Measures

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

In October 2009, the UNAIDS Executive Director established a Task Force, comprised of a wide range of stakeholders, to advise on the development of an Operational Plan for the UNAIDS Action Framework on Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV, which was endorsed at the Board meeting in December 2009. The Action Framework and Operational Plan outline core responsibilities for the UN in advancing work on women, girls and HIV at all levels. Hide

A meeting of the Friends of the Chair group, organized by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía of Mexico and UNSD, took place in Mexico, in December 2009, on statistical indicators on violence against women. The meeting focused on the content of the recommended set of indicators, irrespective of the source of statistics; the list of indicators for statistical surveys on violence against women; and the future development of international statistical guidelines to conduct statistical surveys on violence against women. The Friends of the Chair concluded that the interim set of indicators adopted by the Statistical Commission needed to be expanded and constituted as a core set of nine statistical indicators for measuring violence against women. The full report of the meeting is available at: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/meetings/vaw/default.htm Hide

The Secretary-General’s database on violence against women was launched by the Deputy Secretary-General at an event convened by DAW, now part of UN Women, on 5 March 2009. The database provides the first “one-stop site” for information on measures undertaken by Member States to address violence against women, including their: legal frameworks; plans, strategies and policies; institutional mechanisms; preventative measures, including awareness-raising, and training; and services for victims/survivors. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported the establishment of the Kacyriu Police Hospital One Stop Centre for survivors in Rwanda (with UNFPA and UNICEF) and the national mapping of organizations providing services for survivors of gender-based violence in Kenya. UNIFEM also continued to provide technical and other support in the context of joint United Nations efforts, including: in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, developing capacity of non-governmental organizations to provide legal services to survivors of domestic violence; in the Asia-Pacific region, engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women; and in Venezuela, strengthening referral networks, increasing access to services, and conducting psychological care and legal workshops. UNIFEM supported the development of an integrated protection plan for victims and witnesses of human rights violations in Colombia (with the Swiss Program for the Promotion of Peace). Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to provide technical and other support in the context of joint United Nations efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, as part of UN Action, contributed to the organization of a high-level colloquium on conflict-related sexual violence and peace negotiations, which shared its conclusions at a United Kingdom-hosted Security Council Arria formula meeting related to the Secretary-General’s report on Security Council Resolution 1820. UNIFEM continued to support activities to improve government and community police responses to sexual and gender-based violence in Darfur (with UNAMID). Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, prepared reports of the Secretary-General to the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly on intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women (A/64/151) and violence against women migrant workers (A/64/152).In its General Recommendation No. 26 on Women Migrant Workers, adopted at the forty-second session, the Committee on the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW) urged States parties to closely monitor recruiting agencies and prosecute them for acts of violence, coercion, ptiodecen or exploitation (article 2 (e)). Hide

In collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), DAW, now part of UN Women, organized an expert group meeting on legislation on harmful practices, which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 26 to 28 May 2009. The report of the meeting will supplement the model framework for legislation with specific recommendations and commentaries in relation to legislation on the forms of violence against women referred to as “harmful practices”, including child and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, and so-called “honour” crimes.DAW released the Handbook for legislation on violence against women (2009). The Handbook, intends to provide all stakeholders with detailed guidance to support the adoption and effective implementation of legislation which prevents violence against women, punishes perpetrators, and ensures the rights of survivors everywhere. It is hoped that the Handbook will be of use to government officials, parliamentarians, civil society, staff of United Nations entities and other actors in their efforts at ensuring that a solid legal basis is in place for tackling the scourge of violence against women. DAW also uploaded three videos on its website containing discussions on legislation on violence against women.On 4 March 2009, during the fifty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women, DAW organized a joint dialogue of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on “Addressing violence against women through legal reform”. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to support the use of gender-responsive budgeting to secure budget lines for violence prevention, survivor assistance and access to justice in Mexico City and Burundi. Hide