Unite for a Better Life: Policy Brief and Case Studies of Impact

The home remains the most dangerous place for a woman."

The Unite for a Better Life team share a policy document and case studies from their project linking interventions to cultural ceremonies and practices to reduce intimate partner violence among displaced populations in humanitarian crises. Specifically this project focused on the Somali-Muslim communities residing in the Dollo Ado refugee camps of Ethiopia.

The aim of their diffusion grant from the HIF was to scale their innovation, Unite for a Better Life (UBL). UBL is a curriculum developed to prevent and reduce intimate partner violence using 16 skills building sessions delivered by trained facilitators to women, men or couples. Sessions address gender, healthy sexuality, conflict resolution, household task-sharing, substance use, &; sexual harassment.

In the policy brief the authors outline the need for intimate partner violence interventions and the need to increase funding to gender-based violence in emergencies. With intimate partner violence being the most common form of gender-based violence, the home remains the most dangerous place for a woman.

The project team demonstrates the potential for the UBL curriculum to change this, with participants indicating increased knowledge about what violence against women is, and less support for gender inequitable attitudes.

Read the brief and case studies to find out more about the impact of UBL.