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ESCWA participated in a number of side events at the sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2018. This included a side event with the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine on “The Social and Economic Situation of Palestinian Women and Girls under Israeli Occupation”; a side event with the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on “The Development of a Comprehensive Response to Address Violence against Women in Jordan” and a side event with the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Tunisia and UN Women on “The Fight against Violence against Women.”
ESCWA provided technical support on estimating the cost marital violence through a national consultation with the State of Palestine and a training with the Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics on developing relevant questions on costing marital violence for a forthcoming prevalence survey on violence. The data gathered within the survey will assist the State of Palestine in developing a comprehensive response to marital violence.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University, published the study “Status of Arab Women Report 2017: Violence Against Women: What Is at Stake?” The study focuses on intimate partner violence and its economic costs to Arab states, and advocates for costing as an innovative approach and advocacy tool to assess the full impact of such violence on women, families, communities and the state.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, published the technical paper, “Estimating the Costs of Marital Violence in the Arab Region: Operational Model,” which was informed by the earlier study on the “Status of Arab Women Report 2017: Violence Against Women: What Is at Stake?” The paper proposes three different entry points for costing marital violence in the region in an effort to encourage member states to strengthen their socio-economic and legal responses to such violence.
ESCWA published the study "Women, Peace and Security: The Role of Institutions at Times of Peace and War." This study explores the women, peace and security agenda and the response in the Arab region, including an analysis of national women’s machineries, national human rights institutions, the security sector, and civil society institutions during times of stability and conflict and includes case studies on Libya and Yemen.
ESCWA published the study “The State of Gender Justice in the Arab Region,” which maps the barriers and opportunities to achieving gender justice in the Arab region, including formal and informal mechanisms for addressing violence against women. The study calls on Member States to create a more enabling legislative environment, enhance the capabilities of accountability institutions, and foster an empowering socio-economic environment for true gender justice.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, UNHCR, OCHA, and the International Committee for the Red Cross, participated in a Consultation Meeting for the Committee on Protection of Arab Women during Armed Conflicts organized by the League of Arab States and UN Women. During the meeting, participants agreed on establishing an Arab Emergency Committee. ESCWA discussed the role of institutions working for women’s rights in times of stability and conflict and advocated for a wider adoption of a National Action Plan on women, peace and security in the Arab region.
ESCWA hosted the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Committee on Women, eighth session, in October 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon. During this gathering of member states, there was a roundtable discussion on the economic cost of violence against women, which addressed the importance of estimating the economic cost of violence against women, the implications of marital violence on women, children, communities and society, and the efforts exerted by Arab countries in designing strategies and adopting laws aimed at combatting violence against women. A second roundtable discussion addressed the role of institutions in times of peace and war in the Arab region, including the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda.
ESCWA drafted a series of briefs to better inform policy in member states, including: “Institutional Mechanisms for Gender Accountability in the Arab Region,” which argues for greater accountability of institutions to achieve gender justice, including efforts to combat violence against women; “Estimating Costs of Marital Violence in the Arab Region: Operational Model,” which outlines the ways in which costing violence against women can be applied to the Arab region; “The Role of Women in Peacebuilding Processes,” which argues for women’s greater participation in formal and informal peace processes, which may impact the perpetration conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence; and, “Enhancing the Role of Institutions in Achieving Gender Equality in the Arab Region: The Economic Cost of Violence against Women,” which advocates for Member States, academia and research institutions to conduct costings of intimate partner violence in the Arab region.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Swedish Institute of Alexandria and UN Women, coordinated a Regional Consultation on the Economic Costing of Violence Against Women. The consultation aimed to assist Member States in their efforts to eliminate violence against women and to implement their international obligations. The Regional Consultation built upon the results of the first phase of a regional project implemented by ESCWA in cooperation with UN Women on the economic cost of violence against women.
ESCWA hosted a panel discussion on “The Role of Women, Youth and Civil Society in Post-Conflict Peace and Reconstruction Processes” as part of a larger discussion on State-building and Institutional Development in Post-Conflict Settings: Opportunities and Challenges in Libya and Yemen. The panel considered the role of women, youth and civil society in post-conflict peace and reconstruction processes. Case studies from Tunisia, Libya and Yemen provided examples of women, youth and other stakeholders, who have successfully challenged restrictive norms and overcame social barriers to actively participate in the reconstruction of their communities and states.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University, hosted a Regional Consultation on Current Political Developments and Their Impact on Arab Women. Engaging with human rights and women’s rights experts from the Arab region and beyond, the consultation sought to achieve a better understanding of the current political situation in the region and assess the impact it might have on women and their recent legal and socio-economic achievements, including violence against women legal reform.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, ABAAD Resource Centre for Gender Equality and the Lebanese American University, has commemorated the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence campaign (25th November-10th December 2016) and organised a series of awareness raising activities. These include a video competition among the youth in the Arab region to send a message on 'how to stop violence against women', a panel discussion with experts and CSOs on estimating the cost of VAW, and a public event to promote civil engagement on the topic.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, is currently conducting a full fledged project on estimating the cost of VAW in the Arab region. This project consists of two phases: the first one includes two studies (namely, “Status of Arab Women Report: Violence against Women: What is At Stake” and "Model for costing domestic violence against women in the Arab region"). The former, produced in partnership with UN Women and the Lebanese American University, provides a contextualized understanding of VAW and its importance, examines the existing reporting mechanisms, explores the linkages between VAW and social, economic and health factors, and reviews the relevant methodologies with a view to identify the most suitable one for the Arab region. This first study paves the way for the development of the regional economic model to estimate the cost of VAW in the region, which is addressed in the second study in partnership with UN Women. The second phase of the project focuses on building the capacity of member States on the importance of costing violence against women, as well as piloting the economic model in two Arab countries.
ESCWA is currently developing a study entitled "Women, Peace and Security: The role of institutions at times of peace and war". This study builds on previous work on the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which has protection as one of its main pillars. Within this framework, ESCWA organised in partnership with the Lebanese American University a conference on "Prioritizing Women, Peace and Security on the Arab Agenda" (8-10 August 2016), where the "Beirut Call for Action" was endorsed by experts from academia, UN agencies and Civil Societies Organizations.
In 2016, ESCWA published a study entitled “Against Wind and Tides: A Review of the Status of Women and Gender Equality in the Arab region (Beijing+20)”, which addressed some key aspects of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action related to violence against women.
In 2015, together with UNFPA, ESCWA produced a regional study on “Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings in the Arab region: Dynamics, Challenges and Policy Options”. The study examined the root structural causes of child marriage in the Arab region, including the national, social, institutional, legal, and cultural frameworks that facilitate the perpetuation of child marriage. It analyzed the factors that drive child marriage in humanitarian and conflict settings, including physical vulnerabilities, shifts in family relations, gender roles, economic conditions, availability of community support, and demographic profiles. It also investigated the socio-economic and health implications of child marriage for young brides, their children, and their communities, particularly in post-conflict contexts.
During the period 2014 to 2016, ESCWA focused several of its Gender Discussion Series on Violence against Women. In December 2014, ESCWA organized a discussion on “Gender-related research and policy priorities emerging in the context of recent regional developments, particularly in humanitarian and conflict settings”. This event was organized in collaboration with the ABAAD Resource Centre for Gender Equality in the context of 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence. Within this framework, ESCWA organized several advocacy activities against Gender-Based Violence.