The Women’s Refugee Commission completed a research mission to the Jijiga Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia in April 2012. The research mission was the first of three such missions, which are part of a threeyear global advocacy research project aimed at enhancing the safety and resilience of adolescent girls ages 10 to 16. The purpose of the three-week visit to Ethiopia was to assess Somali refugee adolescent girls’ protection and empowerment needs and priorities; learn what programs and community-based strategies appear to be serving them; appraise gaps in services from girls’ perspectives; and identify potential local partners that could implement an innovative pilot project focused on enhancing girls‘ safety.

During the visit, the Women’s Refugee Commission first met with staff of government, UN and civil society agencies working with refugees in Addis Ababa and Jijiga (the regional capital of the Somali Region State) to learn about the operational context. We then traveled to the Sheder and Aw Barre refugee camps near Jijiga, where we conducted focus group discussions and individual interviews with 86 Somali refugee adolescent girls, 24 refugee adolescent boys and 25 refugee women and men community leaders. We listened to Somali refugee girls, boys, women and men to learn what measures will enable refugee adolescent girls to safely become resilient, self-reliant, healthy young women and leaders in their families and communities.

Key Findings

Adolescent girls in the Somali refugee camps in the Jijiga region are at extreme risk of sexual violence, exploitation and harmful traditional practices. Few programs actually reach them and address their asset-building needs, such as the development of protective social networks. As a result, most girls are isolated, marginalized and highly vulnerable.

Bibliographic information

WRC (2012). In Search of Safety and Solutions Somali Refugee Adolescent Girls at Sheder and Aw Barre Camps, Ethiopia WRC

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EnglishSexual and gender-based violence

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