The Success Story of CEEBLA Crisis Line

Two teenage boys came to our house; they locked me in a room.

One of them put clothes in my mouth and the other held a knife to
my neck. Dare to tell anyone, and you are dead-they threatened me.
I didnt tell my mum because I was also afraid of her, narrates a
victim of rape.
She is not alone. On the day of our visit to the Somali Women
Development Centre, there are several other girls that have endured
ordeals such as this that have shattered their innocence. Another
victim, a 14 year old was attacked in her own neighborhood.
I was raped by four boys that live in my neighborhood. They raped
me in a house close to ours. I informed my mum and dad about the
incident and they were reported to Howlwadaag District Police
Station. The police connected us to CEEBLA Hotline, which we called
and they helped in getting the boys arrested. I was also given
employment by SWDC in this center. The incident happened a
month ago. They boys have since been released and we dont sleep
well at night as they walk around in groups. They four of them are
always together, says the traumatized victim.
Cases of sexual and gender-based violence are rampant in Somalia,
with young girls and women as the main victims.
Many of these have suffered in silence for fear of stigmatization,
perpetrated by a culture that makes it taboo for women to speak out
on any issues of sexuality.
In Somalia, we have a culture which is very tight for us as women.
We cannot say what we want especially when what has happened to
the woman is sexual violence. She cannot go to the hospital directly
and cannot even tell the mother what happened. She cant tell
anyone because she is afraid for her future, once a woman is raped,
she cannot marry again, explains Amina Abdulkadir, a Project
Coordinator with the Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC).
SWDC is a local NGO whose mandate is to implement mechanisms
aimed at preventing and mitigating the impact of violence on
women and children.

The organization setup the 5555 CEEBLA crisis line, a toll free
hotline that victims of abuse can call for immediate assistance.
Established in October, the center has so far received 25 cases of
victims of abuse in distress.
The first time when they call the line, we receive the case. We look
at the area and identify an organization, either a hospital or the
police nearest to that area and then we make a referral. Also in
SWDC we have paralegals and caseworkers based in every district in
Mogadishu. These case workers are referred to support these people
in legal proceedings with the police and also with medical support,
explains Amina, the Project Coordinator.
The vice is highly prevalent. SWDC alone received 71 cases on
October, and 61 in November of various forms of sexual abuse and
gender-based violence. The challenge though is getting the women
to trust enough to make that call. The organization is moving to
ensure increased awareness of the hotline, encouraging more
victims to speak out and get help. The help line gives the victims
guaranteed confidentiality, help without ridicule.
The biggest challenge is that the people do not trust to call the
line, so they can receive the support. Mostly they call you and then
they are afraid. This time, using this line is more reliable because
they now have confidentiality because some of them cant go to the
hospital directly, Amina explains.
The SWDC caseworkers are also on call to provide advice on
prevention of abuse before it happens. The women are being
encouraged to call before trouble hits.
Zahra Mohamed Ahmed the SWDC Director explains that, The girls
have got a crisis line that they can call anytime. The problems we
deal with are not only rape but also gender based violence. The
advantage of the CEEBLA hotline is that the girls are encouraged to
call in search of advice. The advice can be reporting the violations
and seeking help.
SWDC is hoping to extend the service to different parts of the
country, enhance efforts at prevention of abuse. Effort is also being
focused at prevention of diseases the women contract from abusers,
encouraging them to call for help as soon as possible.

I just want to send a message; call the centre because they will
receive direct support where there are incidents. They will receive
medical, psychosocial support or the legal representation. I send a
message, call this centre, we can help prevent disease especially
STIs or any disease which the woman might contract, especially HIV,
because we have many women who are suffering from HIV because
they didnt receive any medical support, Amina appeals.
SWDC has partnered with international organizations and local
companies to offer this much needed support. Ms Zahra says,
There is a prevention program on gender based violence that we
have partnered with African Union Mission in Somalia to implement.
They have given us the facilities to be able to open case files for the
victims, offer treatment and provide much needed support. We
made it crosscutting so that all services can be provided in one
center, so that we will be in position to support the victim whether it
is a minor or the parent.
The challenge now is to build on the success attained today first to
stop the abuse but where it happens, to break the culture of silence,
and have the women seek medical and legal help.
CEEBLA hotline helped in the arrest of the perpetrators and taking
them to court. They counseled me and are helping me deal with the
trauma. My message to the girls or victims that hide their violations
is please, tell your parents or someone with experience or in media
or even on the internet but they should report the crime, appeals a
16 year old victim recovering an ordeal that saw her kidnapped and
raped before being saved by the Somali Police.
The team at SWDC is hoping they can attain change in the near
future, protect the Somali women and girls from abuse and offer
much needed to those have unfortunately suffered the same.

END