event was attended by prominent national actors such as the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, members of the Parliament, representatives of the diplomatic corps and members of civil society, and was concluded by panel discussions on the risks and best approaches to end FGM.

In Jordan, RDPP partner JNCW held round-table discussions and workshops titled ‘Break the Silence on Economic Violence’ focusing on women’s economic marginalization, discriminatory laws against women, and the practice of forcing women to waive their rights of inheritance. The workshops brought together activists and professionals from all over Jordan, including Mafraq, Zarqa, Jarash, Madaba, Sahab, Ajloun, Irbid, and Kirk, and was launched in Amman with the active participation of HRH Princess Basma of Jordan.

Preventing and responding to Sexual and Gender Based Violence is one of the focus areas of the RDPP´s protection programme, which enhances capacities of national actors to provide SGBV services to refugees and the host community in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. The programme also aims to conduct context-specific policy dialogue and support to decision makers for legislative changes and policy adjustments that reduce discrimination and further women´s rights.

For more information on the above mentioned RDPP-funded projects: ABAAD – UNFPA – JNCW