Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) endangers the health, safety and security of affected persons and hurts their dignity and autonomy. Regrettably, SGBV crimes in Burundi remain surrounded by a culture of silence and impunity, despite of the specific Law on SGBV, which has been in place since September 2016. This tends to have serious consequences on the lives of survivors. As part of UNHCR’s refugee protection strategy, SGBV prevention and response activities are regularly conducted in both urban areas and refugee camps. In urban areas, cases are assisted by partners in the Urban Refugee Counselling and Orientation Centre (Centre urbain de Conseil et d'Orientation des Réfugiés et Demandeurs d’asile: “CUCOR”) while in refugee camps, this is done in the ‘Espoir’ Centers, which are community centers in which UNHCR’s partners provide services such as psycho-social counselling, sensibilizations, and youth activities. UNHCR documents cases of SGBV and has so far assisted 341 SGBV cases in 2019 (up to September), 450 SGBV cases in 2018, 375 cases in 2017 and 372 in 2016, with cases of rape (mostly incidents committed in DRC, but also new), and domestic violence being the most predominant. Participatory assessment conducted with both urban and camp refugees brought to light a great deal of SGBV incidents and risks. While SGBV prevention and response activities by UNHCR and partners continue, SGBV incidents in Burundi still take place in the context of forced displacement because of the conditions of vulnerability and poverty experienced by refugees in general and by urban refugees in particular. Specific prevention and response projects have been developed and implemented and as they have shown good results, UNHCR plans to continue the respective activities in 2020-2021. They include: Raising awareness campaigns adapted to an adult audience, young people and children; the search for solutions for survivors of SGBV including income-generating activities (IGA); the set-up and support of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA); Identification for resettlement; vocational and/or professional training; provision of hygiene kits for women and girls; establishment of a community protection mechanism along with a training for community-based protection through community structures implicated in SGBV prevention and response; individual case management including psychosocial support for incidents taking place either in the country of asylum or in the country of origin; strengthening of referral mechanisms, including collaboration with other stakeholders and national structures setting-up of conversation groups for a survivor group therapy; the introduction of Engaging Men through Accountable Practices (EMAP) structures; etc. In 2020, Targeted interventions and approaches adapted to certain types of SGBV, such as child marriage, survival sex, etc.; to specific groups at risk, such as persons with disabilities and LGBTI persons; and to specific contexts i.e. urban/camp, will have to be pursued.
