Psychosocial Support as a Critical Enabler for Empowering Healthy Women and Girls: Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda Love, care and protection REPSSI Forum

Context 2 The personal is political, it informs perspectives, attitudes, stereotypes and world view, and defines our work. war experiences, death, family separation, imprisonment: Some experience carry life long trauma humanitarian assistance i.e. queuing for beans, cooking oil and those small blankets (emuto wenyemba). Surviving with indignity rural poverty, translates to inequalities, work, limited opportunities. Poverty is not equal to lack of knowledge

Cont…. Out of school, YES school dropped us all - loss, frustration, emptiness, effort. Learning does not stop with being out of school Health Challenges: My intimate family has a good and rich history of mental health and HIV. Caring for loved ones reveals the true meaning of love Forced and Child Marriage. Multi dimensional protection needs 3

The World YWCA 120 countries, local association, 25 million reach violence against women and girls: shelter, counselling, legal, policy. health, especially SRHR and HIV: the intimacy, personal, private yet huge impacts 4

World YWCA…Lessons Education (early child development, formal education, vocational schools, non formal education: learning beyond a.b.c digital space and technology: the new frontier in psychosocial support. economic wellbeing and health outcomes: Addressing the fundamentals Our Safe Spaces Model for Young women and girls 5

Child, Early and Forced “Marriage” global statistics –39000 each day, 15 million each year the child in “marriage”. –Causes and consequences –Child sexual Abuse clothed as love, care and protection –Married, single moms, divorced, widowed children – legal and social issues Psychosocial support, the “missing” critical enable for prevention, and for married girls, teen moms and girls at risk 6

Global and Regional Policy Space global human rights normative agenda. –Treaty bodies work on CRC, CEDAW etc global development agenda and SDGs –Strong content on children and adolescent and not clear commitment PSS –Global Strategy on Women, Children and Adolescent Health –UNAIDS New Strategy The Global Resourcing or Financing Framework Regional AU Frameworks and Agenda

Key Recommendations – How PSS Can be a Critical Enabler Shifting the conceptual framework and prioritisation of PSS an enabler for development and rights linkages and networks, across sectors ie women and rights movement education and economy: Building the foundation culture and faith emerging role of technology going to scale debunking the tyranny of numbers Changing form and norms about family, community Engage with Patriarchy 8

An invitation 1.Join World YWCA’s by “2035, 100 million young women and girls commitment” –“We can not bring change by scaling up status quo. We must be bold, daring and transformative” 2.join the campaign to end, early and forced child Africa marriage. Resource this unstoppable movement with your best resources, ie. Psychosocial support expertise, networks, service and advice 9

10 Tel: Address World YWCA 16 Ancienne Route 1218 Grand Saconnex Geneva Switzerland Social Media Facebook.com/WorldYWCA Youtube.com/WorldYWCA