The Ara Trust

Reported amount

$176,287

Contribution type

financial

Flow type

Standard

Donor

UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women

Recipient agency

The Ara Trust

Destination

India

Plan

Unspecified

Sector

Protection - Gender-Based Violence

Decision date

01 Nov 2024

First reported

01 Apr 2025

Reference

27_21808

Multi-Sector - GBV Programming Context: In the aftermath of Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, the country has experienced one of the most intense civil wars within its borders, deepening the refugee crisis in South Asia, with India becoming a primary destination. The UNHCR estimates that more than 60,000 refugees (unofficial figures go up to 100,000) from Myanmar have entered India since 2021 with a majority of them being hosted in the north-eastern states of the country and New Delhi. Given that India is non-signatory to the Refugee Convention and lacks a domestic asylum law, refugees in the country find themselves in a volatile protection environment with severely limited rights against detention, deportation and other violations. The recent security situation in the northeast has further compounded the poor protection ecosystem for refugees. Under these circumstances, women and girls remain at their most vulnerable, caught in a cycle of sexual violence and exploitation, in their home countries and throughout their displacement journeys. The UN has repeatedly highlighted the differential and devastating impact of this crisis on women and girls, who are at heightened risk of rights violations. Target Population: As mentioned, the dramatic upheaval in Myanmar’s socio-economic and political structures has been catastrophic for its women and girls. Without legal pathways to safety, refugees fleeing Myanmar, a majority of whom are women and children, have increasingly been forced to embark on dangerous routes to enter neighbouring countries in search of asylum, often willing to risk facing trafficking, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), detention and deportation, and even death. Project Goal: The proposed project focuses on striking at the root cause of the vulnerability of refugee women and girls from Myanmar—their lack of legal protection—which leaves them susceptible to severe forms of SGBV without any recourse to justice or redressal systems. The idea is to spark a social movement towards justice, accountability, and peacebuilding led by refugee women themselves to mitigate their vulnerability to SGBV and to ensure the nonrecurrence of Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) while promoting truth-telling and reconciliation. The project has been designed in consultation with UNHCR India and its partners who are currently working to meet the emergency post-conflict protection needs of the community. While these partners are focusing on emergency relief measures, they have highlighted the urgent need to have a dedicated program to address the long-term needs of survivors or those at-risk of SGBV which includes the need for immediate access to - SGBV-specific counselling and medical assistance, SRHR services, justice systems (including UN systems) to seek redressal for rights violations. Project Strategy: To this end, the project’s objective will be to build an inclusive and responsive legal system for refugees. The project would adopt an integrated and multipronged approach aimed at: a) building capacities of community-based structures Refugee-led Organizations (RLOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) who will be familiarised on issues pertaining to refugee women/girls, applicable domestic laws and structures pertaining to SGBV, confidentiality protocols, traumainformed care, and documentation. b) establishing a referral pathway between the community and available institutional structures to facilitate better coordination of ongoing relief efforts and respond to the heightened needs of refugee women/girls; and c) developing pathways for justice and accountability such that Burmese women have access to both domestic and international justice systems for protection, relief and redressal for the violence faced by them in both in the home and host country. Geographical Coverage: The project will be implemented in States that are currently hosting refugee communities in India. These primarily include, Mizoram, New Delhi, with smaller number of refugee groups being hosted by States including Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh. Please note that the geographical focus may change if the refugee community shifts base due to socio-political and economic factors. Further, please note that depending on the security situation in the North Eastern region of India, the programme will be implemented strictly in compliance with government directives and advisory which may sometimes restrict access of civil society in certain States. Budget: Regarding the resourcing plan, as mentioned in the detailed project budget, Ara expects the estimated cost of the proposed project to be roughly $809,000.