【Close】JICA RI Open Seminar（TICAD7 Pre-event）Gender-Based Violence(GBV) in the Conflict-affected Areas: Lessons from the Case of Refugee Settlement in Uganda and Japan

Gender-based violence (GBV) is more likely to occur within violent conflict-affected areas due to the heightened vulnerability of the population and the culture of impunity. GBV not only harms the mind and body of affected individuals but also creates elevated psychological and social barriers to seeking help. The JICA Research Institute (JICA-RI) has conducted a research project looking at issues surrounding violent conflict and GBV and the challenges of supporting survivors. Thus, from the case study of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, Research Team examined people’s recognition on GBV and referral behavior of help-seeking among GBV victims. Also, the research project aimed to clarify what kinds of services are offered by the community or the people around the victims through field surveys.

As a result, it was revealed that multi factors such as poverty, missing school, early or forced marriage as well as the change of registered status as the head of household during their life as refugees provoked the violence between partners. In addition, research team found out “fear of stigma” and “low service expectation” have become the major barriers for victims/survivors to seek help.

In this seminar, we aim to comprehend the situation surrounding victims/survivors to provide appropriate assistance as well as consider how international community should reinforce the management to eliminate and prevent the GBV under the conflict. This would be useful as well to understand the current situation about GBV issue in Japan.

Moderator: Ako Muto, Senior Research Fellow. JICA RI

Opening Remarks　（15:00-15:05）
Yasuo Fujita, Deputy Director, JICA RI

Abstract of JICA RI project　（15:05-15:20）
Chigumi Kawaguchi, Research Fellow, JICA RI

Presentation on GBV support on the ground　（15:20-16:20）*tentative titles
“Prevention and Response to GBV during the South Sudan Refugee Crisis”
Junichiro Kosaka, UNHCR Tokyo Office
“UN WOMEN and GBV Assistance to South Sudan Refugees in Uganda”
Yusrah Nagujja, UNWOMEN Uganda Office,
“Refugee Law Project and GBV response in Uganda”
Dr. Chris Dolan, Refugee Law Project
“Current Status of GBV Assistance and Cases during Disaster Emergencies”
Muneko Ishimoto, Certified Social Worker

Panel Discussion　（16:20-16:45）
Miho Fukui, Association for Aid and Relief
Dr. Ronald R Sebba, Makerere University

Q&A　（16:45-17:00）

Ako Muto, Senior Research Fellow, JICA-RI
Ako Muto currently serves as Senior Research Fellow at the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Research Institute, involved in researches for peacebuilding, human security and humanitarian crisis. Based on her consistent experiences as aid practitioner, she has been engaged in the work bridging aid practices and academic. Among other posts, Muto served as Director of Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction Division in its head office and Senior Representative in its Jordan Office before being posted to JICA-RI. She obtained a Master Degree in History from the Graduate School of Culture, Keio University, Japan.

Chigumi Kawaguchi (Dr.) , Research Fellow, JICA-RI
Chigumi Kawaguchi received her Ph.D. in International Public Policy from Osaka University. Her fields of research are comparative politics, security studies, international organization studies, international peace cooperation, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention. Before joining JICA-RI, she worked as a researcher in the International Peace Cooperation Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the International Peace Cooperation Office in the Cabinet Office of Japan, and in the Graduate School of Security Studies at the National Defense Academy.

Junichiro Kosaka, Assistant External Relations Officer, UNHCR Japan
Specialised in donor relations, resource mobilisation, advocacy, and partnership building with NGO and civil society at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representation in Japan. Seconded to the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team and Japan Platform in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. Deployed to Norther Uganda as a Reporting and Field Officer of the Emergency Response Team in 2016 to provide humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese refugees. Secretary General of Japan Forum for UNHCR and NGOs (J-FUN).

Yusrah Nagujja, Programme Management Specialist, UNWOMEN Uganda
As Programme Management Specialist in UNWOMEN Uganda, she is working for GBV assistance to South Sudan refugees in Uganda. Before her current position, she worked for Refugee Law Project since 2010, and coordinated the Person with Disabilities and Elderly program activities, offering psychosocial support to the disabled and elderly refugees, conducting home visits, program research and documentation and making referrals for clients to various organizations as Social Worker.

Dr. Chris Dolan, Director, Refugee Law Project
Dr. Chris Dolan is Director of Refugee Law Project (RLP), a community outreach project of the School of Law, Makerere University, Kampala. He is responsible for various RLP’s works on Gender-Based Violence and Persecution. His recent book, “Social Torture; The Case of Northern Uganda, 1986-2006” (Berghahn Books, 2009), is an essential reference for understanding the situation in Uganda, as well as gender dynamics and masculinities in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Syuko Ishimoto, Certified Social Worker
Syuko Ishimoto is Certified Social Worker, as well as involved in various women support organizations. She is working on awareness raising and support for violence against women such as Domestic Violence (DV) ad sexual harassment in Japan. She worked in Fukuoka prefecture and was a counselor at Center for Gender Equality, Kurume city. Her major publications are: “Message to Male-Dominated Society”, “Understanding and Assisting DV Victims” and “To Newly Assigned Person in Charge” which is a part of Support Manual on Counseling Crime Victims (all in Japanese).

Miho Fukui, Research Unit, Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR)
Miho Fukui is working in Overseas Program Division at Peace Winds Japan (PWJ), Research Unit at Association for Aid and Relief Japan (AAR) and teaching at Aoyama Gakuin University and Toyo Eiwa University. She completed doctoral programme in Graduate School of Arts and Science, University of Tokyo. She worked for emergency humanitarian assistance in former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and South Sudan. Before current positions, she worked as a programme advisor in the International Peace Cooperation Office in the Cabinet Office of Japan and taught at Ochanomizu University.

Dr. Ronald Sebba, Lecturer, Makerere University
Kalyango Ronald Sebba is a lecturer in the School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala Uganda. He had served as Senior Education and Training Officer for the Refugee Law Project in Kampala between 2000-2002 where he established a training program on Human Rights and Refugee Law. He has worked as a national consultant for various organisation such as Uganda Bureau of Statistics, FAO, UNFPA, WHO, American Refugee Committee, Regional Centre for Quality of Health Care and Fredrich Ebert Foundation among others.

JICA Research Institute (Mr. Takeuchi)
E-mail：ditas-rsunit@jica.go.jp

This event has ended.