Prevention, Including Awareness-Raising and Advocacy

A briefing on gender, including violence against women, was organized by DPI in September 2009 for the participants of the Reham Al-Farra Memorial Journalists Fellowship Programme.

DPI produced and disseminated in all its media outlets information on United Nations work to eliminate violence against women. These products were used by global broadcast and journalistic partners and were made available to the general public. Working in the six UN official languages as well as Kiswahili and Portuguese, UN Radio covered the issue of violence against women in news reports, interviews, and feature programmes. Features drew attention to different aspects of the issue, including domestic violence, the needs of women and girls in the aftermath of conflict, the Secretary-General's launch of a “Network of Men Leaders”, and celebrity advocacy to end the practice of rape as a weapon of war. UN Television produced programmes for broadcast partners around the world and in long-format magazine programmes attention was drawn to violence against women in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and domestic violence in Afghanistan. UNTV’s live pool and daily highlights packages provided news syndicators with coverage of relevant Secretary-General’s speeches and messages, meetings of the Security Council and press briefings. UNTV also made available on the Internet a number of materials, including coverage of the 30th anniversary commemoration of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the launch of the “Network of Men Leaders” and “UNiTE to end violence against women” campaign, and an event co-sponsored by the United States, the Netherlands, and Brazil on combating violence against girls. A wide range of UN activities to combat violence against women was covered on the UN News Centre portal in all official languages. The main site with searchable index can be viewed at www.un.org/news. Intergovernmental meetings, open press briefings and statements of UN senior leadership were covered by DPI, which issued press releases on violence against women, including press release statements of the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General and press briefings. In September 2009, DPI assisted in coordinating the participation of Messenger of Peace Charlize Theron in recording a public service announcement for UN Action’s “Stop Rape Now!” campaign. DPI devoted the first issue of UN Chronicle on challenges women and girls face across the world, including essays and first-person accounts of war and sexual violence, safety of refugee women and girls and the UN system’s coordinated response to protecting the rights of women and girls everywhere.

In November, DPI launched a re-designed UNiTE website so as to engage visitors, in particular through creating and linking to social media platforms for the campaign. For the tenth anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, DPI publicized and contributed to the organization of the launch of the Secretary-General’s “Network of Men Leaders” at UN Headquarters, through the production of information materials, including a press kit, campaign banners and pins. The Secretary-General gave a press conference to mark the International Day, which generated considerable media coverage, with most news pieces leading with the launch of the “Network of Men Leaders”. DPI also held a briefing entitled “Healing Wounds, Reclaiming Lost Lives: The Consequences of Female Genital Mutilation” in November 2009. In all regions, DPI’s network of UN Information Centres organized numerous events to promote the UNiTE campaign around 25 November, including the launch of national groups of UNiTE campaign supporters (see http://endviolence.un.org and http://www.facebook.com/pages/UNiTE-To-End-Violence-Against-Women/314529270144).

The Department of Public Information (DPI) was heavily involved in promotion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November 2011. DPI updated and developed new press and campaign materials, and the key message emphasized in media materials – the call for resources for the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women – was picked up prominently in the media coverage. A short video, “Youth Voices on Ending Violence against Women”, was produced and launched ahead of the Day.

In November 2007, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, DPI’s Development Section worked in collaboration with UNIFEM to produce an e-mail campaign. The UN Information Centres mobilized civil society partners to focus on the issue, particularly around the International Day and the campaign ’16 days of activism against gender violence’. Several Information Centres, including those in Asunción, Bogotá, Baku, Cairo, Lima, and Lusaka, developed special campaigns and radio and television programmes, and held press conferences, seminars and educational forums. Africa Renewal magazine issued an article on the realities faced by millions of African women, also noting grassroots work to address violence against women;[ this article is also being offered for placement in regional newspapers].

