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Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, which is now heading into its sixth year, the WRC has worked with partners on the ground to promote the inclusion of refugees with disabilities—an estimated 22% of the population—in assistance programs and in the decision-making process.

In a protracted and complex crisis, humanitarian actors continue to look for ways to strengthen protection and assistance. Vulnerability considerations have typically determined the design and implementation of humanitarian programs. However, program models are emerging in the Syria response that focus on a resilience-based approach—emphasizing skills, capacities, strengths, and assets.

Recognizing the increased attention to resilience in the Syria response, the WRC undertook a project to examine how vulnerability and resilience-based approaches are supporting the protection and empowerment of Syrian refugee women, children, and youth with disabilities.

The WRC has identified a set of actions that must be taken to ensure that the resilience of diverse populations amongst refugees with disabilities are recognized and fostered in programming. While the findings and recommendations are drawn from the Syria crisis, we believe they have relevance across other humanitarian settings.

While humanitarian organizations are increasingly recognizing women and girls with disabilities in policies and guidelines, there are still significant gaps in operationalizing this. Their needs and capacities are often under-represented in gender, protection and disability forums. Furthermore, organizations of women with disabilities, which can play a critical role in bridging the development/humanitarian divide, are not meaningfully included in humanitarian coordination and decision-making.

This report documents findings and recommendations from a participatory action research project on disability inclusion in GBV programming in humanitarian settings, conducted with communities affected by crisis and conflict.

This toolkit was created with the input and participation of persons with disabilities, as well as GBV practitioners,
over the course of the project. It is intended to support GBV staff to build disability inclusion into their work, and
to strengthen the capacity of GBV practitioners to use a survivor-centered approach when providing services to
survivors with disabilities. The tools are designed to complement existing guidelines, protocols and tools for GBV
prevention and response, and should not be used in isolation from these. GBV practitioners are encouraged to
adapt the tools to their individual programs and contexts, and to integrate pieces into standard GBV tools and
resources.

The Women's Refugee Commission identified and documented positive practices for disability inclusion in community center and outreach programming, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners in Lebanon. This article discusses the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Refugee Outreach Volunteer (ROV) network. ROVs are refugees who volunteer to provide insight into protection priorities, identify community-based solutions and refer refugees in need of urgent support

The Women's Refugee Commission identified and documented positive practices for disability inclusion in community center and outreach programming, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners in Lebanon. This article discusses how INTERSOS have been using the expanding network of Refugee Outreach Volunteers (ROVs) and community centers to promote inclusion and access for people with disabilities and their families

This report “documents positive practices and ongoing challenges to promote disability inclusion across UNHCR’s and its partners’ work in multiple countries and multiple displacement contexts. The report provides lessons and recommendations for other organizations and the wider humanitarian community on engaging persons with disabilities at all levels of humanitarian work. It draws on consultations with over 700 displaced persons, including persons with disabilities, their families, and humanitarian staff, in eight countries”

Note: This report is also offered in plain text format