This Unifem publication outlines the efforts of Sudanese women and international and local partners to define a development agenda for the Sudan following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. Compiled by a number of organisations including United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the publication highlights the involvement of women as being imperative to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It calls for full participation of women within the peace process, community based regeneration and the reform of Sudan's constitution and legal process.

This year's Nobel Peace Prize goes to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Director General, Mohamed El Baradei. The initiators of the project 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005 congratulate the recipient of the prize. "Of course we are disappointed, as we had hoped very much that the 1000 women would be recognized for their untiring and courageous work in the cause of peace," said the initiator and Swiss politician Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, "but we are also proud that within less than three years we have brought attention to the outstanding work done by these women in the cause of promoting peace." In January 2005, 1000 women (representative of many thousands of such women) from more than 150 countries were nominated all together for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Global efforts to "make poverty history" will fail unless world leaders act now to end gender discrimination, according to The State of World Population 2005 report, released October 12 by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. The report, The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals, calls upon world leaders to fulfil promises made to the world's women and young people in order to meet poverty reduction goals agreed to at the 2000 Millennium Summit and reaffirmed by last month's World Summit in New York. Investing in women and young people-who constitute the majority of the world's population-will accelerate long-term development. Failure to do so may entrench poverty for generations to come.

Over 30 African Ministers of Gender and Women's Affairs gathered Wednesday, October 12 in Dakar, Senegal, for a meeting of one of Africa's key groupings on women's affairs. Its core objective is advocacy for gender-sensitive policies and institutional changes at all levels. ECA and the AU have adopted a joint strategy to follow up on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of this document and the Solemn Declaration on Gender and Development in Africa. The Dakar meeting will concentrate on defining a common national approach to this strategy, renewing membership of the CWD, and reviewing the work programme of ECA's gender division, the African Centre for Gender and Development, for 2007.

As a part of the coalition supporting the ratification of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, Pambazuka News will profile various aspects of the protocol over the next six weeks. This week we will take a look at trafficking in women as it relates to the African continent. This is what the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa states:

“Article 4 – The Right to Life, Integrity and Security of the Person

2. State parties shall take appropriate and effective measures to:
g) prevent and condemn trafficking in women, prosecute the perpetrators of such trafficking and protect those women most at risk;”

Togo has seen larger numbers of traffickers selling children across the borders to Cote d`Ivoire and Nigeria, as it lies in the middle of a trucking highway, making it easy to transport people. The fact that border officials are paid little makes them more susceptible to accepting bribes, and for a small fee one can easily get a child across the border with no documentation. Many parents, desperate to earn some money or even to provide their child with a promised better-off situation, will allow their child to be taken away, and they then end up working as domestic servants or agricultural laborers.

As defined in the United Nations’ Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, trafficking is defined as “ . . . the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons . . . by improper means, such as force, abduction, fraud or coercion, for an improper purpose, like forced or coerced labor, servitude, slavery or sexual exploitation” (UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, 2000).

The trafficking of women in Africa takes a number of different forms. Women are sold and kidnapped for the purposes of sexual slavery and prostitution, domestic or commercial labor and forced soldiering. Women from around Africa are being sold not only to other African countries, but are also being sent as far away as Europe, the Middle East and North America. Once enslaved in these situations, some girls and women are forced to pay off a debt – the cost of their acquisition, their accommodation, meals, medicine, etc. Generally, conditions are unsanitary, the girls and women face violence, have no access to health care or adequate nutrition and have no options to leave. The number of women and children who have been trafficked are hard to define for a number of reasons - this is an underground industry, and also a very transient one.

