December 7, 2022 — The International Rescue Committee welcomes yesterday’s release of “Safe from the Start ReVisioned,” which brings together Department of State and USAID efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV) in emergencies.
With emphasis on utilizing gender transformative approaches, bringing programming that works to scale, and increasing accountability to women and girls impacted by GBV, Safe from the Start ReVisioned has the potential to ensure that all frontline responders – including local and national women’s rights and women-led organizations - have the resources, political will, and expertise to prevent violence before it occurs and respond when it happens.
Inah Kaloga, Senior Director of the Violence Prevention and Response Unit at the IRC, issued the following statement:
“The US Government has long been a champion of efforts to prevent and respond to GBV in emergencies; we see this as a reaffirmation of that championship and reinvigoration of their efforts.
“Safe from the Start has been integral in ensuring the humanitarian community sees GBV prevention and response as life-saving and we have learned so much about GBV prevention, risk mitigation, and response since it first launched. By prioritizing bringing effective interventions to scale, Safe from the Start ReVisioned reflects the learning on what works. By holding the humanitarian system accountable to prioritizing GBV and fostering a system that puts women and girls in leadership positions and listens to them, ReVisioned reflects where we still need to do more.
“Unfortunately, GBV prevention and response is still under-prioritized and under-funded in humanitarian response. Year after year, GBV funding requests are less than 1/3 full-filled, leaving millions of women and girls without access to life-saving services. With humanitarian need growing, Safe from the Start ReVisioned is timely and unfortunately necessary.”
IRC’s Response to GBV
The International Rescue Committee works to foster communities where women and girls are free from violence and have the rights and resources to promote their own safety and self-determination. Through our Women’s Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Team, the IRC reaches women and girls in acute, protracted, and recovery humanitarian settings in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North and South America, and Europe. Collectively, the WPE team provides direct services as well as advances the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for humanitarians to serve survivors of GBV with effective, comprehensive programming that meets the specific needs of women and girls.