2022 Humanitarian Response Plan for Gaza and West Bank
inter-sectoral mobilization, including collaboration with education
to ensure early identification and referral
Increase MHPSS for children, GBV survivors, persons with
disabilities and caregivers
➤ Strengthen MHPSS and wellbeing activities for service providers
MHPSS interventions to strengthen coping mechanisms and
resilience of children affected by violence
Integration of MHPSS into all health centres and humanitarian
strategies
Coordinated funding for MHPSS
Protection risk 4: Child protection threats and
grave violations against children
Children in particular face significant protection risks and rights violations in
Gaza. They are continually exposed to conflict-related violence such as
injury, violence in the home, school and community, economic hardship,
disruptions to education, learning and robbed of opportunities to grow and
develop socially. There are also insufficient safe areas and playgrounds for
children to play and interact with other children. Such ongoing instability
and uncertainty has a profound impact on mental health and has left many
with feelings of hopelessness and insecurity. In the past year, the protection
risks for children have become more severe compounded by COVID-19
measures and intense rounds of conflict-related violence and movement
restrictions.
Direct threats of violence against children (in the home, school and
community) including abuse and neglect
Children need a nurturing environment to grow into resilient and healthy
adults. However, exposure to violence, death, human suffering,
displacement and the dire economic and social conditions in Gaza have a
dire impact on children as well as parents' and caregivers' capacity to cope
and to foster a nurturing, safe and healthy environment for children. Across
the opt children experience high levels of violence at home, with 90% of
children facing some form of violent discipline at home (92.3% boys and
97.9% girls).73 This includes 28.5% of children in Gaza subject to physical
violence from their caregivers. Over one in five children (20.1%) experience
severe physical punishment. A total 87.5% experience psychological
aggression and only 7.4% received non-violent discipline. Children from the
poorest households are more than twice as likely to experience severe
physical punishment (29.9%) than those from wealthier households
(11.4%), and about 77.6% of the children violently disciplined were between
3-9 years of age. Children with disabilities are three to four times more likely
to experience all forms of violence, and three times more likely to
experience sexual violence.74
Negative coping strategies including school drop-out, child labor,
children in conflict with the law
Pressure in families, which has increased with job losses, cramped home
living conditions and socio-economic pressures compounds risks for
children. There is a significant erosion of family coping mechanisms
especially marginalized and those in precarious socio-economic situation 75
and a deterioration in services impacting children's wellbeing, learning and
development.
73 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019-2020, Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics, 2021,
Chapter 9.2. The figure includes any form of physical discipline as well as psychological
aggression
74 Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019-2020, Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics, 2021
75
Save the Children and War Child Holland Gaza Needs Assessment March 2022
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