Many African countries are currently not meeting the standards that are upheld by the US Department of State’s Anti-Trafficking requirements, the most in-depth report on the effort of governments worldwide to prevent and prosecute traffickers and protect survivors. Some countries do not even have laws that criminalize trafficking, while many that do are not acting strongly enough to uphold them. Lack of enforcement, failure to actually punish traffickers, corruption and, in the case of forced soldiering, compliance with paramilitary governments, are all affecting the rights of women and children in relation to their safety against being trafficked. For those women and children who have survived and escaped traffickers, government protection is often weak. Some governments offer skeleton services – shelter, rehabilitation services, demobilization - but others rely solely on non-governmental organizations to provide the assistance that is their responsibility. In addition, prevention activities, such as awareness-raising sessions and anti-trafficking training are lacking, meaning that the number of women and children who are at risk of being trafficked can only grow.

That the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa has taken the step to include anti-trafficking measures is truly commendable. Governments will have to work diligently to ensure that this most basic human right is upheld.

* Written by Karoline Kemp, Commonwealth of Learning Young Professionals Intern, Fahamu

The ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa is simply the first step in the right direction for African countries. Its domestication comes next, and will be a long and laborious task for governments and the many organizations that will assist them in this undertaking. Many strategies have been suggested as potential approaches to the domestication of the Protocol. Anne Atieno Amada advocates for negotiation to be implemented in the process.

As Deputy Executive Director of Kenya’s Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDO), Atieno Amada argues that litigation, perhaps a natural choice for the domestication of the Protocol, is not the best solution. Litigation involves going to court and having the judge or magistrate preside over the particular case in order to make a decision on the dispute. Atieno Amada’s experiences with FIDO have shown that litigation has several limitations. These include the principle of “Stare Decisis,” that commands similar cases must be decided in the same way. Litigation is time consuming and expensive; involves difficulties in implementation, enforcement and compliance; and the public nature of proceedings often diverts attention from the issue. Finally, the dominance of men in the judicial system is a problem, and may be detrimental to domesticating the Protocol should a particular judge not align himself with the views of women’s rights.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) encompasses a variety of process by which conflict can be resolved without litigation. It presents a number of options that cater to the particular situation or conflict. The implementation of the Protocol can be seen as conflict in that it puts women, as claim holders, on one hand and the government, as bearers of duty, on the other. Conflict can be described as a disagreement or competition of interests, and the women’s movement may indeed be perceived as a threat to African governments in these ways. Conflict may be seen in terms of data disputes, which revolve around information; value disputes, which arise as a result of a clash of ideas; relationship disputes, which include marital and commercial disagreements; behavioral disputes caused by clashes in habits, customs and culture, and; structural disputes that take place in institutions and bureaucracies. In implementing the Protocol, and indeed the realization of any women’s rights, all elements of conflict are present. In responding to, and dealing with conflict there are a number of options available. Avoidance, toleration, mediation, litigation, self-help and negotiation are all methods of dealing with conflict that may be potentially employed.

Negotiation involves a formal discussion between people and groups attempting to reach an agreement. The main goal of such an exercise is to meet certain interests or needs in a manner that is collaborative and peaceful, without being apologetic or giving in. In order to be successful, negotiation must separate people from the problem, focus on interests and not positions, involve a variety of possible solutions, and have a result based on some objective standard or practice.

In her conclusion, Atieno Amada states that the Protocol, which, as she adds, is a right of women to equality, non-discrimination, elimination of harmful practices, access to justice and equal protection under the law, cannot be negotiated away by governments. Negotiation, and the process of negotiation, may indeed be a strategy, not only to implement the protocol, but to remind governments of their duty to protect the rights of all citizens.

* * This is a summarised version of a paper presented at a conference on the Ratification and Domestication of The African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on Rights of Women in Africa. The conference, held between 27-30 September in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was co-convened by the African Union Commission and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR). The full length versions of all papers presented at the conference will be released in book form in January 2006.

* Summarized by Karoline Kemp, Commonwealth of Learning Young Professionals Intern, Fahamu.

