Widespread displacement in Syria continues to place girls and women at risk of violence and exploitation29 July 2024 – Syria’s 2023 earthquake put to the test the trainings on gender-based violence and mental health support that WHO has funded and organized in the country since 2018. The earthquake also prompted WHO to initiate its work on prevention and response to sexual misconduct (PRS). Under WHO’s definition, sexual misconduct includes sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria on 6 February 2023 brought death, destruction and displacement in its wake. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes and were forced to move to temporary shelters.
“When I arrived at the shelter where I was working, I was dismayed at the conditions people were facing. The shelter was overcrowded and had no separators. There was just one toilet for 1000 people,” recalls Dr Hala Zghaibeh, National Professional Officer and PRS focal point in the WHO Country Office in Syria. “These difficult conditions placed girls and women at risk of violence and exploitation.”
WHO Syria drew on its partnership with the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs and Population (SCFAP) to address the risk of sexual misconduct among people affected by the earthquake. WHO also initiated a new partnership to operationalize PRS activities following the disaster.
SCFAP is the only national government agency to handle social protection and it also runs the national victim and survivor support unit. Following the earthquake, SCFAP sent 150 frontline support workers – trained with funds from WHO – to places where there was a high risk of gender-based violence, to offer support and referral services to people in need.
Foundational work on prevention and response to sexual misconduct
In 2018, WHO launched trainings in Syria on tackling gender-based violence, first in Aleppo and later in 9 more governorates. Organized with the Ministry of Health, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and United Nations health sector partners, these trainings first had to overcome the obstacle of how to broach such a sensitive subject.
Dr Wail Ismail, Public Health Officer and PRS focal point in WHO Syria, reflects on this earlier initiative: “Gender-based violence and sexual misconduct were sensitive topics and continue to be so in many parts of the world. As a workaround in our trainings, we used language that was familiar to public health and reproductive health care providers, when supporting survivors of violence, and began by enhancing their psychosocial support skills.”
Syria has come a long way since then, navigating taboos and scepticism to reach a place where senior Ministry of Health officials now serve as focal points for PRS. In the 5 years since the initial trainings, WHO Syria has made steady progress in preventing sexual misconduct, as well as gender-based violence, by reshaping institutional responses to these issues.
The power of partnerships
At the Aleppo health centre, women and children learn about accessing support services for gender-based violencePartnerships have been instrumental in driving Syria’s progress in PRS. An example is WHO’s collaboration with the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM), an NGO that supports organizations to build capacity in developing policies against sexual misconduct. It also offers trainings on such policies and can help devise a related code of conduct, making workplaces safer spaces.
Through a WHO-financed project, IHRM delivered training-of-trainers sessions on PRS to 38 people from 6 Syrian governorates over 8 months in the period 2023–2024. The training has been cascaded to 565 people, chiefly from NGOs but also from the public and private sectors, helping to foster a culture of accountability and support within workplaces.
Ministry of Health adopts PRS actions
Yet another notable success has been the Syrian Ministry of Health’s uptake of PRS actions since 2023. More than 1700 public health personnel from across the country have been trained on the topic.
Dialogues and sessions with programme directors at the Ministry of Health have helped strengthen support for PRS work. The Ministry is gradually incorporating PRS as part of its strategic planning and priority setting, with ministerial focal points for PRS appointed at a high level, including the Deputy Minister for Health Affairs. A workshop held in May 2024, on development of policy and institutional capacity-building, was attended by 35 people, including the deputy ministers of health and justice.
Dr Razan Tarabishi, Director of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Health, has been a steadfast champion of the adoption of PRS policies and actions within the Ministry. “WHO presented us with a significant opportunity to familiarize ourselves with PRS policies,” she explains. “We can now better understand the discussions on the topic at the World Health Assembly and are able to brief and support our Minister better. This is valuable knowledge for continued efforts in our country.”
Syria’s progress is reflected not only in the numbers of people trained and policies drafted in workplaces, but also in the palpable shift in attitudes. What was once taboo is now openly addressed, paving the way for survivors of sexual misconduct to seek support without fear or stigma. Through sustained advocacy and engagement, institutional barriers are coming down and PRS in Syria is now a shared responsibility.
What next?
WHO Syria will continue to strengthen its partnerships and engagement with the Ministry of Health and other government counterparts, in particular to develop stronger PRS policies and explore potential legal amendments.
WHO Syria is also working to deepen and scale up the capacities of NGOs and the public and private sectors in PRS and in strengthening assistance for survivors.
