Flow explorer

Reported amount

$98,568

Contribution type

financial

Flow type

Standard

Donor

UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women

Recipient agency

ChildLinK Inc.

Destination

Guyana

Plan

Unspecified

Sector

Protection - Gender-Based Violence

Decision date

04 Nov 2024

First reported

01 Apr 2025

Reference

27_43890

Multi-Sector - GBV Programming The Eight and Nine project is designed to strengthen stakeholders’ response to sexual violence perpetrated against indigenous women and girls in Regions’ 8 and 9 through a multidisciplinary and grassroots approach. At the systems/multi-disciplinary level, the project will establish multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) comprised of State first-responders such as police, health services, and social services officers, and civil society stakeholders such as village council leaders and community-based counsellors. ChildLinK will coordinate the establishment of the MDT to strengthen efforts in responding to gender-based violence (GBV) including intimate partner violence, but particularly sexual abuse, against indigenous women and girls in six (6) hinterland communities: Paramakatoi, Chenapow, and Kato in Region 8; and Aishalton, Annai, and Karasabai in Region 9. Grassroots response to sexual abuse will be strengthened by training 30 women from the six target communities to operate the Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) satellite sites where girls and women who are survivors of sexual abuse can receive community-based psychosocial support. Currently these services do not exist in these target communities. ChildLinK established CACs in the city of Regions 8 & 9. The satellite sites will advance these services in six remote communities of these two Regions. Additionally, the trained women will also engage in sensitization sessions to promote increased reporting and positive social norms to prevent sexual abuse. Women survivors of GBV will be supported to make reports against sex offenders and receive counselling from the CAC satellite sites. Women and girls, whose cases progress to court during the project implementation period, will benefit from court support services. ChildLinK will also lobby for increased stakeholder commitment from the regional administration for justice for indigenous women and girls who were sexually abused. ChildLinK will engage public prosecutions department, public security, and the judiciary to direct additional resources to strengthen prosecution of sexual violence in Regions 8 and 9 to strengthen the response to GBV and sexual abuse in two of Guyana’s hardest to reach Regions. Guyana’s indigenous peoples, the Amerindians, reside in remote communities in hinterland regions such as Regions 8 and 9. Generally, Amerindians adhere to many of their ancient traditional, cultural practices, that are not valued or understood by the general Guyanese public. Amerindian values and customs do not align with post-modern norms and values that are shared by the majority of Guyana's population. Consequently, Amerindians are stigmatized and viewed as uneducated and gullible. Amerindian women and girls are viewed as ‘exotic’; this makes them targets for sexual abuse within and without their communities as well as making them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. The vulnerability is compounded by the level of poverty in the target regions and a lack of access to adequate social welfare services. The high rates of poverty due to limited commercial activities in the Regions and the lack of knowledge of children’s and women’s rights, results in high levels of sexual grooming, sexual abuse, statutory rape, and sexual exploitation. The CAC satellite sites will add significant value to the lives of Amerindian women and girls in Regions 8 and 9. Women and girls will access psychosocial support services, which is not currently accessible in the target communities. Women and girls will also be sensitized on their rights in an effort to reduce harmful social norms that contribute to GBV and sexual abuse. MDT members will be trained to strengthen response services from their agencies (police, social welfare, health care, Toshao council, civil society) to women in the target communities. Sensitization sessions will promote gender equality and the importance of education, to empower girls to increase their access to education and subsequent economic opportunities – therefore, Eight and Nine project will contribute to the fight against poverty among Amerindian women. A baseline survey will be conducted to assess the experiences of Amerindian women and girls in these two regions, their exposure and experiences with GBV, sexual violence and other influencing factors that hinders their safety and development. The findings of this study will be used to identify key indicators for change through this project and as well as content for a national public education campaign to lobby local authority decision-makers for increased investment in Amerindian women and girls in Regions 8 and 9 while also dispelling stigma against Amerindian women and girls by promoting their rights to equal access to opportunities and highlighting their potential to contribute to Guyana’s development. The project financing will cost costs for training, equipment, baseline survey, staff and overhead costs, capacity strengthening, auditing and monitoring and evaluation to the value of US$397 385