UNTV produced several stories that were offered to broadcasters through their series “UN in Action” and “21st Century”, including features on honour killings in Turkey, domestic violence in Nepal and the prevalence of rape in Burundi. UN Radio produced various stories which included attention to violence against women, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq. A dozen stories were featured on the high-traffic UN NewsCentre website, with headlines ranging from “When women are empowered, all of society benefits – Migiro,” to “Sexual violence against women in DR Congo amounts to war crime: UN expert”. Several press releases highlighted the seriousness of the issue, including the visit of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Yakin Ertürk, to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Outreach Division, through the New York Festival/UN DPI Awards, has been encouraging filmmakers to publicize this issue by granting awards to several films highlighting women’s conditions globally.

On 17 November 2008, the Secretary-General appointed Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron as United Nations Messenger of Peace, tasked with promoting efforts to end violence against women. DPI facilitated a press conference in New York to announce the appointment, in which Ms. Theron participated. The event had extensive media coverage. DPI also undertook activities to promote the campaign on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The UN News Centre of the Department of the Department of Public Information continued its coverage of the global campaign to end violence against women, particularly in English and French. In these two languages alone, a total of 62 stories were written, covering the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and reports prepared by human rights officials and experts. Several social media platforms managed by the Department of Public Information, including the UN Twitter account (twitter.com/un) regularly featured content on violence against women. During the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence 16 tweets for 16 days were developed along with 16 Facebook updates for 16 days. The Department of Public Information was involved in the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women under the theme “Leadership of Corporate Sector in Empowering Women and Ending Violence against Women and Girls”, through the development and dissemination of UNiTE campaign and other press materials. In Beirut, the UN Information Centre held a press conference and partnered with university students to distribute UNiTE campaign material. Social media were utilised to raise awareness of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by several UN Information Centres, including those in Pretoria, Tunis, and Vienna. The Department’s UN Radio produced coverage of activities surrounding the International Day and the 16 days of activism against gender violence, in the Organization’s six official languages, in Portuguese and Kiswahili. UN Radio covered the use of rape and sexual violence as a tactic of war in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, featuring statements by the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A UN Radio programme highlighted aspects of a World Bank report on violence against women, and included interviews with members of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

DPI continues to raise awareness globally on the UN’s efforts to address violence against women through various information dissemination mechanisms, including: articles published in the delegate; activities undertaken through the United Nations Information Centres across the globe (e.g. Azerbaijan, Ghana and Panama); the Messengers for Peace programme and Chelize Theron’s advocacy on the issue; publications (e.g. “The Future We Want"; "Involving the Forgotten: Widows and Global Sustainable Development," and "Delivering Justice"); the intra/internet (i.e. six stories on iseek and the dedicated section on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with relevant informational links and social media tools on the UN Calendar of Observances: Making a Difference); through UN visitor services (12 groups exploring women’s rights and violence and 3 sexual violence); in addition to the UN4U programme that reaches out to NYC schools having involved 62 UN staff members in 2012.

The UN Television of the Department of Public Information covered the issue of violence against women in the following programmes: “Haiti: The Enemy Within”, on the situation of women and girls in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake; “Bosnia: Healing the Wounds of War”, on the legacy of wartime rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina; “Senegal: Beyond Tradition”, on female genital mutilation; and “Jordan: In the Name of Honour”, on the campaign against “honour” killings in Jordan. UN Webcast covered 8 events related to violence against women, including media appearances by Margot Wallström and Michelle Bachelet, and the official observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. A total of 29 official press releases (in English and French) on the issue of violence against women were produced by the Department of Public Information, including coverage of four inter-governmental meetings and four press conferences at UN Headquarters. The Department raised awareness about the issue of violence against women throughout the UN Secretariat via several stories published on iSeek, the Organization’s intranet and deleGATE, the information site aimed at diplomatic missions (www.un.int). Several articles of the Department focused on violence against women, such as: “Who Speaks for the Poor and Why Does it Matter?” and “Adolescent Marriage: Crossroad or Status Quo?” (UN Chronicle magazine), “African women’s long walk to equality” (Africa Renewal magazine).