Impact of Cash-Based Programs on Social Protection in Northern Iraq: A World Vision Study

1. Section title UNDERSTANDING CASH-BASED PROGRAMMING EFFECTS ON PROTECTION IN NORTHERN IRAQ May 2019

2. Iraqi Humanitarian situation Intro to World Vision response in Iraq Research Objectives Methodology Research findings – summary Research finding details Recommendations Outlines

3. Population: 36 Millions • Living in conflict-affected areas: 11M • People in needs:6.7M (3.3M children) • Per sector • Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance: 2.89M • Food security: 2.49M • Education: 2.55M • Emergency livelihood: 2.38M • Health: 5.54M • Protection: 4.52M • WASH: 2.3M • Shelter and NFI: 2.35M Current status of Iraq humanitarian needs in 2019

4. World Vision commenced Cash for food relief in partnership with WFP in northern Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), in 2014. Overall, since the start of the partnership in 2014 WFP and other WV Offices has partnered with WV Iraq for a total of over $200 million in cash programming in KRI.

5. WV Iraq delivered assistance to both Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and Syrian refugee communities across the region trough : paper vouchers , e-vouchers, direct cash using MTA and direct cash using MMT. On monthly basis WV Iraq are covering in KRI now: 1- 35,700 Syrian refugees Leaving in camps trough E-voucher and MTA. 2-152,295 Iraqi IDPs leaving in camps through: MMT.

6. The concluding question for World Vision and cash partner consideration was: World Vision Iraq have 80% of WFP CBP portfolio in KRI, this is about 68% of the WFP CBP portfolio in Iraq !

7. WV Iraq commissioned a research project into social effects of cash-based programming. • It aimed to fill acknowledged gaps in literature about how cash contributes to social outcomes; ‘cash programming is assumed, rather than known, to assist all members of marginalised households equally.’ • It looked for positive results of cash for women, children, family and community cohesion. Based on the experiences of World Vision in cash-based programming in Northern Iraq:

8. What are the protection issues and challenges facing displaced Iraqis within their host communities? • How do recipients of cash-based programming work towards mitigating these issues and challenges at household level? How successful are they and what more is needed? • How does cash-based programming contribute to general resilience of households to protect themselves from violence, shock, insecurity and other emergency needs. • What components and functions of cash-based programming are needed to bring about these outcomes without unintended negative consequences? How should they be included and implemented within a broader program for best results? • Hint: Study did not compare modalities but considered cash only USING A THEORY BASE AS ITS GUIDE, THE RESEARCH ANSWERED FOUR MAIN QUESTIONS ABOUT PROTECTION CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES:

9. Methodology • A probability based random sampling method was used to identify the HHs. Based on 95% C.L and 5% M.R, 367 Households were interviewed by MEAL team including Focus Groups Discussions for data triangulation across in North Iraq • When : June– 2018 , 367 individuals/Households • Were: Duhok, Erbil , Ninewa plains (Hamdania) In Ninewa and by phone in Anabr and Salahaldeen. the target included current recipients of IDPs and Refugees with old beneficiaries Returnees to their original locations in to Ninewa and mid Iraq governorates. • Cash Transfer Assistance for Syrian Refugees • Camp-based • Implemented in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok Governorates • Survey conducted in Duhok • People of Syrian background Research consultation scope: projects and locations • Cash-based Transfer Assistance for IDPs in Duhok Governorate • Camp-based • Implemented in Duhok, Erbil and Sulimanyah • Survey conducted in Khanke Camp, Duhok (City) • People of Yazidi background • Cash-based Transfer Assistance for IDPs in Erbil Governorate • Community-based • Implemented in Erbil, but many families have since returned to their place of origin • Survey conducted in Erbil, Hamdaniyah, Ninewa, Salah Al-Din • People of Christian, Muslim backgrounds

10. Research consultation scope: projects and locations

11. Survey was triangulated by: • Semi-structured interviews (women only) among survey households • Focus groups: women, men, girls, boys, held separately • Most Significant Change in groups to identify communities’ common experiences in the last six months as a result of cash programming • Key informant interviews with programming partners and WV internal teams What the research measured

