Mar 2011 - Feb 2012

DPI’s UN Radio produced a variety of programmes in the six UN official languages plus Kiswahili and Portuguese on the issue of violence against women (VAW), including features on gender selection of boys and a special programme on honour crimes in Jordan. UN Television covered the issue of violence against women in several of its features for the magazine programme 21st Century, including on a woman’s fight for justice in Bangladesh, and the fate of widows in India.

In July 2011 in Paraguay, UNODC, in cooperation with UN Women, held the International Conference "Answers to Gender-Based Violence in the Southern Cone: Progresses, Challenges and Regional Experiences.” The Conference aimed at presenting and debating the above report and promoting the exchange of experiences, stimulating cooperation and facilitating the creation of an exchange network of good practices between community leaders, civil society and government institutions.

OHCHR, as Chair of Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), organized a side event on protecting victims of trafficking during the 17th session of the Human Rights Council (June 2011). The panelists included ICAT members (i.e.

UN Women carried out advocacy on the situation and conditions of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons internationally, through multi-media, itinerant, and photo exhibit.In Algeria, UN Women supported the advocacy efforts carried out by the AVIFE non-government organization, which is part of the Wassila network, on domestic violence and its impacts on women and children both at national and local level: The second edition of the “Black Book” on domestic violence was published and workshops for non-government organizations were conducted in 3 regions.

At the country level, UNAIDS has provided catalytic funding through its Joint UN Teams to twenty-three (23) countries for actions to reduce gender‐based violence through HIV responses, in particular highlighting the critical contribution of violence to HIV transmission, as well as its consequences in terms of non-utilization of services. UNAIDS also supported advocacy and capacity development on addressing violence against women in eight countries, through the civil society coalition Women Won’t Wait and resulting advocacy messages used for the High-Level Meeting on AIDS.

A Gender and Development Community of Practice was launched in November 2011, bringing together practitioners across the World Bank working on gender issues for events and learning, including on gender-based violence prevention.

OHCHR continued supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, in its active engagement with civil society organizations, including through participation in regional consultations. In June 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in consultations held in Brussels with European civil society organizations, including representatives of European observatories on violence against women.

UN Women leads the MDG-Fund Gender programme in Morocco, a substantial joint programme involving 13 ministries and 8 UN agencies which has supported a coordinated multi-agency response to prevent violence against women and girls.

WHO is developing an implementation research project to identify ways to scale up effective violence against women prevention interventions in the context of national AIDS plans and programmes.

The ECA organized a sub-regional workshop in Morocco in March 2011 on the CEDAW Convention which focused on the removal of reservations and the ratification of the CEDAW Optional Protocol in North Africa. Violence against women was one of the key issues deliberated upon.