Solar Lanterns Diminish Gender-Based Violence, Bring Other Benefits to Displaced in Somalia

GENEVA, Switzerland, August 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has donated 3,300 solar lanterns to reach 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia. The recipients are now at less risk of gender-based violence (GBV), their children will be able to do homework after school, and they may be able to generate more income if their shops and small businesses can operate at night.

Displaced families benefiting from the solar lantern distribution are those particularly vulnerable to GBV living in 35 IDP settlements in Burao, Somaliland, Garowe, Puntland and Mogadishu.

The distribution, which took place in late July, was coordinated by IOM, in close collaboration with Somalia’s Ministries of Health, Women, Development and Family Affairs, Human Rights, Labour and Social Affairs, local municipality authorities, local District Commissioners, the Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC), the Timely Integrated Development Services for Somalia (TIDES), the Community Centre for Research and Training (CCRT), and local community leaders.

Thirty-year-old Farhiya (name changed) has lived with her seven daughters in a makeshift shelter for 15 years at the Kosaar IDP settlement in Burao, Somaliland. “I used to have a solar light at home until it broke. The new one is lighter and I can use it to charge my mobile phone. I can carry it around the house and I feel much safer moving around the settlement at night,” she says.

The prevalence of GBV in Somalia, including rape, is reported to be one of the highest in the world. IDPs and migrants are particularly vulnerable due to lack of protection and the insecure environment in which they live.

In June 2012, IOM Somalia conducted a rapid assessment in two IDP settlements in Somalia where GBV prevalence was reportedly very high. The study concluded that many of the cases took place at night, when the settlements are plunged into darkness.

Although lighting is widely recognized to prevent GBV, no scientific study on the subject has ever been conducted in Somalia. IOM is therefore conducting baseline and post-intervention studies to establish a proven link between solar lanterns and prevalence of GBV in the areas of distribution and to assess how cost-effective solar lanterns are in reducing the incidence of GBV. The studies will also shed light on other ways that solar lanterns may change the lives of IDPs.

To date IOM has distributed over 4,500 solar lanterns in IDP settlements throughout Somalia. It has also promoted community social mobilization to empower women against GBV. The programme is funded by the Government of Japan.

Source: AFRICAWIN