Good Practices Brochure: Stateless Women and Girls Despite the national lockdown, case management, psychosocial support and referrals for health and safety services remain available to assist those women and girls in need of support. “People are afraid because they fear services and care will stop. But we are still here,” says Shumi, who manages a safe space in one of the Cox’s Bazar camps. “It helps a lot.” At the centre where Shumi works, five female volunteers and five members of the centre’s women’s leadership group conduct regular house visits in the nearby community. During the visits, the volunteers share information on protective measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while respecting physical distancing guidelines. But the door-to-door visits are about more than COVID-19 – volunteers also raise awareness about GBV response services and how survivors can access these services. Information disclosed to volunteers is passed safely to a case manager for appropriate follow-up to ensure survivors of abuse get the support they need. “We try to share as much information as possible with the community,” Shumi says. Gertrude Mubiru, a GBV Specialist with UNICEF in Cox’s Bazar, sees COVID-19 prevention as a major focus of humanitarian efforts around the camps right now. But that does not mean that help for survivors of GBV is unavailable for women and girls who need it, especially as UNICEF continues to monitor protection issues affecting Rohingya and Bangladeshi women and girls. “While group activities have been discontinued at Safe Spaces for Women and Girls [to minimize the spread of coronavirus], critical services do remain available to address individual needs for new and existing GBV survivors” Gertrude says. With ongoing support from UNICEF, Bangladeshi and Rohingya women can access protection programmes even though the COVID-19 pandemic is particularly challenging for vulnerable communities like the Rohingya. UNICEF and its partners are ensuring that protection programmes like these must remain a priority and carry on come what may. The original case study was contributed by Gertrude Mubiru (UNICEF). 8