12. 1-Standard, ‘traditional’ food program measures • Food consumption score • Negative coping e.g. using savings, selling assets, children working • 2-Change recall on social protection indicators: have they improved? • Safety and trust of neighbours • Safety in the home • Women’s mobility • Child labour, early marriage, girls’ education • 3-Observations and opinions on family violence • Is it a problem here? • What can be done about it? • Does cash help? • 4-Women’s perceptions of personal safety • Feeling safe at home • Feeling safe outside home • Trusting authorities What the research measured:

13. Community harmony was positively influenced by cash. • Cash increased trust, reduced amounts and longevity of debt, and allowed stability of residence • This helped mutually supportive relationships between neighbours to develop. • Home harmony was also positively influenced, but through reduced stress rather than deeper changes in attitudes and responses to violence. • Cash relieved stressors - poor health, uncertain housing tenure, unmet children’s needs, debts – but did not sustainably resolve them. • Violence against women and children was an acknowledged problem community-based protection form of violence was not in place. • Therefore, though household food and economic security outcomes were clear, cash did not have long-term protection outcomes in Northern Iraq. Effective, coordinated parallel programming for children and women’s protection was a missing component. Research findings – summary:

14. 1-Research findings: detail • Proportion of households placing family at risk was low to start with. • By the end, it had dropped a little in all contexts. • Interviews confirmed families prioritised sending children back to school when household finances improved.

15. 1-Research findings: detail • The continues cash based transfers stabilized food recovery. • Changing the transfer amount affected FCS. • The validation confirming food remains a priority of household expenditures with received transfers.

16. 2-Research findings: detail

17. 3-Research findings: detail • 3-Observations, opinions, women’s perceptions of family and community violence • Against expectations, women in all contexts rated their personal safety on average highly (greater than 5 out of 6), both inside and outside the home. • 42% of survey respondents said violence was a substantial problem; a further 31% said it was a problem ‘to a degree’. • Men were more concerned than women about safety outside the home and their ability to move freely. • Women were significantly less likely than men to define hitting in anger, verbal abuse or planned physical punishment as family violence. • 39% of men and 36% of women said they would do nothing if they witnessed violence in their community. • Significant 46% reported sharing the responsibility of using the cash in the household with 33% households of women were not considered as finical decision makers.

18. 4-Research findings: detail 4-Opinions on cash and other interventions’ potential to reduce violence: what can help?

19. 1. Parallel, coordinated sector programming in: • Community-based protection: actors including World Vision can extend technical capacity across sectors to strengthen community safety nets. Contexts are surprisingly favourable. • Livelihoods: potentially through Cash for Work as well as value chain development, for more sustainable cash flow and resulting decreased household stress. • Youth life skills: including for out-of-school youth, to challenge gender stereotypes and help young people with positive life choices e.g. tech4 food mentions. • 2. Safe places and ways to talk about violence: • Opportunities to talk safely about violence and vulnerabilities (for women and for men) is key to addressing them. • 3. Integrating gender-based violence (GBV) awareness in cash process: • A achievable but significant step for cash programming: GBV awareness including legal rights, referrals and counselling support. Recommendations emerging from the study

20. Recommendations emerging from the study • A long-term strategy for cash as a social protection tool in Iraq: • Donors are working less in Northern Iraq than previously. Cash distributions is gradually phasing out. This may set back households significantly, yet government is restoring their welfare services, but its un-sufficient. • All partners have accountability to current cash recipients to resolve social welfare responsibilities transparently. • Setting genuine gender outcomes: • The study found women were less likely to work or control cash, were less happy, and defined home violence less broadly, than men. • For strengthened gender results within cash transfer projects, and also more broadly, goals and indicatorsrequire a strengthened gender lens. • Specific situation analysis of social protection needs: • The study found violence and rights abuse against women and children was happening, but did not measure type or extent. • These issues merit specific, separate research, using methodologies sensitive to understanding situations and root causes.

21. Thank You Any Question?