United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, provided support to civil society and women’s organisations for initiatives, including training for Pakistani civil society groups on masculinities; and developing a high school curriculum on violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, contributed to policy development on gender-based violence in Cambodia, Egypt, Moldova, Morocco, Tanzania and Tunisia. Efforts by UNIFEM on gender-responsive budgeting led to national and municipal budget allocations for violence against women programmes in Bulgaria and Brazil. In October 2009, UNAIDS held a technical consultation of leading experts, practitioners, and researchers to review evidence on programme interventions to address violence against women through HIV-related entry points. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported: a gender-based violence observatory in Guanajuato, Mexico; integrated domestic violence data collection and monitoring systems in the Caribbean, with PAHO and UNFPA; and studies on domestic violence among Romany women (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), violence against women and HIV policies (Mercosur countries) and survivor services (Sierra Leone), with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs and International Rescue Committee. Hide

UNIFEM’s, (now part of UN Women) continued support for advancing legislation on violence against women, in collaboration with national institutions, included: domestic violence legislation in Kazakhstan, Mozambique and Nepal; law reform and harmonization in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Georgia, Mexico, Senegal and the Solomon Islands; legal measures against sexual harassment in Bolivia and Pakistan. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, contributed to government funds for Tajikistan’s Girls’ Support Centre and supported advocacy and survivor support networks in Algeria, Argentina, Morocco and Uruguay. Hide

DAW, now part of UN  Women, finalized the report of the expert group meeting on legislation to address harmful practices. The report sets out recommendations for legislation to address harmful practices against women, with particular attention to female genital mutilation, so called “honour” crimes, acid throwing, stove burning, and harmful practices related to marriage.

DAW, in cooperation with ECA, convened two multi-stakeholder workshops at sub-regional level, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in December 2009, bringing together representatives from 12 countries to support and accelerate legislative reform on violence against women.

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UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to provide technical and other support, in the context of joint United Nations efforts, to service provision initiatives. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued advocacy related to Security Council resolutions 1888 and 1889. UNIFEM participated in UNCT programmes and other inter-agency initiatives in many countries, such as in the development of the UN Action-supported strategy on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, participated in UNCT programmes and other inter-agency initiatives in many countries, including: the South Asia Anti-Trafficking Think Tank (formed in partnership with UNODC) and the Amal Coalition in Gaza. UNIFEM supported advocacy and survivor support networks in Algeria, Argentina, Morocco and Uruguay, as well as men’s networks in Cameroon and Mozambique. UNIFEM awareness-raising support included: a workshop on CEDAW and gender-based violence in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (with the Open Society Institute); a South African sexual harassment campaign; and various events for the 16 Days of activism against gender violence campaign. Hide

Issues # 5 and 6 of Words to Action, DAW’s (now part of UN Women) quarterly newsletter on violence against women, was produced with feature articles on sexual violence in conflict settings, and the vital role of CEDAW in eliminating violence against women. Hide