In reference to the article published by some news agencies dated on 3^rd November 2015 which claimed that CEEBLA Crisis hotline established by Somali Women Development Center (SWDC) was supported by the United Nations is totally false information relayed to the public and far from truth. To clear doubts, the hotline service is a community-owned initiative established earlier in October 2015 and not supported by the United Nations as earlier on alleged. Its main aim and objective is to help Somali women and girls who have been sexually violated to get better assistance in accessing necessary services available through referral mechanisms.

We as, SWDC regret the inconvenience created by the news agencies releasing unguided information to the public without neither our consent nor consultation or authorization. We as an organization hereby advise all international and national news agencies to make the necessary consultation to the parties concerned before releasing any news to the public to avoid this kind of embarrassment from reoccurring in the future. This is because, such spread of false information can result to character assassination of the organization which is highly unacceptable. The organization is mindful that such false publications may result in legal implications.

SWDC as the name suggests is a non-profit women organization with the mandate of protecting and promoting the rights of Somali women and girls in particular those who are affected by sexual violence and other related violations. It specifically gives priorities to vulnerable groups, minorities and disadvantaged groups of the community. This mandate is basically based on the strong relationship between SWDC and its donors anchored on transparency, accountability and mutual trust.

Finally we appreciate that our partners both national and international understand the implications of this publication on the credibility of our organization.