Mar 2010 - Sept 2010 | DPI

DPI promoted the 45th session of the Commission on the Status of Women/15-year review of the Beijing Platform and International Women’s Day 2010, including the issue of violence against women. The Department conducted media outreach and produced information materials, including a poster and information kits for media, delegates and civil society. The Department facilitated a four-week online discussion on “Women and the Media”, one week of which focused on violence against women journalists. In all regions the Department’s network of UN Information Centres organized numerous activities and events to mark International Women’s Day, several of which focused on violence against women. The United Nations Information Office in Baku held a series of town hall meetings in remote villages and districts in Azerbaijan, which also included a session on early marriage and gender-based violence. In Sri Lanka, a one-day interactive forum on the theme "Discrimination against women: Our side of the story", organized by the United Nations Information Centre in Colombo, with the support of Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, generated recommendations for institutional measures to tackle gender discrimination and gender-based violence. The United Nations Information Centre in Yaounde organized a group discussion on violence against women journalists with media professionals in Cameroon.Two articles on gender-based violence were published in DPI’s quarterly Africa Renewal magazine: “Security reform key to protecting women” (January 2010), and “Even with peace Liberian women struggle” (April 2010). The Department’s UN Television produced programmes on the subject, including short features under the UN in Action series on women in prison in Afghanistan; women on the frontline in Liberia; and a programme entitled “Haiti: Violence Against Women.” In addition, UN Television produced two long-form reports for its half-hour magazine programme “21st Century”, aired by broadcasters in different regions of the world. These covered women in Liberia and the violence faced by female journalists in Iraq. Seven footage packages were prepared for broadcasting partners, through UN Television’s UNifeed team, which addressed violence against women, and presented United Nations activities to prevent it.In partnership with UNFPA and UNIFEM, DPI produced and broadcasted a series of radio programmes called “Beijing + 15” which explored the impact of the commitments made at the Beijing Women’s Conference on the lives of girls today. UN Radio staff travelled to Africa, Europe and Latin America to tell the stories of 15-year-old girls, and hear about their problems, including on the subject of violence. The series were adapted from English into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, Kiswahili and Portuguese, and were broadcasted by many UN Radio partners including, for example, Moldova National Radio.