YAZDA and the Kingdom of the Netherlands partner to assist Yazidi survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Dohuk Province, Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI)

Yazda is pleased to announce a 12-month multidisciplinary project funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Dohuk Province, Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

The “Assisting Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Through Direct Services & Increasing Their Knowledge on Justice, Accountability & Legal Rights’’ project aims to provide a range of direct services to survivors, including Psycho Social Services (PSS), legal support, case management, medical care and job trainings, while increasing their knowledge regarding accountability, justice and their legal rights. It will also support a selected number of survivors who will advocate for survivors’ rights, accountability and justice on the national and international level. Yazda’s new centre for survivors is now open in Dohuk where highly trained staff are welcoming survivors.

Silvia Croll, Country Director of Yazda: “In 2014, the so-called Islamic State (IS) committed genocide and other horrific crimes against Yazidis and other communities in Iraq and Syria. Yazidi women and children were specifically targeted because IS ideology viewed Yazidis as infidels and not ‘People of the Book’. This systematic persecution led to the summary murder and kidnapping of over 10,000 Yazidis in the first days of this campaign”.

 “The campaign included forced conversion of countless Yazidis, the destruction of Yazidi cultural and religious sites and the forced displacement of an estimated 400,000 Yazidis”, Ms Croll continued. “Survivors of the 2014 genocide are in desperate need of ongoing medical, humanitarian, and psychological support – all of which Yazda has sought to provide through its projects since 2014”.

 “Yazda has been the first point of contact for many members of the Yazidi community in the KRI since their forced displacement from Sinjar in 2014”, said Warner ten Kate, Head of the Migration and Development division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.“Yazda showed us how they play a key role in connecting survivors with the national and international legal system to allow them to access justice, while providing the needed mental health and psychosocial support. Visiting Yazda confirmed us in our belief in their professional and dedicated commitment to this important cause”.

Yazda was honoured to welcome a delegation from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 16 January in its office in Dohuk to discuss this project. Yazda wishes to thank the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the support received and looks forward to future cooperation.

Yazda.org