Support for SGBV survivors in Burundi: Training professionals working in public services for survivors of sexual and gender based violence

The affiliated network (the referral system) of Seruka Centre (based in Bujumbura) was trained in order to achieve the holistic care that Seruka offers and for which they have to rely on other service providers. A team of Burundian National Trainers for service providers on prevention of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) had already received training from the ICGLR-Regional Training Facility (NICHE-GLR-258 in collaboration with MSM). These National Trainers adapted the existing curricula on causes and consequences of SGBV, and under supervision of MSM and Living Peace Institute added specific topics for different professional actors working with SGBV survivors aiming to improve access and quality of services. Through the three-day curriculum, more than 60 professionals were trained from the judicial, psychosocial and medical sector. The training included tools to establish viable referral systems between the actors to increase the quality and access for SGBV survivors and public communication strategies on SGBV and services for survivors were discussed.

Subjects of the TMT:

1. Gender and gender based violence
2. Causes and consequences (role of culture, power and gender inequality)
3. What doctors, police, legal assistance and psychosocial counsellors need to know when providing care to SGBV survivors.
4. Public communication on SGBV to enable access to services of SGBV
5. Action and strategic plan development of referral and collaborations between providers.

It turned out that the trained professionals had limited knowledge of SGBV, its causes and consequences; nor did they have structures in place to (jointly) address cases of SGBV. This TMT project greatly contributed to an achievement amongst the different sectors that are part of Seruka's referral system. This has made Seruka's work more effective and efficient. 

Type of service provided:
MSM facilitated the setup of the project, the finances and was responsible for the project management. The following steps were taken in order to implement the trainings:

1. Detailing collaboration (organisations, coordination, trainers), budget and drafting activity plan including timeframe.
2. Mapping and identifying service providers in different regions in collaboration with Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Health, Justice and Police.
3. Adapting existing curricula (from ICGLR-RTF) to specific professional target groups and Burundian context.
4. Selecting participants and matching training groups with trainers.
5. Pre-testing training participants/organisations.
6. Conducting trainings (3-day trainings provided to mixed professional teams of health care providers, police officers, legal experts and psychosocial workers in 8 different regions)
7. Post-testing training participants/organisations.
8. Developing strategic plan based on knowledge gaps identified after post-test training for follow-up networking and referral systems at regional and national levels.
9. Organising knowledge-sharing seminar.

The tailor made training will run from July 2019 until June 2020