ActionAid Palestine to Continue Supporting Psychosocial Support Activities for Women and Children in Gaza Strip

Gaza Strip – Palestine: ActionAid Palestine (AAP) has supported the implementation of psychosocial support activities for women and children in the Gaza Strip in partnership with the Palestinian Developmental Women Studies Association. These activities are part of the "Emergency Response for Displaced Families" project in the city of Gaza for displaced children and women coming from north of Gaza and middle  and southern areas of the Gaza Strip.

These activities in Gaza aim to mitigate the impacts of the psychological pressures and stress experienced by women and children in the Gaza Strip due to the ongoing war since October 2023. The activities also strive to strengthen their psychological resilience by providing psychosocial support to displaced mothers and children, helping them cope with their difficult living conditions. These initiatives include a variety of workshops, educational activities, and programs designed to help children channel their energy constructively, as well as activities aimed at raising awareness and offering supportive services.

More than 500,000 children in the Gaza Strip are in need of psychosocial support, while every child in Gaza—over one million children—requires such support due to the devastating effects of the war, including psychological trauma and suffering. Children endure relentless psychological distress caused by the war and its aftermath, having lost their lives, homes, and childhoods. They now live as displaced and homeless individuals amidst the sounds of gunfire, bombings, and the sight of corpses—grieving, hungry, and in many cases, amputated. After more than 14 months of horrors, every child in Gaza urgently needs some form of psychological support.

War leaves profound psychological and emotional impacts on children's mental, cognitive, behavioral, and social health in the medium and long terms. These psychological traumas manifest in several symptoms, including severe stress and anxiety, fear of death, injury, or losing family members, sleep disturbances, nightmares, and distressing dreams triggered by painful memories and scenes they have witnessed. Other symptoms include bedwetting, intense sadness, depression, extreme anger, and heightened irritability. These effects are the result of indiscriminate bombings, executions, and the traumatic images associated with them, which remain etched in the minds of children.

Women in Gaza suffer from stress and anxiety due to repeated displacement, hunger, and the inability to provide food for their children amidst the growing threat of famine in the Gaza Strip. These challenges are compounded by feelings of grief over the loss of family, friends, relatives, children, and neighbors, as well as the destruction of infrastructure in the region.

These activities contribute to enhancing the resilience of women and girls, empowering them to face the increasing challenges caused by the ongoing war in Gaza. Such challenges include the lack of privacy in shelter centers, inadequate personal hygiene due to the shortage of hygiene supplies, limited water availability throughout the region, and the unpreparedness of shelter centers to address these issues, in addition to the lack of safety in these shelters.

ActionAid Palestine, in collaboration with its local partners, supports these activities by offering individual counseling, awareness sessions, and assistance to cases exposed to gender-based violence.

About ActionAid International

ActionAid International is a global federation working with over 41 million people living in more than 72 of the world's poorest countries. We envision a world characterized by justice and sustainability, where every individual has the right to a dignified life and freedom, and a world free from poverty and oppression. We strive to achieve social justice, gender equality, and eradicate poverty.

ActionAid Palestine began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, believing in their right to enjoy freedom, justice, and self-determination. ActionAid Palestine implements several programs through its engagement with Palestinian communities and youth and women’s groups, aiming to empower women and youth and enhance their active civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective action to address the rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation, in addition to improving their leadership capacity and practicing their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers accountable.

For more information, please contact:

Riham Jafari 

Communication and Advocacy Officer at ActionAid Palestine 

Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org