{"id":320225,"date":"2026-09-17T11:45:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=320225"},"modified":"2026-09-22T11:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T15:57:26","slug":"unfpa-gender-based-violence-safety-audit-report-gaza-strip-september-2026","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unfpa-gender-based-violence-safety-audit-report-gaza-strip-september-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA: Gender-Based Violence Safety Audit Report: Gaza Strip"},"content":{"rendered":"

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17 September 2026<\/p>\n

Introduction:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This report is produced against the backdrop of an exceptionally complex humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip. Protracted hostilities, repeated large-scale displacement, widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure, and the deterioration of health, protection, water and sanitation services have reshaped everyday life and generated escalating patterns of risk and deprivation. These conditions have disproportionately affected women and girls, particularly those living in displacement sites, collective shelters, overcrowded areas and sites without designated management, where gender-based violence (GBV) risks intersect with a lack of privacy, mobility constraints, dependence on humanitarian assistance and diminishing access to services. (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 2026).<\/p>\n

In this context, safety is not understood solely as the absence of an immediate security incident. It encompasses the ability of women and girls to move freely, use sanitation facilities, collect water, obtain assistance and health care, care for children, and submit a complaint or seek support without fear, exposure, stigma or retaliation. An environment in which a service is nominally available but cannot be reached or used safely, confidentially and with dignity cannot be considered safe or gender-responsive.<\/p>\n

The report provides an integrated analysis of the spatial, service-related and institutional factors affecting the safety of women and girls in displacement and shelter sites and in environments where humanitarian services and assistance are delivered. It examines how shelter type, lighting, privacy, water and sanitation facilities, site management, complaints and referral mechanisms, registration and distribution systems, and data protection interact with GBV risks and access to specialized response services.<\/p>\n

The report applies a multi-source methodology combining safety checklists, direct observation and participatory risk mapping; focus group discussions with women and girls; in-depth interviews with site managers and service providers; and a survey of frontline protection personnel. It also draws on displacement data, protection monitoring and analysis of reported GBV case trends. The evidence was analysed through methodological triangulation, enabling observed conditions to be compared with the lived experiences of women and girls and the operational assessments of service providers, while upholding confidentiality, do-no-harm, informed consent and survivor-centred principles.<\/p>\n

The safety audit is not intended to measure GBV prevalence, document individual incidents or verify allegations. Its purpose is to identify risk factors and gaps that may increase exposure to violence or impede safe disclosure and access to support. The findings should therefore be understood as operational evidence for prevention, risk mitigation and multisectoral planning. They must not be used to estimate the number of survivors or to rank sites by the incidence of violence. This approach is consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines, the Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Programming and global safety-audit guidance.<\/p>\n

The report is intended to support Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵFPA, national and international partners, and humanitarian clusters and Areas of Responsibility in prioritizing needs, allocating resources and designing safer, more inclusive and accountable interventions. It also provides an analytical foundation for integrating GBV risk mitigation into humanitarian response plans and funding appeals, while keeping the voices and daily experiences of women and girls at the centre of planning and decision-making.<\/p>\n

Executive Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This report presents an integrated analytical assessment of the safety of women and girls in displacement sites, collective shelters and humanitarian service and assistance delivery environments across the Gaza Strip, amid continuing hostilities, large-scale displacement and the severe deterioration of infrastructure, essential services and protection systems. It focuses on the interaction between physical, service-related and institutional conditions and GBV risks, and on the differentiated impact of those conditions on women and girls, particularly adolescent girls, women with disabilities, older women, pregnant and breastfeeding women, female heads of household and women living without a companion or adequate family support.<\/p>\n

The report is based on a multi-source methodology combining a review of sectoral displacement and protection data, analysis of reported GBV case trends and a qualitative field safety audit covering displacement and shelter sites and humanitarian service and assistance delivery points. The audit dataset included 15 displacement and shelter sites and two food assistance and service delivery environments, as well as 15 focus group discussions with analysable content involving 186 women. Overall consultation reached 204 women. The analysis also drew on a protection-monitoring dataset comprising 10,594 interviews.<\/p>\n

Site Management Cluster data illustrate the exceptional pressure on displacement sites and humanitarian services. As of 11 May 2026, 1,590 active displacement sites were hosting 1,708,467 people in 354,480 households. Temporary and informal sites constituted 82.6 per cent of all active sites and hosted 87.6 per cent of their population, equivalent to 1,496,889 people. At the same time, 1,058 active sites\u201466.5 per cent of the total\u2014had no designated site management entity, weakening accountability, daily oversight and responses to risks and complaints.<\/p>\n

The geographical concentration of displacement creates additional pressure. Khan Younis hosted 48.8 per cent of residents in active sites, while Al-Mawasi alone accommodated 435,248 people across 251 active sites. This concentration increases pressure on sanitation facilities, water points, pathways, and health and food services, and constrains the ability of site management actors to ensure safe, equitable and dignified access. 2<\/p>\n

The analysis confirms that gender-responsive safety extends beyond the absence of an assault or direct threat. It concerns the ability of a woman or girl to meet essential daily needs without fear, exposure, stigma or retaliation. This includes sleeping and changing clothes in privacy, using sanitation facilities, collecting water, receiving assistance, caring for family members, accessing services, and submitting a complaint or requesting support safely, confidentially and with dignity. When women and girls have to restrict their movement, change the times at which they use facilities or rely on accompaniment to meet basic needs, this reflects deficiencies in systematic protection measures and service design\u2014not individual choice or preference.<\/p>\n

Key Findings<\/strong><\/h2>\n