CARE INTERNATIONAL INBURUNDI

EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROJECT

REPORT ON THE TRAINING SESSION ON THE PREVENTION OF AND FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSES OF WFP FOOD ASSISTANCE BENEFICIARIES

JUNE 2007

TABLE OF CONTENT

1.INTRODUCTION

2.CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

3.METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

3.1 Overall Objective

3.2. Specific Objectives

4.ACTIVITIES ACHIEVED

Objective 1:

Increase awareness of among beneficiaries and local authorities (colline, zone and provinces) on sexual exploitation around WFP food assistance.

4.1. Interactive Theatre

4.2.1. Who are the victims of sexual exploitation?

4.2.2 When are these abuse committed?

4.2.3 Why are these abuses committed?

4.2.4. Forms of sexual abuses

4.2.5. Commitment

4.3. Advertising spots

4.4. Advertising Posters

Objective 2: Develop recommendations to answer and establish empowerment mechanisms

4.5. Sharing and Validation of recommendations

5. CHALLENGES

6. LESSONS LEARNED

8. WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS TO BE CARRIED OUT IN THE FUTURE?

1.INTRODUCTION

In response to the last two reports produced by CARE Burundi on sexual abuses against the beneficiaries of WFP food assistance, CARE USA provided funding through the Emergency Food Assistance Projectfor the training of community leaders in order raise their awareness on this situation. The purpose of the training is to increase the fight against and prevention of these abuses occurring in the distribution process, and to ensure the food reaches the targeted vulnerable categories. This pilot project was carried out in the commune of Giteranyi, Muyinga province.

The eradication of sexual abuse can not succeed without the support of the administrative authority,who are also often the perpetrators. Hence sensitization sessions were organized for local councilors and Gezaho[1] leaders. The testimonies, lessons learnt and recommendations formulated by the participants highlight the existence of this practice. Scenes played by TUBIYAGE²,a local theatre group, created the space for open and critical discussion of a sensitive topic.

  1. CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

For many Burundians, living conditions have degraded since the end of the civil war and the cost of livingis significant, to the extent that the majority of the population is barely able to satisfy their basic needs. The violation of cultural values has given way to corruption and the abuse of power; the most striking being sexual abuse. This form of abuse is being committedby local administrative authorities and the majority of victims are women. This is occurringin relation to the registration of beneficiaries for WFP food distribution, with many beneficiaries (potential and real) subject to sexual exploitation and abuse.

In order to address this issue, CARE continues its activities of awareness raising targeting those involved in food distributionto ensure WFP food assistance is not a vehicle for sexual abuse.

3.METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH

3.1 Overall Objective

The overall objective of the project is to fight against and prevent sexual abusethrough promoting the rights of the vulnerable in order to reduce, discourage and prevent all types of sexual exploitation in the WFP food distribution process.

3.2. Specific Objectives

At the end of the training, each participant should be able to:

a)Identify the root causes and consequences of sexual abuse in order to raise awareness among the local administration;

b)Formulate strategic and harmonious recommendations that allow the establishment of empowering mechanisms for all involved in order to address the situation.

4.ACTIVITIES ACHIEVED

Objective 1:

Increase awareness of among beneficiaries and local authorities (colline, zone and provinces) on sexual exploitation around WFP food assistance.

4.1. Interactive Theatre

CARE has worked with TUBIYAGE since 2001 usinginteractive theater as a participatory tool to address sensitive topics such as sexual violence. This tool has been adapted to the Burundian context in that it fosters courage among community members to express themselves freely on issuesnormally considered taboo.

The theatre group played scenes at the locations where the validation of lists takes place, where distribution occurs, on community work sites and during training sessions. The theme allowed participants to examine themselves and to affirm that cases of harassment and sexual exploitation are a reality in their respective communities.

This scene by TUBIYAGE illustrates a young orphan girl trying to earn the registration of her name from an administrative staff who proposes sexual relations with her rather than following the eligibility criteria for vulnerable persons.

4.2. Training

After the theatrescenes played by TUBIYAGE,which helps orient participants to the sensitive subject of sexual abuse, training began under the facilitation of CARE staff who are active in the targeting and monitoring of beneficiaries. This included263 participants, of which 189 are elected community leaders and 74 GEZAHO leaders. This allowed the team to gain insight from the participants on precise questions. Participant responses are outlined below.

