15. Protection and food assistance
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Table 15.1 Typical protection threats Operational setting
Common protection threats
Modes of action: responses
Conflict/post-conflict and complex emergencies: e.g., Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Darfur
Forced and multiple displacement, sustained gender-based violence, repeated attacks on civilians
Responsive/remedial: safe distributions, referrals, proactive presence, linking livelihoods and protection
Natural disasters in high-crime, high-violence contexts: e.g., Haiti, Uganda/Karamoja
Violence at distributions, gang extortion
Responsive/remedial/ environment building: safe distributions, advocacy with authorities and police, capacity building of local actors/institutions
Protracted political crisis and State repression, e.g., Myanmar
Discriminatory policies and denial of rights, limitations on freedom of movement
Remedial/environment building: linking livelihoods to protection, advocacy with local authorities, capacity building with local NGOs and CBOs
the civilian population, resulting in life-long damage to the psychological, physical, social and economic well-being of survivors. It is estimated that 40 women and children are raped every day in eastern Congo (OHCHR, 2010).7 Since 2000, WFP has been providing food to hospitalized survivors of sexual violence, to help their recovery. It has also designed programmes to extend posthospitalization support, through food-for-training and food-for-work activities, to facilitate people’s economic and social reintegration into their communities. As a responsive action, this type of support is limited to dealing with the consequences rather than the causes of the abuse. In Côte d’Ivoire, between 2005 to 2008, WFP’s food assistance was an integral component of the demobilization and reintegration of child soldiers. Other support provided by UNICEF included medical and psychosocial assistance, and vocational and literacy programmes. Altogether, these programmes enabled war-traumatized children to return successfully to their communities.