Humanitarian aid to refugee and internally displaced people (IDPs) has increasingly shifted from rural and camp environments to urban areas in recent years, with 60% of all refugees and 80% of all IDPs currently living in urban areas. Risks of violence for displaced persons in camp-based humanitarian settings are well documented and include gender-based violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and forced marriages, as well as a number of other forms of inter-communal violence, discrimination, and denial of resources, assistance, or assets. However, little is known about types and drivers of violence and interventions to reduce violence among displaced and host populations in urban areas, who likely face a different set of challenges due to the complex infrastructure, sociopolitical context, and service provision systems found in cities.

On Sunday 25th October, an array of London’s biggest stars from film, theatre, music and television came together for ‘A Song for Syria’, a one off performance at St. Paul’s Covent Garden to raise money for Syrian refugees. The event raised over £4,500 for the two beneficiary charities; the International Rescue Committee and Hand in Hand for Syria.

As economic recovery activities for refugees in Jordan are restricted, the IRC has found that the provision of unconditional cash assistance coupled with case management, health services, psychosocial support, and outreach is a valuable means of reducing this distress.

Many refugee and displaced women have gone through their pregnancies with no regular check-ups by midwives, no 12-week scans, no antenatal classes... They’ve faced war and persecution, survived in camps during the winter -- and now they have COVID-19 to worry about.