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How Irish Catholic Entity is Addressing Violence against Women in Two African Countries

Trócaire is supporting and investing in women’s rights organisations. Credit: Trócaire

Trócaire, the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, is making deliberate efforts to invest in women’s rights organizations to address violence against women in Somalia and South Sudan in a partnership initiative.

In a Thursday, November 23 report, Trócaire officials identify Active in Development Aid (ADA) in Somalia and Women for Change (WFC) in South Sudan as important partners in ending gender-based violence (GBV) in the two African nations.

“Trócaire, together with ADA and WFC, undertook a participatory action research project to better understand how to dismantle the barriers that these organizations encounter in participating and leading in GBV coordination, and how to foster and support their meaningful leadership,” officials of the Irish Catholic entity say.

They add, “ADA and WFC were provided with a range of supports including peer-to-peer exchange; mentorship; capacity strengthening; joint monthly coordination meetings; and financial support.”

The experiences of the partnership led to a “Women-Led Organizations’ (WLOs) Leadership in GBV Coordination Resource Package” following a one-year documentation period, Trócaire officials say in the November 23 report.

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The resource package, they further say, “contains recommendations and resources on how to establish more equitable and meaningful co-coordination and how to create space for women’s leadership.”

Trócaire officials further explain the impact of the partnership initiative on the communities in the two African nations.

“The learning from the project reinforced the value of strengthening women-centered organizations in coordination mechanisms, where their skills and experiences contribute to high-quality and effective action for affected GBV survivors,” they say.

The project highlighted the multiple barriers that women face and the need for proactive measures to facilitate their participation and leadership in getting solutions to the challenges, they further say.

Helping the women, Trócaire officials say, involves “understanding challenges relating to travel, providing adequate resources, and advocating for diverse representation.”

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“The project demonstrated the need for multi-directional capacity strengthening and sharing, which should start with jointly developed action plans that recognize and build on women-centered organizations' knowledge, skills, and experiences,” they say.

The learning underscored the importance of securing funding over multiple years that encompasses both operational and program expenses, they further say, adding that securing funds ensures that the women’s Rights organizations have sufficient resources to assume leadership roles effectively.

The leadership of the Catholic entity urges other partners that operate and fund programs addressing GBV and that support women’s voice and leadership to emulate the experiences of its partnership with ADA and WFC.

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.