Humanitarian Response to Protect the Rights of Women with Disabilities - AISHA 2018

January 2018 – Palestinians face a long-term humanitarian crisis with approximately 1 in 2 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. The impacts on vulnerable Palestinians include limited access to safe water and sanitation persistent food and income insecurity and the risk of sexual and gender-based violence. With GAC’s support the Aisha Association for Woman and Child Protection (AISHA) is helping to alleviate suffering protect and maintain human dignity and save lives for internally displaced and refugees particularly women with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 59 in the poorest localities in the five governorates of Gaza. Project activities include: (1) providing capacity building to 25 women and 25 men from service providers working with women with disabilities in local authorities; (2) producing media and publicity materials (radio spot radio sessions billboards social media tools fact sheet) disseminated for service providers community and women with disabilities on principles good practice and effectiveness of humanitarian response; (3) providing psychological group counselling sessions and open days to 600 women with disabilities and individual counselling sessions provided via the gender-based violence (GBV) mobile clinic to 50 women with disabilities; (4) providing substance abuse and GBV mental health medication to 20 women with disabilities at the AISHA Clinic; and (5) providing referral protection and case management services through specialized protection facilities and networks to 50 women with disabilities.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased access to staff training response guidelines manual and information for service providers in local authorities to promote recovery and resilience of women with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 59 affected by the crisis in Gaza including those who have been forcibly displaced internally refugees with breast cancer victims and survivors of gender-based violence and with substance abuse and mental health disorders; and (2) improved access to gender-sensitive psychological support substance abuse and mental health services open days awareness-raising counselling and other referral system services conforming to cultural norms of users for internally displaced and refugees particularly women with disabilities. The expected ultimate outcome is lives saved suffering alleviated and human dignity maintained in countries experiencing humanitarian crises or acute food insecurity.