Turkey

Rapid Gender Analysis Policy Brief: Türkiye & Northwest Syria Earthquake Response

Earthquakes are gender neutral - they affect everyone in their vicinity - but their impacts are not. Gender inequality exacerbates the impact of disasters, and the impacts of disasters exacerbate gender inequality. The earthquake in Türkiye and Northwest Syria (NW Syria) – the largest earthquake to affect the region in 200 years - occurred in areas already affected by mass displacement and population movements for over a decade, as well as long-standing protection issues. One thing is clear, however, where the impacts of the earthquake are gendered, the response must be too. This first Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) Brief explores existing gender, age and disability data and information to understand pre-existing vulnerabilities and capacities and how best humanitarians can respond to meet people’s different needs. Read More...

“In the Eye of the Storm”: Assessment of how Culture, Customs and Conflict are Deepening Protection Risks in Northwest Syria

Across Syria, there are estimated to be 6.9 million IDPs and a total of 14.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance – an increase of 1.2 million from 202113 in NWS, around 4 million people, including around 3 million IDPs14, need regular humanitarian aid to meet their basic needs. This includes 1.72 million people residing in 1,397 last-resort sites, of whom 80 percent are women and children15.
According to OCHA’s Multisectoral Needs Assessment (MSNA) data from August 2021, the income gap has widened everywhere in Syria, with average household expenditure exceeding income by fifty per cent. Only 10 percent of households have an income above the cost of Syria’s Minimum Expenditure Basket. Across the country, food insecurity remains extremely high – with an estimated 12 million severely food-insecure people, Syria ranked amongst the ten most food-insecure countries globally in mid-202116. More recent data, from Humanitarian Situation Overview in Syria (HSOS)17 in May 2022, and from Mercy Corps’ research18 into the wider impacts of the conflict in Ukraine, suggest a significant deterioration in 2022.

Additionally, in September 2022, Government of Syria declared the Cholera outbreak. As of the 29th of October, a total of 4526 suspected cholera cases have been reported from NWS with 1517 (33.5%) suspected cases reported from IDP camps.26
It is essential to note that these emerging pressures have specific – and different – impacts on men and women; CARE’s commitment to Gender Equality as both a goal and an impact area (Vision 2030 Gender Equality Impact Strategy) reflects an understanding of the differing social positions of men and women, and the disproportionate impacts of conflicts, crises and disasters on women and girls27. Aligned with CARE’s commitment to Gender Equality, Gender is the primary axis of disaggregation and as such, this PNA recognizes that the consequences of increasing food insecurity, increasing prices, and the on-going impact of public health crises have implications for women and girls, not least their increased exposure to gender-based violence28. This PNA, therefore, gives dedicated attention to the specific vulnerabilities of women and girls.
The PNA is further disaggregated by age, and diversity, in alignment with CARE’s commitment to accounting for intersecting vulnerabilities, inequalities and diversity, and recognizing the varying protection needs that arise from these. The data is also analysed through the lenses of age and disability particularly, to ensure that the distinct risks and needs of different groups are both identified and addressed. This means, for example, that the specific needs of boys (gender + age) are recognized and articulated, with the acknowledgement that child labour has a particular impact on adolescent boys, ending their education and putting them at risk of injury, recruitment into criminal activity, and isolating them from support. Child marriage is recognized as a specific concern for adolescent girls as both a mechanism of attempted ‘protection’ and as a way of reducing the resource needs of a family. Women and men with disabilities have protection needs related to their gender, in relation to care (the giving and receiving of), to employment and income-generating opportunities, and to their exposure to sexual exploitation and abuse. These risks and needs are explored throughout this report.

CARE Türkiye has been providing humanitarian programs in NWS since 2013.To deliver its programs in NWS CARE currently works in partnership with five Syrian NGOs and implements directly in Jarablus, Aleppo governorate. CARE’s expertise lies in emergency response (implemented via cash, vouchers, and in-kind assistance); water, sanitation, and hygiene services; shelter and settlement; sexual and reproductive health services; protection and gender- based violence response, prevention, and risk mitigation; livelihoods and economic recovery assistance.

In December 2021, CARE Türkiye commissioned SREO Consulting to conduct a comprehensive protection needs assessment (PNA) in NWS. The main goal of this PNA was to assist CARE, as well as other protection and non-protection actors, in developing protection-responsive humanitarian interventions and addressing NWS's complex humanitarian situation. The assessment aimed to include an age, gender, and diversity (AGD) lens to better understand critical protection concerns and needs of the diverse groups in the targeted communities. Particularly, the specific protection needs, concerns, and service access barriers of adolescents and youth, as well as persons with disabilities, have been assessed to inform well-tailored and well-targeted humanitarian responses. In July 2022 CARE engaged with Heather Cole, an independent technical writer to propose a revised analysis and the final shape of this report. Read More...

