Project profile — Protection and Socioeconomic Inclusion for Venezuelan Children and Adolescents on the Move

This project seeks to improve protection and socioeconomic inclusion for Venezuelan refugee and migrant children and adolescents, especially girls, in host communities in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana and Peru. Targeting more than 41 thousand migrant and refugee boys, girls and adolescents. Project activities include: (1) providing technical assistance and advocacy for drafting national and local legislative and policy reforms that ensure gender-responsive, sustainable and implementable policies and services for migrants and refugees; (2) increasing the capacities of the social service workforce to improve protection for migrant children and adolescents; (3) providing technical assistance to implement life skills and network-building support strategies for adolescent girls and LGBTQ2 adolescents; and (4) increasing the capacities of adolescent girls and LGBTQ2 migrant adolescents by strengthening their life skills capacities and further access to employability and economic empowerment.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened response of gender-sensitive government systems to prevent and address the vulnerabilities faced by migrant girls, boys and adolescents; (2) increased access to sustainable care, protection and justice services for children, especially unaccompanied minors, girls and LGBTQ2 children; and (3) increased access to social inclusion opportunities through equal participation, empowerment and life skills for adolescents affected by human mobility, especially adolescent girls and LGBTQ2 adolescents.

Results achieved at the end of the project (December 2023) include: (1) provided technical assistance and support to enhance 30 protection services and policy frameworks targeting refugee and migrant children and adolescents; (2) provided access to specialized services for 54,231 migrant children and adolescents (53% girls), including psychosocial care, legal advice, temporary housing, and regularization services; (3) provided access to sexual and gender-based violence information and services to 7,487 adolescent girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals across the 5 implementation countries; and (4) supported 1,969 adolescent girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals with empowerment and equal participation training. 70% of participants reported an improvement in their life skills, network-building abilities, and employment strategies because of the training support received.