Blue Veins, WHO organize awareness sessions to deal with GBV.

PESHAWAR -- Blue Veins, in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) Pakistan, organized the community awareness sessions about gender based violence (GBV) in those areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which were either hit by floods or hosting afghan refugees.

The districts include Peshawar, Charsadda, Swat, Nowshera, Lower Dir, Tank, Hangu, Khyber, Kohat, D.I Khan and Haripur, said a press release issued here Friday.

World Health Organization (WHO) Pakistan is providing technical assistance to the Government of Pakistan for strengthening the mechanism of 'Prevention and Healthcare System Response' to Gender-based violence(GBV) including sexual exploitation and abuse as multi-sectoral responsibility.

The awareness sessions were held with flood-affected local community, representatives from district-level administration, departments, service providers from flood-affected areas and in areas hosting Afghan refugee, to highlight the importance of community-based referral pathways and viable response mechanisms at district, union council, and village level to sexual and gender-based violence as a critical strategy.

The sessions aimed to enhance awareness, knowledge, and liaison among local communities, service providers and district administration to strengthen their role to prevent cases of gender based violence.

According to the press statement issued, in the recent humanitarian crisis, the devastated floods has increased the number and vulnerability in different forms of gender based violence.

The available data from different sources...