Women and girls’ safe spaces (Safe Spaces) provide a secure, non-stigmatising environment for women and girls and their children to receive comprehensive care services. They constitute an integral, life-saving intervention when programming for gender-based violence (GBV) in emergencies, as outlined in the Inter-Agency Minimum Standards for GBV programming in emergencies. 

Unfortunately, the larger humanitarian community, including donors, sometimes questions the need for and the life-saving function of Safe Spaces. The most common queries and concerns revolve around the standards applied at Safe Spaces, such as the female-only nature of Safe Spaces or the value they add to the provision of GBV prevention and response services. 

This advocacy document aims to answer the most frequently asked questions on Space Spaces and to clarify the value of Safe Spaces within the framework of the GBV in emergency programming in the Arab region. It also aims to further illustrate how Safe Space activities and services are interlinked and complement each other to ensure lifesaving, empowering and transformative interventions to support women and girls.