Final Report for the Final Evaluation of OFDA Response program

This report presents the final evaluation of the United States’ Agency for International Development (Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance ( Response Program implemented by CARE Turkey and its partners in Aleppo and Idleb governorates of Northwest Syria. The evaluation aimed to assess the program’s relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and coordination using the Organization for Economic Co operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) evaluation criteria and was carried out from July to October 2021.

“I am very satisfied with this assistance in terms of gravelling the road, providing the camp with water and upgrading the tents for the entire camp. All of those interventions were desperately needed. People are satisfied because the situation has improved within the camp.”
-Camp Manager
“I can say that this service is very important in all aspects because it is securing clean and safe water for the neighborhood (…). Everyone in the neighborhood is satisfied with the services.”
-FGD participant Read More...

Final evaluation of the FFP III program 2021

Jouri for Research and Consulting was commissioned by CARE International (CARE) to undertake a final evaluation of the Food for Peace project, “Emergency and Regular Food Assistance in Syria” implemented in Aleppo and Idleb in Northwest Syria (NWS), funded by USAID’s Food for Peace (FFP) program. The project is implemented through four local partner organizations as well as CARE’S area office in Jarablus.
The project consisted of cash distribution (both one-off as well as multi-round cash for food (MRCFF) support and livelihoods activities, which included wheat value chain support (wheat purchase from selected farmers, milling into flour, distribution to bakeries for subsidized bread and infrastructure rehabilitation) and cash for work (CFW) activities. The project was implemented through the local partners Shafak, Ihsan, Syria Relief (SR) and Insani Yardımlaşma Derneği (IYD), as well as CARE’s area office (AO) in Jarablus.
The evaluation addressed the key evaluation questions organized under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC )evaluation criteria, including Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Impact and Sustainability. The impacts of coordination among other actors and between partners was also investigated. In total, Jouri conducted 587 surveys, nine focus group discussions (FGDs) and 40 key informant interviews (KIIs). Data was collected face to face and in some cases, remotely due to COVID-19. The evaluation was conducted between July and September 2021. Data was collected in August and September 2021. Read More...

Rapid Gender Analysis MENA – Turkey Program

In an effort to understand the differentiated needs and capacities of the vulnerable Syrian refugee groups affected by the Syrian Crisis residing in Southeast Turkey, CARE updated its Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) conducted in 2019. Turkey hosts the largest share of refugees in the world; 90% of whom are Syrian and have relocated to Turkey since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. A high majority (98%) of the Syrian refugees are residing in urban areas and many face difficulties in meeting their basic needs and adopt negative coping mechanisms such as early marriage, child labor, and illegal employment. Harmful cultural and traditional practices, coupled with the lack of livelihoods and self-reliance opportunities, perpetuate a situation of risk as many families see child marriage as the only way to secure a future for their children.
CARE continues to work to strengthen capacities, to provide targeted protection assistance, including in preventing and responding to GBV, providing protection responses including assessing legal and other specialized services and ensuring families have reduced exposure to safety and security concerns. The assistance provide would be more effective with having gender-based needs and capacities identified and addressed throughout the intervention. To analyze the gendered dimension of the Syrian Crisis in Turkey and update its 2019 RGA data on the changing roles of women, men, girls and boys as well as their needs, capacities and coping strategies, CARE conducted 396 household surveys, 3 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and a review of secondary data. Read More...

