Tukuley was a victim of physical abuse who found support and now raises awareness on gender-based violence in her settlement in Somalia

“I Thank God my injuries were not severe and I was able to recover. I am a confident woman now and I know how to survive what I lived through” Tukuley Ahmed Xussein, a 40 year old mother of ten, living at the Hiiran 2 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) settlement says. She is now a member of an all-female support group dealing with gender violence. The group has been provided with psychosocial support trainings and provides counseling, insuring confidentiality; as well as door-to-door awareness campaigns in the IDP settlement.

“I was taken to the SSWC center in South Galckayo after being physically assaulted by my husband. I received psychosocial support through counseling and was provided with healthcare services at the General Hospital in South Galckayo. The staff of Save Somalia Women and Children (SSWC) also followed up on my recovery.” Tukuley recalls.

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a priority issue, particularly for women and girls in IDP camps in Somalia. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa funds the Durable Solutions for IDPs and Returnees in South Galckayo project which is part of the €50 million RE-INTEG Programme. The project works to increase access to gender-based violence services in IDP settlements and to empower IDPs in the fight against gender-based violence by building their capacity through trainings. Tukuley is one such beneficiary who was supported by the project and later became empowered to serve her community. "I am thankful for the trainings they provided on gender-based violence and psychosocial services" she adds.

Background

Gender-based violence victims still lack legal aid but, most importantly, in many countries, domestic disputes are still settled by tradition: in this case, the man goes before the elders and promises not to harm the woman again. This was also Tukuley's case. SSWC followed-up with Tukuley and found that she had not been subjected to any further abuse, albeit still living with her husband.

Hiiran 2 IDP camp is named after the Hiiran Region (Somalia) because the majority of its inhabitants were originally living in the region before moving to South Galckayo region as IDP's.