Measures

ESCAP convened a High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and Its Regional and Global Outcomes (November 2009), during which, a panel discussion entitled “Regional campaign to end violence against women” was held. The experiences of various countries in measuring and addressing violence against women, including through engaging with men and boys and with faith-based organizations, were shared. A regional consultation for the Secretary-General’s campaign to end violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region was also organized. Hide

The Gender Capacity Standby Roster (GenCap) Steering Committee held its annual planning and strategy meeting in October 2009. It decided to increase the number of deployments from 120 months in 2009 to 170 months in 2010 and to recruit more members to the GenCap roster. The IASC Gender Sub-Working Group (SWG) on Gender and Humanitarian Action, in collaboration with InterAction, developed a certificate-based online course on gender in humanitarian action. The target audience is humanitarian field workers, and prevention of gender-based violence in a key facet of the course. Hide

OCHA is the task manager of the inter-agency Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) review, agreed in July 2009 at the meeting of the IASC Working Group. The objective of the review is to assess whether the UN and NGOs have implemented policies to address sexual exploitation and abuse by their personnel. Thirteen of 14 agencies agreed to participate in the agency headquarters assessment. Field missions will be organized to DRC and Nepal, while seven other countries will be profiled through alternative methodologies. Hide

On behalf of the IASC Sub-working group on Gender, in November 2009 OCHA facilitated a workshop in Panama on gender equality and gender-based violence programming in humanitarian settings for the Central American region. The workshop aimed to roll out the Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action and the Guidelines for gender-based violence interventions in humanitarian settings. Hide

In its risk assessment of Secretariat departments, offices, regional commissions and peacekeeping and political missions, OIOS identified governance and organizational arrangements as a high risk area. OIOS had conducted, in 2008, an audit of the management of the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI) and the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) within the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). OIOS recommended that DESA, in consultation with the Secretary-General, should consolidate OSAGI and DAW into one single programme within DESA. Hide

As part of its Investigations Learning Programme (ILP), the Investigations Division of OIOS has successfully launched a Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Basic Investigations Training Course for the various investigative entities in the UN system, such as Military Police and Special Investigations Units. Particularly applicable in the peacekeeping context, the SEA training course covers techniques and best practices in several aspects of SEA: investigations, including first response issues; interviewing for SEA cases; field investigation issues; report writing; evidence collection and forensic analysis; and applicable law, with a focus on "the SEA bulletin": ST/SGB/2003/13, Special measures for protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The course applies a multi-disciplinary approach to learning by using role playing, group work, group discussion, video reviewing and videotaping for interview exercises. Hide

UNAIDS is an active member of the Secretary General’s Africa-wide Campaign to End Violence Against Women. Hide

In September 2009, UNAIDS helped launch and lead a new initiative to prevent sexual violence against girls, which unites the work of five UN agencies with the Clinton Global Initiative and the US Centers for Disease Control, with a particular emphasis on AIDS affected countries. Six countries have begun data collection and programmatic action to strengthen legal and judicial policies as well as health, child protection and community responses to reduce sexual violence. Hide

UNAIDS Programme Acceleration Funds have supported 35 countries over the last year to scale up work on gender-related responses to HIV, including a focus on violence against women. UNESCO continued its activities under its project “Culturally appropriate approaches to HIV/AIDS”. Hide

In the context of UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflicts, UNAIDS and partners aim to incorporate the HIV implications of sexual violence in conflict and post conflict situations into the progress report on implementation of resolution 1308, to be presented at the Security Council in Fall 2010. Sexual violence is one of the three output areas for the “UN system-wide work programme to scale up HIV services for populations of humanitarian concern” project implemented by FAO, OCHA IRIN, OCHA, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, WFP, WHO, UNICEF under the coordination of the UNAIDS Secretariat. This is an example of how UNAIDS is integrating attention to sexual and gender-based violence into HIV programming. FAO has elaborated a GBV guidance note related to HIV-AIDS and GBV in emergency situations. Hide