CARE Rapid Gender Analysis North West Syria-Idleb

This Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) provides information about the different needs, capacities and coping mechanisms of women, men, boys and girls living in Idleb Governorate. Idleb has long been a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDP) since the early years of the Syrian conflict. The growing population of IDPs overstretched the already limited capacity of the governorate. Since 1 December 2019, almost one million people were forced to flee from their homes to escape from the violence and four out of five people who have been displaced are women, girls or boys.
1 Humanitarian workers in the field raised concerns over the effects of the current situation on women and children, due to displacement, crowded living conditions, the lack of privacy, exploitation, and other factors.
2 Women and girls are disproportionately affected by humanitarian crises due to the exacerbation of already existing gender inequalities and vulnerabilities. An inclusive, effective and successful humanitarian response should understand and address different needs, vulnerabilities, capacities and coping mechanisms of women, men, girls and boys.
For this purpose CARE conducted three Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) in 2014, 2018 and 2019 in North West Syria. The fieldwork of the last RGA was completed in August 2019 and the report was finalized in December 2019. However, as the situation deteriorated after heavy airstrikes and shelling targeted Idleb in mid-December, CARE decided to conduct a new RGA to better understand and respond to the evolving crisis. The objectives of this RGA are to inform program activities and procedures, including how to better target women and girls in ways that are safe, equitable, and empowering within the local context and develop a set of actionable recommendations for the different sectors based on key findings. The RGA used a CARE RGA3 methodology. It included a household survey of 396 participants: 186 women and 210 men. Read More...

MAGNIFYING INEQUALITIES AND COMPOUNDING RISKS The Impact of COVID-19 on the Health and Protection of Women and Girls on the Move

More than one year into the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic—with some countries seemingly on their way out of the crisis while others enter new waves—evidence of its impact is growing. COVID-19 is increasing short-term humanitarian needs and negatively affecting longer-term outcomes for marginalized populations and people in vulnerable situations, significantly setting back hard-won development gains, magnifying inequalities, and compounding risks. Among those worst affected are the more than 80 million people worldwide—approximately half of whom are women and girls—who have been forcibly displaced by drivers such as persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations.1
The majority of forcibly displaced people live in resource-poor countries with weak public health and social protection systems, and economies that have been hard-hit by the pandemic.2 Yet, to date, there has only been limited research around the unique ways in which women and girls on the move are affected.3 This despite predictions of significant impacts on access to, and use of, basic health services—including for sexual and reproductive health (SRH)—and the overall protection environment, including increases in prevalence and risk of gender-based violence (GBV).
Placing gender at the center of its humanitarian and development responses, CARE undertook new research in Afghanistan, Ecuador, and Turkey between April and May 2021 to better understand how COVID-19 is impacting the health and protection of women and girls on the move. The three countries represent different types of forced displacement across multiple regions: internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugee returnees in Afghanistan; more recent migrants and refugees due to the Venezuelan crisis in Ecuador; and longer-term Syrian refugees living under temporary international protection in Turkey. The primary data collected for this research included more than 1,000 surveys with women on the move and from host communities, to allow comparison; 31 focus group discussions (FGDs) with women and adolescent girls; and 45 key informant interviews (KIIs) with government actors, health and protection service providers, humanitarian organizations, and CARE staff. Read More...

Turkey Case Studies On Syrian Refugees

A collection of case studies about shelter, livelihoods, and protection with Syrian refugees as they tell their stories of getting through their crisis. Read More...

Women’s Economic Empowerment in Protracted Crisis: Syrian Refugee Women in Southeastern Turkey

As Syrian refugee crisis entered its ninth year, the protracted nature of the crisis has become more prominent, with the need of better integration of humanitarian response and development goals. Livelihoods activities with their long-term focus play an important role in humanitarian development nexus. This research is conducted to review and discuss best practices and potential risks for women’s economic empowerment (WEE) projects in protracted crisis in general, and in southeastern Turkey context in particular. The following report should be of interest to any humanitarian organization that conducts livelihoods projects for Syrian refugees in SET region, and that shares the commitment to achieve a more gender-equal society.
In general, women face additional social obstacles to reach economic resources, which span from unpaid care work to gender norms regarding women’s being provider. Majority of Syrian women in Turkey are not actively seeking employment because of their childcare responsibilities, not getting permission to work from either their husband or extended family, care of disable and elderly in the household, and housework. Designing a livelihoods program without considering these additional obstacles women face means that the program is not equally approachable for all genders. Hence, women are the ones left behind as they are the less employable. This research clearly shows that the only way to have a sustainable impact on WEE is to ensure not only women’s economic advancement but also women’s empowerment and gender equality. Read More...

Zoghra Camp Multi-Sectorial Need Assessment & FGD Report

The purpose of this report is to pinpoint the main pressing needs of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from their communities. CARE, through its partner (Ihsan), conducted this needs assessment to capture the situation of the IDPs in two camps in Jarablus, Aleppo governorate from 21st until 23rd of August 2020, in addition to a performed 4 focused group discussions on the 24th of August through CARE team’s site visit as mentioned in the following table and highlight on their needs in terms of shelter, NFI, hygiene, and food to develop the response plan according to the available capacity which can meet the needs of IDPs with high efficiency. Read More...

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