* Please send comments to

Over 40 representatives from the African Union Commission, African governments and the African women’s movement gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from September 27-29, 2005 to discuss strategies for the entry into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women, its domestication and implementation. The representatives affirmed that the Protocol is indeed the basis for meaningful people driven pan-Africanism and national level constitutional and legal reform in favour of realising African women’s rights.

* Closing Statement from the Conference on Ratification and Domestication of
The African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on Rights of Women in Africa Co-convened by the African Union Commission and the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Coalition (SOAWR)

Final version 30th September 2005

The speed with which member states have ratified the Protocol is without precedent in the history of similar instruments. To date, 13 African states have ratified the Protocol. Only two more ratifications are required for the Protocol to enter into force. We are confident that the required number will ratify the Protocol by the end of the year. We shall maintain our focused pressure to ensure that the Protocol is ratified by all 53-member states of the African Union at the earliest opportunity. Below is a summary of the strategies and recommendations in five thematic areas

A. Ratification

Even though the entry into force of the Protocol is imminent, the campaign must continue in order to ensure universal ratification. Following are the strategies identified:-
? Mobilization for country wide advocacy
? Translation of the Protocol into local languages
? Reform national legislation consistent with the Protocol
? Sensitization of all the arms of government
? Forging alliances between the various stakeholders
? Inclusion of the Protocol in the law reform processes
? Use of community based awareness creation initiatives
? Engagement of the AU and its specialised organs to support the campaign

B. The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, July 2004

We note that supplementary accountability mechanisms are found within the Solemn Declaration on Gender in Africa. The Solemn Declaration relates to the Protocol in a manner comparable to the relationship of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) to the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

We laud the AU Commission for developing a draft monitoring and evaluation framework as well as a draft reporting framework (with targets and indicators), spelling out the role of the African women’s movement, to be approved by a meeting of Ministers of Gender and Women’s Affairs to take place in Dakar, Senegal from October 12-16, 2005. The proposal is that African states will prepare two kinds of reports: a full narrative report every three years; and a comparative report annually in the form of a matrix responding to the targets and indicators selected. The African women’s movement will know the reporting dates for their respective states and also be able to access and respond to their state’s reports from the AU website as well as to forward general and specific recommendations. The African Women’s movement will also be able to participate through the annual African women’s fora around the AU summits, which are being institutionalised.

We propose the following strategies to enhance accountability under the Solemn Declaration:
? Liaising across the relevant AU commission and relevant organs of the AU
? Engaging with the meeting of Ministers of Gender/Women’s Affairs re: the Solemn Declaration to take place in Dakar, Senegal from October 12-16, 2005
? Reviewing and using the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms developed by the AU’s Directorate on Women, Gender and Development
? Developing the capacity within national gender machineries to monitor implementation (including resourcing for implementation)
? Inform the terms of reference for mandate and appointments to the AU Women’s committee
? Establishing working links between the AUWC and the gender sectoral cluster of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC)
? Convening the annual African women’s Consultation at an appropriate point prior to each Summit

C. Domestication of the Protocol

We reiterate the fact that much remains to be done to ensure universal ratification of the Protocol, as well as its domestication in African states that have already ratified it and, ultimately, its relevance and use to assure African women’s rights at the national level. We have examined the different legal systems that exist in Africa and note that African states must take the initiative for domesticating the Protocol although nothing impedes the African women’s movement from doing so either.

Regardless of whether or not domestication has occurred, African states which have ratified the Protocol will be obliged to submit regular reports to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights every two years on implementation, which then can prepare observations, including recommendations, which African states will report on in another two years.

We have therefore identified the following strategies to advance domestication and accountability:
? Working with national parliaments as well as those of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on domestication and harmonisation, especially under African common law systems
? Strategic utilisation of international events to reach the decision making organs of states and governments
? Forming regional networks for exchange of ideas and best practices in the campaign
? Encouraging member states to include the Protocol in their law reform processes and particularly in Constitutional review processes
? Encourage the Addis based Ambassadors to advise national capitals on the necessity for urgent ratification and initiate discussion on the steps required for domestication of the protocol.

