Building Consensus on Best Practices for Supporting Survivors
Experts in mental health and psychosocial support and gender-based violence have reached a consensus on best practices for supporting survivors.
Together with Trócaire and with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, the Global Women’s Institute examined the intersections of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and gender-based violence (GBV) response in order to build consensus between these two sectors on what constitutes survivor-centered approaches in humanitarian settings.
Our research shows that:
- Developing consensus between MHPSS experts and GBV experts is critical for ensuring that survivors receive the best care possible.
- GBV case management services are a critical entry point not just for providing survivor-centered car but also for linking survivors to broader MHPSS services.
Supporting Uptake of Survivor-Centered Practice is a resource package to support MHPSS and GBV program staff in delivering survivor-centered MHPSS interventions for GBV survivors in humanitarian settings. It consists of five learning briefs and guidance notes, each accompanied by a short video, job aids (infographics) and scenarios to support their application. Each document focuses on an area of convergence between GBV and MHPSS, and all resources are available in Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Somali and Spanish.
Topics covered in the package are:
- Managing suicidality and suicidal ideation amongst GBV survivors in humanitarian settings
- Supporting MHPSS services for child and adolescent GBV survivors
- How to respond to disclosure of violence in couples- or family-based interventions
- The use of transdiagnostic approaches with GBV survivors in humanitarian settings
- The use of exposure techniques with GBV survivors in humanitarian settings
These tools support MHPSS and GBV actors in delivering and advocating for survivor-centered MHPSS interventions for GBV survivors in humanitarian settings.
Research From Our Work on MHPSS and GBV
Supporting Uptake of Survivor-Centered Practice: A report that introduces the MHPSS and GBV learning series
Learning briefs: Briefs on MHPSS and child/adolescent survivors and managing the risk of suicide when working with GBV survivors
Guidance notes: Discuss the use of transdiagnostic approaches, GBV disclosure and family or couples interventions and the use of exposure techniques
Want more on responding to violence against women and girls?
- Learn how to partner with refugee women and girls to mitigate the risk of and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian aid delivery through our Empowered Aid program.
- Understand proxy indicators for assessing women’s risk of gender-based violence when receiving cash assistance in humanitarian settings like Iraq and Colombia.
- Check out barriers and new approaches that support survivors’ access to response services in humanitarian contexts, through our Putting Survivors at the Center project.
- Read about the intersection of gender-based violence and mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for survivors through our work with Trōcaire.
Check out all of our research on our Explore page.
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