Background:
In Ethiopia, gender-based violence (GBV) remains a widespread issue, affecting between 34% and 65% of women. While the government has introduced One-Stop Centres (OSCs) to offer integrated medical, legal, and psychosocial care, uptake remains low among marginalised populations like FSWs and AGYW due to lack of awareness, stigma, and delayed access. These groups are also underrepresented in formal health systems, making early identification and referral for GBV cases a challenge.

About the project:
This project aimed to bridge the gap between community-level services (via DICs) and institutional GBV care (via OSCs). Implemented across 12 DICs, the initiative delivered peer-led education sessions, distributed 1,000 tailored IEC materials in Amharic, and introduced a human-centred peer learning guide to facilitate discussion on GBV. Health and social workers were trained on GBV identification and response, while a new screening and referral mechanism was set up between DICs and OSCs.

Results:
Awareness of GBV increased among FSWs and AGYW, and trained peer educators and community health workers began using new tools to identify and refer survivors. The project built a functioning referral system, and uptake of medical and psychosocial services at OSCs improved. The intervention demonstrated a scalable model for integrating SRHR and GBV response among highly marginalised communities in urban Ethiopia.