Photo Credit: Refugees International
03/17/2005

These service workers in Iridimi camp in Chad are trying to help rape survivors, but have been given minimal training. Despite these workers' efforts, survivors of rape living in refugee camps in eastern Chad currently have almost no access to assistance. The response to gender-based violence (GBV) is underdeveloped and inadequate. Given the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war in Darfur, it can be assumed that large numbers of refugee women now in Chad are survivors of rape. Refugee women in Chad are also at risk of rape and other forms of GBV. There are few NGOs working in eastern Chad with experience implementing GBV programs, and many NGO staff lack capacity and knowledge of the issue. An integrated response, which assists and supports all women who have experienced rape or other forms of violence, as well as sensitizes the larger refugee community about prevention, has yet to be implemented in the refugee camps in Chad.