D. Popularisation of the Protocol

It is critical to ensure that African women everywhere are aware of the Protocol and its provisions so as to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by it. We suggest a number of strategies for the African Union and African states to assist in this process of conscientisation including:
? Convene high-level events around the Protocol to be covered by the African and international media
? Encourage high-level government officials to speak in favour of the Protocol

For the African women’s movement, we need to:
? Convene regional and national meetings of the African women’s movement around the Protocol
? Create alliances between women parliamentarians and parliamentary groupings—regionally, sub-regionally and nationally.
? Develop clear targets and indicators for the Protocol and conducting/disseminating research showing the gap between these targets and indicators and the reality on the ground
? Conduct and disseminate research around coverage of the Protocol and its provisions in the African media and engaging with the African media on the basis of that research
? Engage with African women’s media organisations, particularly sub-regional ones, including through sharing information on the Protocol and training on how to cover it and its provisions
? Campaign in the African media through both the strategic placement of self-generated content as well as pro-active use of other opportunities (for example, invitations to speak during interviews) and lobbying for those opportunities with the African media
? Ensure coverage by the African media of key meetings (for example, AU summits) through cyber dialogues, press releases, press conferences during these meetings and involvement of appropriate staff from the African media in all meetings (relevant media persons, analysts, commentators, feature writers)
? Ensure engagement with diverse media, particularly community media (for example, community radio) so as to reach the broadest base possible of African women
? Feed into other campaigns (for example, the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence, 25th November to December 10th) and engagement with key campaign organisations around the issues covered by the Protocol

E. Mobilizing Resources for the Protocol’s Implementation

It will be particularly important to ensure that adequate resources are available for the Protocol’s implementation at the national level. We thus propose the following strategies around resource mobilization for the Protocol’s implementation:
? Identify non-monetary actions that can be taken by Governments to implement the Protocol including the removal of all discriminatory laws
? All states to support the establishment of a Special Rapporteur on Laws that discriminate against women by the UN Commission of Status of Women (UN Resolution 49/3) by March 2006
? Identify easy ‘quick wins’ for initial budgetary allocations for African states
? Identify core costing obligations arising from the Protocol’s provisions through partnerships with Gender Budget Initiatives at the national level
? Develop facts and arguments for the budgetary demands
? Building alliances among relevant civil society constituencies as well as with appropriate entry points in national executives and parliaments
? Promote public debate on budgetary demands (for example, taxation and expenditure reviews)

F. Litigation and Negotiation around the Protocol

The Protocol is a legal instrument for the protection of African women’s rights. But it is a legal skeleton, requiring court action to give it blood and flesh. For it to become relevant and useful at the national level, participants discussed legal strategies to fast-track its implementation including strategic litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Strategic litigation includes constitutional test cases to determine and address legal barriers to the Protocol’s realisation so as to fast-track the law reform process required under domestication and harmonisation. Participants here noted new ways of asserting/pleading constitutional human rights provisions under international human rights law, namely though: the theory of legitimate expectation; the Bangalore principle; and the interpretive principle.

We identified the following strategies:
? Supporting African women’s organisations offering strategic litigation
? Carrying out strategic litigation around the Protocol and sharing jurisprudence continentally
? Supporting any court case impacting on women’s rights including amicus curiae brief preparation
? Using ADR to advance the Protocol where appropriate
? Carrying out judicial training on the Protocol
? Engaging with law schools and bar associations on the Protocol
? Advocating around the appointments to the African Court
? States to sign declaration enabling individuals and civil society to file cases at the African Court
? Partnering with the Coalition on the African Court on the establishment and the appointment of judges to it that are competent in African women’s rights
? Increase the number of nominations to the African Court by November 30, 2005 — of the 14 nominations received only four are from women so far.

