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UNDP supported Governments to ratify (republic of Serbia) or implement, through national legal reforms (Albania) the Istanbul Convention (The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence).UNDP supported the development or revision of laws and constitutions, including the new Constitution in Tunisia with ground-breaking provisions to ensure women’s equality, while explicitly committing to eliminate violence against women; the Constitution of Zimbambwe which removed clauses allowing the application of gender discriminatory customary laws; changes in Criminal Legislation of Albania, increasing sanctions against perpetrators of gender-based and domestic violence; a new law in Kyrgyzstan on social and legal defense and protection from family violence, in partnership with UN Women; the Law against the Trafficking in Human Beings and its Administrative Instructions in Kosovo; revision of laws on women’s access to land rights (especially upon divorce and widowhood) as well as the law on family and marriage, in cooperation with UN Women and UNAIDS (Vietnam); Law 82 on Femicide in Panama and establishment of the Specialized Prosecutors Office on VAW and the National Committee against VAW (CONVIMU); the Domestic Violence Bill to ensure the criminalization of domestic violence in Mauritius; and the draft Family Protection Bill of the Solomon Islands. UNDP also supported the Governments of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau in costing the implementation of laws addressing domestic violence. In Zambia, it also supported the establishment of a multi-sectoral mechanism for the implementation of the Anti GBV Act. Hide

Applying Social Media Tools for the Prevention of Gender-based Violence: Lessons learned from social media communication campaigns to prevent gender-based violence in India, China and Viet Nam’; was launched and disseminated by P4P in 2013. This resource consolidates learning from the P4P initiative ‘Engaging Young Men through Social Media for the Prevention of Violence against Women’. “Let’s Talk Men 2.0” film series7 launched in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka with accompanying tools for discussion facilitators. Hide

The largest-ever cross-country study on men and violence in Asia and the Pacific11 was launched by P4P, in September 2013, providing critical new evidence on men’s use of violence in the region. A UN Women, UK Aid and UNFPA-supported study on individual, institutional, legal and policy responses to VAWG in Nepal, was launched on 10 December. Hide

In 2013, UNDP progressed work on a forthcoming publication “UNDP Support for Domestic Violence Law Reform” to assist staff and partners to support national and other partners to undertake domestic violence law reform.UNDP supported several initiatives to enhance capacity of the UN system in addressing VAW through a training to UNCT members on their professional and personal roles in addressing VAW and in changing societal attitudes (Albania); compulsory online training course for UNDP staff on “UN Programme on the Prevention of Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority in the Workplace” (Serbia); support by Women Safety and Security Initiative (WSSI) to institutions to establish a secure environment for women and young girls (Kosovo) 2; development of a Gender Equality Strategy with several priorities on violence against women (Afghanistan); revision of the UN Gender Theme Group Terms of Reference to include responses to gender-based violence in emergencies and in situations related with HIV and AIDS (Namibia). Hide

UNDP also organized numerous activities to raise awareness on the issue such as national campaigns on VAW in Albania, on trafficking in Argentina and Kosovo; the “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World” campaign in Uzbekistan, as a part of the UNCT; sensitization of population in Cambodia and Madagascar, of pupils in Sierra Leone, university students in Timor-Leste, religious leaders in Afghanistan, and journalists in Algeria; production of awareness-raising material(videos, leaflets etc) in Argentina, Europe and CIS, Uzbekistan, Peru, as well as advocacy material on CSW 57 in Ghana; information sharing about procedures and available services for survivors of VAW in India. Hide

UNDP supported the establishment of national databases on VAW and domestic violence in Iraq to ensure unified and consistent reporting as well as effective monitoring of reporting and prosecution of VAW/Domestic Violence cases, as well as on femicide, in Guatemala. It further supported, in partnership with the Huairou Commission, research by grassroots women in seven African countries (Ghana, Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), entitled “Engendering Bottom-up Justice Reform–A Grassroots Women’s Approach to Accessing Justice” on effective strategies and tools used to engage in cases involving women’s land tenure, inheritance and domestic violence in informal systems. It also supported numerous initiatives to enhance data collection and research including a national survey for violence against women in Albania and PNG; a report on economic costs of family violence in Kyrgyzstan, in partnership with UN Women; a Multi-Country study on Policing and Prosecution of Sexual Violence in Asia: India, Thailand and Viet Nam, in cooperation with UN Women and ONODC; a study in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan on laws that protect women from violations of their rights (including forced/coerced abortions and sterilizations) and its gaps at healthcare settings in South Asia; a study on linkages between VAW and HIV in the Asia-Pacific region; research on domestic violence in Timor-Leste, access to justice and barriers; website in Kuwait which includes studies also on VAW as well as a women’s research and studies center and a women’s digital database. Hide

The new UNDP Strategic Plan (2014-17) includes for the first time specific reference to sexual and gender based violence. The second corporate gender equality strategy (2014-17) also prioritizes actions to prevent and respond to SGBV. Hide

Numerous UN entities, as key member of the Secretary-General’s Campaign Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls, launched various campaigns and events to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in 2013. For example, OHCHR created a dedicated web page, organised an online panel discussion on the role of small arms on gender-based violence. UNDP organized a meeting in Namimbia aimed at mobilizing men in EVAW. Hide

UNDP supported the provision and improvement of multi-sectoral services through the establishment of referral systems in Somalia; a UN Trust Fund to End VAW project as well as development of guidelines and training in Serbia; increased access to justice for survivors in Sierra-Leone as well as in Somalia with the expansion of mobile courts to remote areas; enhanced legal aid in LAC, Montenegro, Pakistan, Somalia, and Sri Lanka; capacity development of shelters in Albania; development of minimum standards for SOS hotline services provision and capacity development of service providers in Serbia, as well as support to perpetrators programmes; support to networks of women living with HIV in Cambodia to highlight issues such as forced abortions and sterilizations; a Rapid Assessment of Institutional Readiness to Deliver GBV/HIV Services; and counselling in Madagascar. In India, following the gang rape case in December 2012, UNDP provided technical assistance to the Government to set up a model One Stop Crisis Centre in Delhi and provided global best practices to the Justice Mehra Committee on the issue. Hide

Leveraging existing accountability mechanisms for legal and policy action, UNAIDS, UNDP, UN Women and OHCHR jointly organized a briefing of the CEDAW committee on the link between HIV and violence against women. Hide