Measures

During the course of the Strategic Plan 2016-2020, the UN Trust Fund invested USD47 million in projects that solely or partly focused on preventing violence against women and girls.

To disseminate the expertise and knowledge of civil society and women's rights organizations, the UN Trust Fund worked with grantee organizations and researchers to create a series of briefings on preventing violence against women. The organizations' practice-based insights are invaluable to planning, designing and funding interventions aimed at ending violence against women and girls.

The main objectives of the knowledge products are to:

make the practice-based knowledge available to all those working to end violence against women and girls;

examine the unique contributions and levels of impact of civil society and women's organizations in preventing violence against women and girls, as well as the challenges faced and lessons learned;

guide the UN Trust Fund’s grant-making priorities; and

inform the work of the UN and other stakeholders on preventing and ending violence against women and girls.

The findings identified 10 key pathways to prevent violence against women and girls. Each theme will be explored in conversations with 10 grantees, resulting in a detailed report per theme published on a rolling basis in starting July 2021 and 2022.

Hide

The United Nations Trust Fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women (UN Trust Fund) is a global, multilateral grant-making mechanism that supports effort to prevent and end violence against women and girls. The UN Trust Fund, which was established in 1996 by the General Assembly in the resolution 50/166, is administered by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) on behalf of the United Nations system. With the strong institutional support of UN Women and its regional, multi-country offices, and working closely with the rest of the United Nations system through its inter-agency Programme Advisory Committee, the Trust Fund plays a vital role in driving forward collective efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

Hide

From 2017-2020, at least 23,089 service providers around the world have improved their provision of services for women survivors of violence and those at-risk, supported by UN Trust Fund grantees. Ensuring access to essential and adequate services was a cornerstone of many grantees’ COVID-19 response plans in 2020. In addition, grantees reached 72,629 rights holders/beneficiaries with food, hygiene supplies, sanitation and/or with other emergency need parcels in order to ensure the stability of their project and reach those who were most marginalized and at risk. Grantees took action to provide immediate support such as cash-based or in-kind assistance, to ensure the survival of beneficiaries. Grantees rapidly adapted their service provision in light of the pandemic. For example, in Chad, the Public Interest Law Center created a temporary shelter, beyond its permanent counselling centres, to provide additional support for women in need. In the State of Palestine, the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development, advocated for transitional shelters, where women could quarantine before entering shelters, in accordance with COVID-19 regulations. Results in 2020 on ensuring access to services for women and girl survivors of violence, in the context of COVID-19, included important adaptations and responses from grantees globally. Hide

An initiative by Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Selangor (Friends of Women Organization, Selangor) in Malaysia focuses on addressing the rising problem of harassment of women workers, particularly undocumented migrant and domestic workers, who are at heightened risk of all forms of gender-based violence. Some activities could not be carried out as planned during 2020 because the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic required the grantee to adapt some initiatives, deliver some virtually and postpone others. Nevertheless, despite the challenges, progress was made in some key project areas, including: the development of an app to report abuses and provide information; gathering and analysing baseline data using responses from 100 women; disseminating information relating to sexual harassment, including launching a video on sexual harassment on Facebook during the 16 Days of Activism, which was widely viewed; and training 15 domestic worker leaders during a short lifting of the ban on gatherings due to COVID-19. The grantee also provided relief to those most at risk during the pandemic and 60 families received emergency aid. Hide

A 2020 external meta-analysis of findings from 30 external evaluations found that projects working to strengthen the implementation of laws, policies and national action plans underscored that planning and focus were key to successful engagement strategies. It also identified the need to expand the focus to include building political will in relation to specific actions and the alignment of national legislative and policy frameworks with international standards.  For example, in El Salvador, UN Trust Fund grantee  Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz, sought to ensure that women experience a better response to violence against women as a result of strengthened institutions, and the ability of Civil Society Organizations and Women’s Rights Organizations to demand accountability from the Government to implement existing laws. After receiving training on the law and available services, there was an increase in women who learned about and used available services. Hide

A project implemented by the Center of Women’s Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina funded by the UN Trust Fund is working to improve protection mechanisms for survivors of intimate partner violence. The grantee worked to create alliances with relevant professionals; adapting during COVID-19 to conduct communication and preparations by telephone and email. The Center of Women’s Rights organized seminars for judges and prosecutors, including obtaining the necessary approvals, disseminating plans and worked to organize seminars with participants in the Multisectoral Working Group and the Expert Group.  This led to an important achievement: for the first time since the establishment of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centre, the seminar on changing attitudes and perceptions of judges and prosecutors was included in the regular Annual Training Programme of Judges and Prosecutors. In addition, the Center drafted and submitted a proposed amendment to the law on protection from domestic violence. Hide

ESCWA supported the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs in drafting a “Situation Analysis for the State of Palestine’s Violence against Women and Girls Response,” which aimed to inform the Ministry’s forthcoming Violence against Women Strategy.

ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, supported the National Council for Lebanese Women in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) for the public and private sector to fully operationalize the “Law to Criminalize Sexual Harassment and [for] Rehabilitation of Its Victims.” 

ESCWA delivered a workshop for the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Development and Family Equality in Morocco on “Costing the Implementation of the National Strategy on Combatting Violence against Women and Girls by 2030 in the Kingdom of Morocco” on 29-30 June 2021. 

ESCWA supported the Jordanian National Commission for Women in evaluating Jordan’s National Action Plan (NAP) to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), on women, peace and security (JONAP-I (2018-2021)) to inform the design of JONAP-II.

Hide

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA, held a special online meeting with its Committee on Women on “Policy Responses to Protect Women and Girls from the Impact of COVID-19” on 23 April 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNDP, delivered online training for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on “Building and Delivering Effective Hotline Service Provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic” during May 2020.

ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Republic of the Sudan entitled “Best Practices and Shared Experiences on Shelters for Women Survivors of Violence in the Republic of the Sudan” on 25-27 August 2020.

ESCWA, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Family Affairs of Kuwait, organized a “Webinar Series on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the State of Kuwait” on 28-29 September and 13 October 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP and UNODC, coordinated and delivered a series of 12 webinars on Violence against Women and COVID-19 for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from October-December 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, the League of Arab States and the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a high level virtual meeting on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on 4 November 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP and the League of Arab States, organized and facilitated webinar sessions on gender justice and the law designed to better inform members of the subcommittee on gender equality and SDGs on tools to examine and align national legislation with international frameworks, most notably CEDAW, Beijing Platform of Action and SDG target 5.1 on 8-10 December 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Women Organization, facilitated “Sub-regional Training Webinars on Reporting to the Committee on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)” on 12-16 January 2021.

ESCWA, with support from ABAAD, delivered an online workshop for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on “Supporting Women between Empowerment and Rehabilitation: Different Approaches” during March 2021.

ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Sultanate of Oman entitled “Technical support in the field of combating violence against women in the Sultanate of Oman: Ensuring a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing violence against women through legal/policy frameworks and service provision” on 22-23 June 2021.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women and WHO, delivered an online workshop for representatives from National Women Machineries and other relevant stakeholders who provide services for survivors of violence on “Services to Protect Women Survivors of Violence the Arab Region” on 26-29 July 2021.

Hide

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a youth arts competition for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2020 to address the theme “Life in Times of Emergency.” To accompany the competition, ESCWA ran a social media campaign throughout the 16 Days, which included facts about violence against women during different types of emergencies. The campaign closed with a panel of women’s rights activists from the region discussing different facets of activism during conflict, revolution and transition.

ESCWA provided an academic module on Gender Justice and Violence against Women in the Arab region to the MA programme on Gender Policies and Women's Rights course at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut.

Hide

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, held an Expert Group Meeting on “Methodologies for estimating the costs of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5)” to receive input and expert advice on the proposed approaches and methodologies to estimate the opportunity cost of achieving the SDG 5 in the Arab States.ESCWA, in partnership with UNDP, UNFPA, and UN Women, under the Gender Justice & the Law project, has updated all country studies to account for amendments to legislation impacting gender justice and violence against women in the Arab region. Additionally, ESCWA developed the Gender Justice Portal (http://genderjustice.unescwa.org/), which includes all relevant materials on the legislation impacting gender justice and violence against women in the Arab region.ESCWA published the “Violence Against Women Survey Implementation Toolkit: Complete questionnaire for a stand-alone survey.”ESCWA contributed to a “Situational Analysis of Women and Girls in MENA and Arab States Region” coordinated by UNICEF and in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, UNESCO, FAO, Tdh, and Plan International.  The situational analysis aims to present a snapshot of the lives of women and girls in the Arab region, including instances of violence against women and women’s access to justice.ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and National University of Ireland, Galway, produced the technical report on “Estimating the Cost of Child Marriage in the Arab Region: Background Paper on the Feasibility of Undertaking a Costing Study”  ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNODC and WHO, is undertaking a research study on domestic violence service provider coordination and referral systems in the Arab regionESCWA, on behalf of the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs, is currently conducting a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) of the May 2021 aggression against the Gaza Strip, including an analysis of the impact on GBV and access to GBV services.ESCWA contributed to a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) of the Beirut Port Explosions, which was coordinated by UN Women, in partnership with UNFPA, CARE and ABAAD. The analysis includes a discussion of the impact of the aftermath of the explosion on GBV and access to GBV services.ESCWA, in partnership with the National University of Ireland, Galway, supported the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the technical paper on the “Economic Costs of Marital Violence against Women in the State of Palestine.”ESCWA is supporting the Jordan National Commission for Women to implement a national survey to estimate the cost of the out of pocket expenses for survivors of domestic violence. Hide