GW Monogram

Empowered Aid

The Global Womens Institute

Uganda

Uganda, another of the largest refugee-hosting countries in the world and one with a high population of South Sudanese refugees served as the second Empowered Aid project site. Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in northern Uganda is one of the largest refugee camps in the world, hosting almost 240,000 refugees from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi. Bidi Bidi is a rural and widely dispersed settlement that covers approximately 234 square kilometers. Imvepi Refugee Settlement, a nearby settlement and a second site where women and girls took part in the project, hosts about 70,000 refugees. South Sudanese refugee women and girl co-researchers in Uganda identified the following risks:

  • Food distributions were noted as the highest source of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) followed by shelter assistance. Other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) are related primarily to hygiene and sanitation, as well as to fuel and firewood assistance.
  • Transportation to and from distribution sites poses a notable threat to women and girls in Uganda, as boda boda (motorcycle) drivers in particular often sexually exploit women and girls who are traveling
  • SEA risks increase when women and girls travel to unfamiliar areas to collect grass for shelter, roofs, or firewood. Members of the community often attempt to exploit them while they collect grass.
  • SEA was mentioned in relation to a variety of perpetrators–for example, contractors who come into the settlements to build homes for women and girls, security guards who grant access at water points, and water truck drivers.

Resources for Uganda

Image of empowered aid case study titled Using Empowered Aid to Mitigate SEA Risks in Cash Distributions

Using Empowered Aid to Mitigate SEA Risks in Cash Distributions

 This case study serves as a product of World Vision's continued to partnership with GWI in the implementation and uptake of the Empowered Aid model. WV was keen on supporting local actors to strengthen SEA risk mitigation as they work most closely with crisis-affected communities and play a key role in ensuring the voices of women and girls from said communities are heard. As such, WV has been collaborating with Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD) as a copartner on the General Food Assistance project with funding from the World Food Program.

Image of one of the Empowered Aid case studies on improving PSEA signage

Using Empowered Aid Recommendations to Improve PSEA Signage

This case study provides guidance on using PSEA signage at distribution points. The study was developed by the team in Uganda as part of a set of resources used during the second phase of Empowered Aid, which applied recommendations from women and girls to help make aid distributions safer. 

Empowered Aid: Phase 2 Pilot Reports in Uganda

Phase 2 Pilot Reports in Uganda

This booklet shares the reports from the four pilots conducted in Uganda – the first food distribution, dignity kit distribution, the second food distribution, and a solar lamp distribution – to test recommendations made by women and girls that could increase their safety at aid distributions. The booklet contains the summary report for each pilot as well as individual reports for each of the tools used during the distribution. This booklet is also available in French and Spanish.

Empowered Aid Uganda: COVID-19 Update

Empowered Aid: Participatory Action Research with Refugee Women and Girls to Better Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Abuse | Uganda COVID-19 Brief

This brief summarizes recommendations to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in the context of COVID-19.

Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in relation to fuel and firewood distribution

Empowered Aid Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in Relation to Fuel and Firewood Assistance

This brief summarizes key findings around sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in relation to fuel and firewood and provides targeted recommendations to make fuel and firewood assistance safer for women and girls.

Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in relation to Shelter Assistance

Empowered Aid Uganda sector brief: SEA in relation to Shelter Assistance

This brief summarizes key findings around sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in relation to shelter aid and provides targeted recommendations to make shelter-related distributions safer for women and girls.

Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in relation to WASH

Empowered Aid Uganda sector brief: SEA in relation to WASH Assistance

This brief summarizes key findings around SEA in relation to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and provides targeted recommendations to make WASH assistance safer for women and girls.

Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in relation to food aid

Empowered Aid Uganda Sector Brief: SEA in Relation to Food Aid

This brief summarizes key findings around sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) in relation to food distribution and provides targeted recommendations to make food distribution safer for women and girls.

Empowered Aid: Transforming Gender and Power Dynamics in the Delivery of Humanitarian Aid, Uganda Country Report

Empowered Aid: Participatory Action Research with Refugee Women and Girls to Better Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Abuse | Uganda Country Report

This report shares findings from the first phase of Empowered Aid in Uganda around risks of sexual exploitation and abuse in relation to food, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), shelter, and fuel and firewood, throughout the distribution process. It is based on rigorous, longitudinal qualitative research with women and girls living in Bidi Bidi and Imvepi refugee settlements in Uganda. The report also summarizes findings related to other types of distribution-related gender-based violence. It provides targeted, action-oriented recommendations to make aid distributions safer for women and girls, grounded in their own voices

Empowered Aid: Reducing SEA in Aid Distribution, Uganda Policy Brief

Empowered Aid: Participatory Action Research with Refugee Women and Girls to Better Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Abuse | Uganda Policy Brief

This brief shares findings from the first phase of Empowered Aid in Uganda around risks of sexual exploitation and abuse in relation to food, WASH, shelter, and fuel and firewood, throughout the distribution process. It is based on rigorous, longitudinal qualitative research with women and girls living in Bidi Bidi and Imvepi refugee settlements in Uganda. It provides targeted, action-oriented recommendations to make aid distributions safer for women and girls, grounded in their own voices.

 

Recommendations from South Sudanese refugee women and girls for preventing SEA:

  • Organize refugee—host community  information and dispute resolution sessions 
  • Provide more construction support to build houses safely, especially for vulnerable groups
  • Support women and girls to organize response mechanisms when they feel unsafe or at risk (sounding an "alarm").
  • Install lighting and WASH points closer to refugee communities
  • Increase security – especially female security workers – at distribution points