Rawaa, 28, is living proof that women who challenge themselves become stronger. “I was married with two kids. My husband left me, but I refused to be helpless,” said Rawaa. She insisted on transforming her life and not giving in to the difficulties she would come across.

Rawaa's husband left her and their children behind. Not knowing what to do and at a loss, she returned to her parent’s house. She was picking up her missing pieces when she heard about mental health and psychosocial support services at a nearby centre. In the beginning, she attended several therapy sessions each week. Rawaa received multiple services, including medical care for the acute inflammation in her right kidney. She said: “I was receiving many training on dealing with my anxiety, fear, and trauma that I was exposed to.”

Moreover, the UNFPA-supported one-stop assistance centre in Mosul changed Rawaa’s life in a way she could never imagine. During a session, Rawaa mentioned that she dropped out of the university while she was studying in the third stage of the Department of Education, Faculty of History, and she got pregnant with her firstborn. Luckily, the centre helped her to enroll in the same department she studied at again. She successfully graduated and is now actively looking for jobs.

The One-Stop Assistance Centre opened in Mosul in 2022 with the support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The centre provides holistic services, including Medical, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), Legal and Case Management to everyone, women and girls survivors of gender-based violence in particular, under one roof and free of charge.

Rawaa felt her life was very messy, and couldn't escape it. Her healing process was very slow, but she overcame all the hardship and emerged as a new person. As her mental health developed, she attended many life-skills education courses. She took a course in photography which she was very interested in and managed to excel. Shortly after completing the course, she found a job as a photographer at a local shop.

"My life changed significantly," Rawaa said. "I encourage other women to seek help and use their voices to raise awareness about mental health."

Rawaa wanted to use this opportunity to deliver a message to other women and girls that the services provided in the UNFPA-supported one-stop assistance centre are confidential and safe.

UNFPA, with the support of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), runs two one-stop assistance centres in Mosul and Kirkuk. In 2022, over 33,000 women and girls received mental health and psychosocial support, legal and case management services. Additionally, in 2022, UNFPA provided information to approximately 34,000 people from internally displaced persons, refugees, returnees, and host communities about gender-based violence and harmful practices.