Maintaining Momentum on the Protocol

Many challenges clearly persist with respect to realising the Protocol. While the Protocol is not a ‘gift’ but concerns African women’s rights, its realisation will require commitment and creativity. It will require ‘building power’ nationally and regionally which entails expanding constituencies, being well-structured and informing ourselves about the opportunities for its advancement that already exist. It will also require consistent, strategic and sustained pressure on African states for its entry into force, its universal ratification, its domestication and implementation. We hereby promise our continued engagement in these processes and urge the engagement of all else concerned.

* Present during the conference were the following

Women, Gender and Development Directorate, African Union Commission, Commission of Political Affairs, African Union Commission, Office of the Legal Counsel, African Union Commission, African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Government of Nigeria, Ministere charge de la Promotion de la Femme et des Affaires Sociales, Government of Dijbouti, Government of Malawi, Office of the Vice President and Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs, Government of The Gambia, Embassy of the Republic of Angola, Embassy of the Democratic Republic of The Congo, Embassy of the Republic of Gabon, Ministry of Gender Equality, Government of Namibia, African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA), Association des Femmes Juristes du Mali, Cellule de coordination sur les practiques traditionelle affectant la sante des femmes et des enfants (CPTAFE)-Guine, Child Rights Advisory, Documentation and Legal centre (CRADLE) – Kenya, Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) – Kenya, CREDO for the Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights, Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI), Equality Now – Africa Regional Office, Reseau Inter-Africain Des Femmes, Medias, Genre et Developpement (FAMDEV)- Regional, Federation of Women Lawyers – Kenya, Federation of Women Lawyers – Uganda, African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), Forum Mulher – Mozambique, Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practises (IAC), Media Watch organisation-Mauritius, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Pro-poor advocacy Group - The Gambia, Sister Namibia,
Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), Urgent Action Fund Africa, Voix des Femmes –Burkina Faso, Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Women’s Legal Centre – South Africa, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternatives (WRAPA) – Nigeria, ActionAid International and Oxfam

October 31 2005 marks the fifth anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325. PeaceWomen has developed an October events calendar - follow the link to view events.

Rwanda's commitment to promote women leadership has greatly made the country popular on the international scene. Officiating at the launch of Women Waging Peace Project in Rwanda recently, the founder and chairperson, Ambassador Swanne Hunt said most people in the outside world did not know Rwanda but because of achievements of gender equality, the country has become famous.

A leading Islamist activist in Morocco says she is eagerly awaiting her trial on charges of insulting King Mohammed VI. Nadia Yassine, of the outlawed but widely-popular Justice and Charity Group, could face up to five years in jail if convicted. She was put on trial earlier this year for saying that she would prefer a republican system to Morocco's hereditary monarchy.

Follow the link for a report by six women's organisations working for change in a local context. The starting principle was that awareness of sexual and reproductive rights is essential for achieving the MDGs: a major focus was on the reproductive health of women affected by HIV/AIDS. The partner organisations wanted to know what relevance the two gender related MDGs had to women's work, and consequently how to make them more applicable to the local context. (Of the 7 countries included, 4 are in Africa - Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland.)

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently carried out a situation analysis in Darfur, Sudan on the effects of the ongoing conflict on the health and well-being of the 1.64 million girls and women who are affected by the war. Around the world, the devastating impact of conflict has been recorded and its specific impact on women and children documented. In a departure from the normal practice of providing an analysis by experts or 'outsiders,' the UNICEF/UNFPA study analysed the perceptions of the directly affected community; the people of Darfur. The reason for doing so, according to the report, is to help guide international response to the conflict, based on what the community perceives they are experiencing and what they feel is right for them, rather than imposing solutions from outside. The situational analysis, however, was not intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the health situation in the area.

