Data Collection, Analysis and Research

The international partnership "Together for Girls", to which WHO is a member, conducts national surveys to document sexual violence in a number of countries, promotes evidence-based programming to address sexual violence and has developed a strategy to increase global advocacy and public awareness. WHO contributes through technical guidance on survey development and implementation and capacity building as a follow-up of the surveys. Two research papers were published in 2011 from the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence database, one showing the increased risk of suicide attempts among women who experienced intimate partner violence, and the other showing the risk factors for intimate partner violence across 15 sites. The WHO multi-country study database continues to be analyzed, providing evidence of the risk factors and health effects of violence against women. Hide

In 2011, according to most recent data available, UNHCR and partners received reports of 6,218 incidents of SGBV in refugee camps, and 4,868 incidents among urban refugees. Hide

During the 5th session of the Committee on Women held from 19 to 21 December 2011 at the UN house in Lebanon, a session was dedicated to discussing the issue of violence against women (VAW), and the main findings and recommendations of ESCWA’s Regional Study on Violence against women included: 1) the enactment of special laws to criminalize the acts of VAW ; 2) provision of services for the protection of victims of VAW and their psychological, social and physical rehabilitation; and 3) initiation of nation-wide campaigns to raise awareness about the negative effects of VAW and sensitize the public at large. Hide

ESCWA reported that an e-learning course delivered by the Development Account Project entitled “Measurement of Violence against Women through Statistical Surveys” was conducted from 26 November to 10 December 2011. The e-learning course focused on the following objectives: 1) enhancing knowledge of the conceptual understanding of pervasiveness of violence against women (VAW), in addition to increasing awareness about the available sources and use and limitation of statistics on VAW; 2) enhancing understanding of the importance and use of the core indicators recommended by the Statistical Commission; 3) enhancing the understanding on how to use the UNECE module as part of a questionnaire developed for a dedicated survey; 4) being able to develop, adapt, translate and pre-test a questionnaire for a survey on VAW; 5) being able to develop an appropriate training curriculum for training of field staff and knowing how to use training materials as developed for the UNECE module; 6) enhancing knowledge on the role of stakeholders to ensure use of statistical data on VAW. The training targeted persons working in different ministries in the ESCWA region. Hide

ESCWA has implemented the project on "Enhancing Capacities to Eradicate Violence against Women (VAW) through Networking of Local Knowledge Communities” in coordination with all other United Nations Regional Commissions, the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) and the former United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) (now UN Women). This project addresses the need to strengthen the capacity of the countries to regularly and appropriately measure violence against women in respective regions. Effective policies and programmes to eradicate violence against women need to be planned on the basis of extensive knowledge. Hide

Following the Pilot/Pre-testing survey on violence against women, carried out within the work programme of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) during 2011, UNICRI, in partnership with IPSOS and HEUNI, is currenlty working on the FRA Violence Against Women Survey, involving 27 EU countries and 1 accessing country, Croatia. The survey will consist of 1,500 standardised interviews in each country concerning experiences of violence against women. This is the first survey carried out in the 28 countries. The data provided by the survey will be crucial for comparative analysis, for scientifically based information on the extension of violence against women and for developing and evaluating legislation and policies to fight violence against women. The project will end in November 2012. Hide

The ECA Series of Meetings on Gender Statistics held in Ghana in November 2011 followed the workshop and included a session on the role of statistical data and indicators to inform policy and actions to prevent, sanction and eradicate violence against women. Hide

The African Women’s Rights Observatory (AWRO), launched by the ECA in 2007, was presented at the 7th session of the Committee on Women and Development (CWD), held in May, 2011. The 44 member states present during the session commended the initiative and moreover, have committed to appoint focal persons in order to provide data on a timely basis. Hide

As part of the African Gender and Development Index, Phase II, the ECA is supporting 17 countries (Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cote d’ Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Zambia) to collect data on domestic violence, harmful practices, rape, sexual harassment and trafficking in women. Countries are also tracking government progress in ratifying relevant international conventions; designing and implementing policies and strategies; and in meeting reporting obligations on violence against women. Hide

ECA produced a synthesis report of studies conducted in Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia which provides an overview of violence against women (VAW) in each country, the scale and prevalence of different forms of VAW, its causes and consequences. It also identifies gaps in knowledge and data collection and gives particular attention to good practices in addressing VAW. Hide