Yazda, in partnership with IOM and funded by USAID, has been working with Survivors of genocide living in northern Iraq andthe Sinjar area through the provision of protection services, capacity building for a Yazidi Survivors Network, and awarenessand advocacy through the “Nobody’s Lis-tening” virtual reality experience. One of the main focus­es of this project has been the protection programming which, to date, has supported over 200 Survivors of geno­cide, mass atrocities, and human rights violations in Iraq, currently living in the Sinuni and Sinjar Sub-Districts.

Through this programming, Yazda provides a multifac-eted, community-based protection approach offering case management, individual and group mental health and psychological support (MHPSS) sessions, legal docu­mentation and counseling services and emergency cash support. Between November 2021 and June 2022, Yaz­da has achieved the following under this programming:

• Supported a total of 209 (149 women, 25 girls, 17 boys, 18 men) individual Survivors through this program.
• Held 19 specialized legal awareness sessions covering the Yazidi Survivors Law, electronic blackmail, finger-print identification, birth certificate requirements, compensa­tion claims and parental proof, among other topics.
• Provided legal support, including documentation, repre­sentation and legal advocacy for 130 individual Survivors.
• Organized 84 group psychosocial support (PSS) ses­sions across Sinjar and Sinuni to provide a supportive environment for Survivors to share their experience and learn psychological coping mechanisms.
• Distributed food, non-food items, hygiene kits and cash support to over 200 Survivors and their families. This support is provided to those living below the poverty line and suffering from a lack of basic services and household income.
• Provided reimbursement for specialist medical support to 75 Survivors who sustained significant injuries and illnesses as a result of their time in ISIL captivity.
• Supplied clothing to 26 Survivors who did not have adequate and weather-appropriate clothing items.
  

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