In South Africa, women are taking advantage of new laws promoting diversity to share and spread the country's wealth. When apartheid began to crumble in the early 1990s, Salukazi Dakile-Hlongwane returned from self-imposed exile in the United States to make her fortune at home in South Africa. Armed with a master's degree in development economics from a prestigious U.S. school and years of experience in international development organizations, Dakile-Hlongwane sensed opportunity. In 1996, two years after Nelson Mandela was elected president in South Africa's first multi-racial elections, she joined forces with six other South African women to create a woman-only investment company, Nozala Investments, which has attained a strong reputation in South Africa's financial world.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe had wife- battering charges against his spokesman George Charamba thrown out to avoid damaging his office's reputation, it has emerged. Government officials said Mugabe's office covered up charges that Charamba had allegedly assaulted his wife, Rudo, during a row over a missing gun on February 24 last year. The incident allegedly took place at the couple's Mandara home in Harare. Charamba is said to have a black belt in karate. The officials said the case was dropped against the will of police commissioner Augustine Chihuri after Mugabe intervened.

A new association of widows in Swaziland hopes to raise greater awareness of the plight of women who have lost their husbands to AIDS. "We grow in numbers daily - the epidemic is creating a nation of widows," said Lindiwe Vilakati, a member of Litsemba Lebafelokati (SiSwati for "Hope of the Widows") Association. "In a sense, we are the worst sufferers of AIDS," said the chairwoman, Nonhlanhla Nene. "The main activity of our association thus far has been the burial of our members." Sandwiched between its giant neighbours, South Africa and Mozambique, the small kingdom of Swaziland has the world's worst HIV/AIDS rate, with close to 40 percent of adults infected. Widows who do not succumb to AIDS contracted from their husbands often live out their lives in dire poverty.

The General Confederation of Worker's in Mauritania (CGTM) has increased its female membership from 15 to 30% through a massive recruitment of women in the informal sector. 'The aim [of recruiting informal workers] is not only to ensure an improvement in the working conditions of these women but also in their living conditions, which will benefit their families too,' says Abdallahi Ould Mohamed, CGTM General Secretary. 'The women flooded to our union because they were carried by the hope of an improvement - however small - in their extremely difficult conditions.

A new publication shows how Sudanese women, in their diversity and spirit of unity, are defining the critical development agenda for the country in the coming decade. "Towards Achieving the MDGs in Sudan: Centrality of Women's Leadership and Gender Equality" endeavors to provide a permanent record of some of the historic actions by Sudanese women on the agenda for peace and development, within the spirit of global partnership.

After months of pressuring governments on women's rights, advocates from around the world have achieved some gains on gender equality in the World Summit outcome document, despite the lack of meaningful action on the total package under debate. However, women's groups have been dismayed by a shameful lack of political will on the part of governments to tackle poverty, foster peace, and ensure human rights. The grand bargain envisioned for the World Summit has failed. This bargain called for a serious commitment to trade reform, debt relief and financial resources for development in exchange for a Human Rights Council, Peace-building Commission, and UN management reform. Instead, countries deferred these issues to the General Assembly, where the same political divisions prevail.

On October 17, organize World March of Women actions where you live! Last December the World March of Women adopted a Women's Global Charter for Humanity which describes the world that we as women want to build, based on five key values: freedom, equality, solidarity, justice and peace. (You will find the Charter at: http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org). Since March 8 of this year, the Charter has traveled around the world, and women have organized actions to raise awareness of its content, challenge decision-makers in their countries, organize debates and support their daily campaigns. During this World Relay, a solidarity patchwork quilt was constructed with a cloth square from each country. You can see this quilt and monitor the Relay 's progress by logging on to a new 2005 section of the World March of Women web site: http://mmf.lecarrefour.org.

IRC's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) Project is one attempt to tackle the problem of high sexual violence incidence and lack of services for survivors of sexual violence. Since its inception in September 2002, the project has established three sexual assault centres in Sierra Leone that enable survivors of sexual assault to access appropriate, quality services and care following an incident of rape or other form of sexual assault. The project is implemented in partnership with various Government and non-government agencies.