4.2.1. Who are the victims of sexual exploitation?

  • They are both vulnerable widows and orphan girls that have no other choice but to give their bodies in order to be included on the lists of beneficiaries. They say:«its better than dying of hunger »;
  • People who do not meet the eligibility criteria, especially young women who seduce the local councilors and influence them in order to unjustly deserve registration.

4.2.2 When are these abuse committed?

  • Participants confirm that it is during the targeting phase (undisputed) when various abuses, including sexual abuses occur.
  • These abuses also take place in-between distributions when authorities often repeatedly boast in front of vulnerable people that it is their decision if anyone will receive any assistance.

4.2.3 Why are these abuses committed?

  • Due to poverty, vulnerable women and girls lose hope and are willing to exchange their bodies for registration on the lists since they have no other means.They are even incited, even influenced by other people (who are aware of the character of a given administration agent).
  • Sexual abuses are not liable of severe sanctions due to the negative solidarity of the local councilors, and also of the victims and perpetrators.
  • Drunkenness, ignorance of one’s rights and youth characterize certain elected leaders and also contribute to their detrimental behaviour.

4.2.4. Forms of sexual abuses

The forms of abuses revealed are those where:

  • The chief administrator uses his authority to force young widows or their teenaged daughters andteenaged orphans to give their bodies in order to be registered on the beneficiarylists.
  • Those vulnerable «who have the chance» who are aware of the sexual habits of an administrative agent (and have themselves engaged in sexual relations with such agents) may influence other women and girls (in the same poor condition) to do the same in order to benefit from food assistance.
  • Young women/men who do not fit the WFP selection criteria try topersuadeor trap administrative agents to engage in sexual relations (men or women). This is at the expense of those vulnerable who have no power or voice.

It was difficult for any of the participants to admit that these abuses exist. However, murmurs, facial, hand and head gestures and common sayings like: «Nta mwonga ubura isato iba idahizwe»,«ho gupfa wozanzama»,«nta kugwa mu bana nk’imbeba», «ikigufatiye ku nda kiba kigushikiriye»…(Which essentially mean that these practices do exist and that the victims do so because they have no choice and risk of being sexually abused), indicated that these abuses do exist.

The following testimonies highlight the forms of sexual violence in existence:

Testimony of a female participant elected as hill leader:

«On a colline of a certain zone, there was a vulnerable woman caring for a deaf and mute child. This woman went to an administrative agent by first of all presenting two bottles of local beer to the chief of colline so that he could register her on the WFP food list of beneficiaries. The latter refused, but she persevered by adding 1000Fb. He still did not put her on the list because he did not want the money or the beer but wanted to have sexual relations with her. The women preferred abandoning despite her state of vulnerability».

Testimony of a Gezaho leader:

« He is a renowned unsatisfied sex hunter this chief of the colline! One time, there was the drawing up of a list of people who were to participate in a training workshop during which perdiems were given. An orphan school girl expressed the need to participate in this training and the person who was registering obliged that she sleep with him. She accepted and it became a habit; every time workshops were organized, she automatically was put on the list after having given her body in exchange. All was done in secret, but the girl ended up pregnant. She revealed this to a Gezaho leader in order to solicit their psychosocial support. It would not astonish me if he did the same to draw up the lists of WFP food beneficiaries; proving the rumours that we had been hearing ».

Testimony of a chief of zone:

The chief revealed to us two cases of attempted sexual abuse:«a woman and a vulnerable orphan girl came to me to complain, accusing a chief of a colline who had asked them to sleep with him in order to receive food assistance».

Testimony of a chief of colline:

«A chief of colline told a vulnerable woman to give some beer in order to be registered on the lists of those that will benefit from the WFP food distributions. The woman looked for some money and went to the pub where the chief usually took his beer and offered him some beer. On the way home, the chief said to her that it was not really the beer he wanted, but rather to sleep with her. The man wanted to force her to the extent of taking off her wrap. This brave woman was obliged to leave her wrap behind and go and complain to the competent authorities».

4.2.5. Commitment

After the training, the elected hill leaders and the Gezaho leaders formulated a commitment act whichall signed voluntarily. This commitment constitutes a permanent and mutual reminder ofthe fight against and the prevention of sexual abuses committed against WFP food beneficiaries in particular,and relief assistance in general. These leaders also promised to share what was learnedduring the training and to post these recommendations at the entrancesto official offices.

4.3. Advertising spots

Advertising spots, reporting and production of radio programs on sexual exploitation were also broadcast on the private local radio RPA following the training. The messages focused on awareness raising campaigns and encouraging people to break the silence, dare to denounce the perpetrators and for actors of justice to punish the guilty ones who take advantage ofthe WFP food distribution process in order to sexually exploit beneficiaries.

