Frequently Asked Questions
Your questions answered!
Project overview
What is the support structure behind the Women’s Participation Project?
The Women’s Participation Project is headed by the Camp Coordination Camp Management (CCCM) Unit at IOM HQ, supported by a dedicated project team. The Women’s Participation Project is part of the global initiative Safe from the Start, funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM) of the United States of America.
Who started the Women’s Participation Project?
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), with technical support from the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and in coordination with the Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management Cluster, developed the Women’s Participation Project as part of Safe from the Start Initiative, a broader global-level project aimed at reducing gender-based violence (GBV) risks in camps and camp-like settings, generously funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).
What is the Women’s Participation Project?
The Women’s Participation Project (WPP) is developed and implemented as a four-phase project in camp and camp-like settings targeted at supporting opportunities for women’s equal and meaningful participation in camp governance structures. It is delivered through a participatory approach which includes developing community-designed and led empowerment strategies.
Who do I contact with questions?
Please have a look at all the documents available in the website, in particular the toolkit, as well as the FAQs listed here. If your question isn’t addressed, you can contact the WPP support team at womenindisplacement@iom.int. If you would like to discuss your question with our community of practice, please do so here (insert link).
Methodology & Approach
I am interested in implementing the Women’s Participation Project in my context of work. What should I do first?
First, we recommend you take a look at the Toolkit. This will provide you with general information on what is required to roll-out the WPP and will give you information on the key steps. After that, we encourage you to contact the Women’s Participation Project team at womenindisplacement@iom.int, who will provide you with technical support if needed.
How has the Women’s Participation Project evolved over the years?
The Women’s Participation Project (WPP) was developed by IOM and the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) in coordination with the Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster as part of the global-level ‘Safe from the Start’ initiative, aimed at reducing GBV risks in camps and camp-like settings. The objective of the project is to allow CCCM practitioners to have a broader understanding of what participation is and develop strategies adapted to the context to enhance the participation of women and girls in displacement sites. Since its first pilot in five countries in 2016, the project has expanded geographically to new locations. The range of activities implemented under the project has expanded, as well as the communities we work with, for instance, through the expansion of activities to host communities in some of the contexts. New tools have been added to the initial toolkit, such as the tools aiming at engaging with women and girls with disabilities.
The project also benefited from the global partnership between IOM and NRC, who in 2017 piloted the toolkit in Iraq, and then adapted it for use in the urban out-of-camp context in eastern Afghanistan in 2018. In 2019, NRC conducted two researches on the “Women’s Role in Coordination” and “The Role of Older Women” in different displacement settings.
Project Implementation
What type of activities are implemented under the Women’s Participation Project?
The activities to be implemented under the Women’s Participation Project in a particular context will be defined through consultations with the community (once the preliminary findings of the baseline assessment are ready) and therefore they vary from context to context.
At this moment, the project team should present the initial findings to the community and conduct consultations with them to identify and prioritize the activities. This is a crucial step in the project to ensure activities and strategies taken are community-led. Attention should be put to the risks and problems detected from the safety mapping exercise and discuss with the community how they can contribute to solve them.
Are the Women’s Participation Project tools only available in English?
As the project has been implemented in several contexts, the tools are currently available in English, Afaan Oromo, Arabic, Somali and Spanish. New languages will keep being added as the project is implemented in new locations. Please contact the WPP team if you are interested in the tools in any of these languages. Please note that, in addition to translating the tools into the local language, it is also essential that they are adapted to the context. For this purpose, we suggest that the local CCCM team reviews the translation to confirm people will understand the concepts mentioned in the tools.
How to measure the impact of the Women’s Participation Project?
Measuring the impact of the project is a challenging aspect, as we work with perceptions of safety, which are in nature qualitative and therefore difficult to measure quantitatively. Additionally, perceptions can be affected by multiple factors that go beyond the activities of the project. However, we have created the pre/mid/post implementation survey to help monitor the impact of the project activities. This document should be contextualized as needed to make it relevant to your context of work.
How can I find out more about the implementation of the project in different missions?
For regular updates on implementation in country, please check the news section of the website and the updated country reports under the Country Pages in this website. If you want to receive regular communications on the project, follow us on Twitter or Instagram. For specific questions around a particular project location, please email womenindisplacement@iom.int. The project team will answer your question to the best of their ability or put you in touch with the project focal point in that specific location.
Access to Reports
Where can I access Baseline and & Endline Reports?
The baseline and endline reports published on the Platform are accessible under Reports. For example, if you would like to access the reports from Bangladesh, go to Reports, click on Bangladesh and all reports will be accessible there.
What kind of Global Reports are available and where can I find them?
Besides global learning reports & produced by IOM following the piloting phase of the WPP, you can also find publications from NRC. These are the result of a global partnership looking at implementing the WPP Toolkit in displacement outside camps. These can be accessed under Reports and Global Reports. The Reports are arranged according to date published.
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