Help Her Heal
Chinga Govhati
(
Other relevant actor
)
#SDGAction53457
Description
Help Her Heal is an online Gender Based Violence (GBV) rapid response initiative group which was formed on the 3rd of December 2020 as a support group for the benefit of child and women survivors of violence (VAC and GBV). These were mostly children and women who were struggling to access meaningful help during the Covid 19 induced lockdowns. The platform is administered through a WhatsApp group. The platform’s main purpose is to bridge service gap by enabling quick response to urgent VAC and GBV cases through referrals to service providers; mostly organisations’ or departments’ focal people; hence the term ‘ rapid response.’ In addition, the platform’s secondary purpose is to make sure a survivor receives holistic support where for instance they need additional support after going through the VAC and GBV response system.
The group was formed to effect rapid response in VAC and GBV cases during Covid 19. GBV responders were affected by the nationwide lockdowns which saw most service providers offering limited to no service to survivors. This virtual platform houses diverse VAC and GBV responders, making it easy to help survivors, influence policy, practice and attitude reform and follow up on cases shared. The virtual platform houses responders from the public, private, developmental and civil society sectors as well as interested individuals, duty bearers and decision makers. Cases are identified through various means; mostly through social media and cases that members of the group come across in their day to day work
Members of the platform share educational material and some educational series has been started on issues to do with child labour, referral pathways and general issues on GBV. A member is free to share VAC and GBV related content on the group. In addition, face to face educational meetings are held. So far, one session on Property Rights for Women has been held with the Master of the High Court. Information on ongoing webinars is shared for members to attend.
There are three administrators on the platform who ensure relevant content and timeous attendance to issues shared. An identified case is shared on the platform for rapid response and comprehensive support including support to organisations needing additional support.
Members give feedback instantly where an issue needs redress or attention such as modalities of sharing media generated content that needs follow up. A Guidance Note for 2023 has been published on the group for members to guide operations and allow the group's content and actions to remain relevant.
The group has 298 members from various organisations, government departments, commissions on human rights and gender and individuals; Zimbabwe Gender Commission Women and Law in Southern Africa Partners from various government departments Legal Institutions in Zimbabwe Community Based Organizations Faith Based Organisations GBV Response Institutions Individuals
SDGS & Targets
Goal 5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.1.1
Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex
5.2
5.2.1
Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
5.2.2
Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence
5.3
5.3.1
Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18
5.3.2
Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age
5.4
Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.4.1
Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
5.5
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.5.1
Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
5.5.2
Proportion of women in managerial positions
5.6
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
5.6.1
Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
5.6.2
Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
5.a
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.a.1
(a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
5.a.2
Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
5.b
5.b.1
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex
5.c
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
5.c.1
Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment
Goal 16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
16.1
Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.1.1
16.1.2
16.1.3
Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months
16.1.4
Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark
16.2
End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.2.1
Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month
16.2.2
16.2.3
Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18
16.3
Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.3.1
Proportion of victims of (a) physical, (b) psychological and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
16.3.2
16.3.3
Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism
16.4
By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.4.1
16.4.2
16.5
Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.5.1
16.5.2
16.6
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.6.1
16.6.2
Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services
16.7
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.7.1
Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups
16.7.2
16.8
Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.8.1
Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations
16.9
By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.9.1
16.10
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.10.1
16.10.2
16.a
Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.a.1
16.b
Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
16.b.1
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
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Deliverables & Timeline
An online/virtual rapid response platform for GBV cases
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
Feedback
Action Network
Type of initiative
Share
Timeline
Entity
Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
Children affected by violence and neglect, children undergoing the justice delivery system, women affected by abuse and domestic violence, girls and women with disabilities, government departments, human rights and gender commissions, community and faith based organizations, various private, public ad social institutions working with women and children.
More information
Countries
Contact Information
Chinga Govhati, Convener