Technical Guide for addressing the risk of violence

The project is implemented by the Italian Civil Protection Department in Italy. It began in March 2022 and is currently ongoing. 

Italy has implemented a widespread reception system to support people from Ukraine fleeing the war. In this context the Italian Department of Civil Protection, with UNICEF and UNHCR, developed a practical Guide “Mitigation of Risk of Gender-based Violence and Child Protection Mechanisms in the Widespread Reception System” aimed at sharing a common language and international good practices. The Guide contains useful operational tools for addressing the risk of violence against the individuals displaced from Ukraine.

Cooperation among the civil protection system and the agencies and institutions engaged in the reception of migrants in Italy and third-sector or private social entities facilitated the implementation of this project.

Main activities of the Good Practice

The Ukrainian emergency has led to the development of different types of services to support people from Ukraine fleeing the war. Italy has implemented a widespread reception system throughout the country, which includes the provision of housing and integration solutions managed by third-sector or private social entities.

In this context, the Italian Department of Civil Protection, in cooperation with UNICEF and UNHCR, carried out a pathway on the topic of risk mitigation for gender-based violence and child protection mechanisms.

This pathway included the development of a practical Guide entitled "Mitigation of Risk of Gender-based Violence and Child Protection Mechanisms in the Widespread Reception System" aimed at sharing a common language and international good practices on the topic of gender-based violence and child protection.

The Guide was developed with the contribution of many agencies and institutions engaged in the reception of migrants in Italy.

The Guide represents a useful support for third-sector or private social entities involved in widespread reception and contains useful operational tools for consciously addressing the risk of violence against the many minors, women and otherwise fragile individuals displaced from Ukraine.

The Guide also represents a valid reference for the future that can be used in different emergency contexts.

Partners involved

• UNICEF
• UNHCR
• Third-Sector or private social entities

What challenges were encountered in delivering the project and how were they overcome?

Challenges

One challenge was the full engagement of all agencies and institutions involved in the reception of migrants in the country.

Another challenge involved the need to strengthen risks awareness on issues of gender-based violence.

How they were overcome

The challenges were overcome by providing many webinars and events on the topic of gender-based violence with the involvement of a very wide audience of entities and institutions.

A network of contact persons was also built with whom to work on these issues on an ongoing basis

Results of the Good Practice

Initial results from a survey that is still ongoing show that a good percentage of beneficiaries of widespread reception express a positive assessment in terms of perceived safety in reception facilities. This finding is not strictly related to the Practical Guide, but it can be assumed that the path that led to the development of the Guide may have influenced this assessment.

Next steps

The project is still ongoing and at the current stage involves the organization of widespread training courses on the Guide's tools.

In addition, it is intended to continue the path by including voluntary associations from the civil protection system that are not involved in widespread reception but are nevertheless sensitive to gender-based violence issues