4.4. Advertising Posters

This easy to read poster drawn by an artist, illustrates and symbolizes certain forms of abuses of which some administrative agents are perpetrators, especially on the eve of targeting WFP food beneficiaries. It is a permanent sensitization tool which will be posted during time on the targeting/public validation sites of lists.

Objective 2: Develop recommendations to answer and establish empowerment mechanisms

4.5. Sharing and Validation of recommendations

Each of the three zones participated in two training days followed by a one-day session for the validation of the resulting recommendations.Five groups were organized representating the 263 participants.

Meetings with WFP were organized in order to define the actions to be undertaken and ajoint study carried out with BINUB was conducted in order to understand the extent of the problem.

5. CHALLENGES

  • The victims of sexual abuses do not yet have the courage to lodge a formal complaint or to denounce the perpetrators due to their social status.As people are unaware of their rights (eg widows and orphans), some believe that sexual exploitation is actually necessary in order to secure the food they need and that they will receive once they are registered. The threat of not being assisted in the future and being in a vulnerable situation, also leaves many without a choice.
  • The victims also fear retaliation by guilty administrative agents, for example being socially ridiculed, discriminated and stigmatized for practices that generally take place in silence and which are often expressed by intimation. It also not easy to find any witnesses.
  • These practices are culturally prohibited and it is rare that one speaks out about them, as they are considered taboo.

6. LESSONS LEARNED

  • Sexual abuses against vulnerable WFP food beneficiaries do exist and the elected hill leaders are often pointed at as the main perpetrators. One slight difference is that the latter can be sexually bribed by women who may not be in need, in order to be put on the list in place of those that are effectively in need of assistance.
  • Widows and young orphan girls from puberty are the most exposed.
  • Due to the lack of information on the rights of the vulnerable and the non involvement of beneficiaries in targeting,existing committees can get away with these abuses.
  • Continued advocacy and awareness campaigns of elected hill leaders vis-à-vis the right to ‘free of charge’ food assistance remain a glaring need for which a solution will come from joined efforts.
  • The invisible theater remains an irreplaceable tool to approach taboo subjects such as sexual exploitation and has proven effective despite cultural barriers.

7. RECOMMENDATION AND EMPOWERMENT MECHANISMS

a) Administrative agents at grassroots are from now on called to:

  • Proceed to register people in a public place and to act as true representatives of the people, especially of the mostvulnerable
  • Reinforce trainings that explain the targeting criteria and the gratuitous character of food assistance
  • Take measures to penalize perpetrators once they have been discovered
  • Ensure the targeting committees are representative and open to other members of civil society

b) The Gezaho leaders must:

  • Integrate in their sensitization message against sexual violence during exchange sessions on the fight against sexual exploitation and other abuses
  • Denounce and indict those that are guilty of such acts – ensure victims receive legal counseling
  • Ensure victims receive psychosocial support

d) The vulnerable are summoned to:

  • Have the courage to denounce anybody who attempts to seduce them in order to gain access to WFP food and/or other items
  • Not to give in to the fear of dying of hunger in accepting such forced and dangerous relations.

e) NGO agents:

  • Initiate and multiply training, cite the names of the perpetrators in reports - in the case of reported and verified sexual abuses
  • Involve many people in the prevention of abuses such as the press and local civil society associations
  • Push further on researches and adopt strategies aimed at putting an end to abuses for which the vulnerable are victim

f) WFP

  • Clarify the targeting criteria according to the types of assistance which cause confusion amongst beneficiaries
  • Organize awareness sessions on a regular basis for administrative agents on the issue of proper targeting
  • Adopt a systematic and periodic targeting methodology of the most vulnerable, confirmed through household visits

8. WHAT ARE THE ACTIONS TO BE CARRIED OUT IN THE FUTURE?

  • WFP and its partners should implement projects based specifically on addressing sexual abuse / exploitation,which is taking on an alarming trend
  • Discussing this social problem and raising the issue through advocacy supported by the media and civil society so that the population is aware of its rights, is protected from abuses and that justice punishes the perpetrators with very severe sanctions

1

[1] The Gezaho leaders are community relays of the CARE Burundi Gezaho project, which means «stop to sexualviolence», active in this region to fight against sexual violence.

2 Famous theatre group that illustrates life realities through invisible theatre.