Responses and Services

On 30 March 2009, OHCHR’s country office in Uganda carried out an investigation into cases of SGBV and other crimes in Moroto district (Karamoja), including the alleged rape of women by armed Karimojong civilians and physical assault of five other persons. Human rights components in United Nations Peace Missions in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone continued to monitor human rights violations with a special focus on gender-based violence including rape, female genital mutilation and domestic violence.

OHCHR’s country office in Uganda spearheaded discussions with regard to reviewing the current policy in relation to the Police Form 3 (PF3). The law requires “a competent/qualified health professional” to collect and document evidence of sexual violence as per PF3. This has generally been interpreted to mean that only a doctor can carry out this process, while doctors are scarce in most health centers and districts.

OHCHR offices allocated small grants to groups of women and human rights NGOs to provide legal aid for victims of domestic violence. OHCHR Colombia financially supported the follow-up to the 2008 Constitutional Court’s order on assistance to female internally displaced persons who are victims; investigations of sexual violence, and prevention of sexual violence; and the reformulation of the Government’s and Attorney General’s Office’s programmes for the protection of victims and witnesses.

In August 2009 in Bukedea district, northeastern Uganda, OHCHR met with 36 Local Council Courts members to stress the right to equality before the law, as well as protection for gender-based violence survivors by the Local Council Courts.

A regional programme supported by IOM is providing assistance for the return and reintegration of trafficked women and girls, mainly exploited as domestic workers, throughout the region. Medical assessments are carried out in the shelters with special attention to HIV cases. Reintegration activities involve school support or income generating activities. IOM signed an agreement with the Colombian Ministry of Justice in order to develop counter-trafficking activities in the areas of assistance to victims and prevention through a hot-line.

In China, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, support to the Xuzhou Domestic Violence Shelter is being considered for nation-wide scale-up by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

UNRWA’s Gaza Field Office undertook a gender equality initiative on domestic violence, including enhancing the quality of psychosocial support services and developing a hotline.

In Bolivia (Municipality of Cochabamba) and Ecuador, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported advocacy for increased allocations for services for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, resulting in the Government of Ecuador committing $2 million for implementation of the national plan of action.

OHCHR has funded a legal assistance project in Tajikistan for women subjected to domestic violence. UNRWA provided legal aid and counselling through Women Programme Centres.

The OHCHR Women’s Rights and Gender Unit, established in 2006, continued the legal analysis with respect to access to justice for victims of sexual violence. An Expert Group Meeting on ‘Prosecution of rape and other forms of sexual violence’ was held in September 2007, with the aim to finalize an OHCHR legal position paper on the subject.