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UNHCR launched a campaign against SGBV in refugee families

Today UNHCR in Kazakhstan started its annual sessions for refugees aimed at countering sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). This year UNHCR decided to conduct separate sensitization sessions for women, men and children to give all of them an opportunity to freely express themselves. About 30 women and 30 children took part in the first two events.

"The difficulty with SGBV in the families of refugees is that victims are very reluctant to talk about it and report it, and sometimes we learn about it too late. Our goal in conducting these sessions is to show women and men what violence is, what actions should be taken, and where they can find assistance. For these sessions we used a specialist psychologist, who can provide help to refugees not only during the sessions, but on a regular basis" - said Jennifer Ashton, Deputy Representative in Central Asia.

While the mothers were attending sessions discussing family issues, conflict resolution and social adaptation, the children were playing and coached on tolerance, family relations and peace. Sessions will continue with seminars for men, who will discuss the issues of conflict resolution, social adaptation, and maintaining a peaceful family environment.

"There are many different forms of violence, among them economical, psychological, and physical. No matter what the form is, violence is a result of certain circumstances facing refugees today. The roots of violence could be found in the lack of possibilities to provide for a family's wellbeing, isolation and lack of successful integration into local society, as well as uncertainty about the future. These sessions give refugees an opportunity to identify the reasons for violence, so that it can be prevented. During the sessions, refugees make self-assessments, discuss issues of common interest, share their personal experiences and learn from the professional psychologist how to maintain peaceful and respectful relations in their families as well as avoid conflicts. Today refugees expressed an interest to participate in these events more often and noted that this is a very helpful exercise", - said Mariya Voloshkevich, UNHCR Assistant RSD Officer.

See photos from the event in the photo gallery: http://www.unhcr.kz/eng/news-of-the-region/photo-gallery/2066/