Data Collection, Analysis and Research

ECA, in partnership with the African Union (AU) and development partners, has set up the Network on Gender-Based Violence/Violence against Women (GBV/VAW), in Addis Ababa. Its members include Regional Economic Communities, the Swedish, Finnish, Danish and South African Embassies, United Nations agencies and civil society organizations. The Network is undertaking the following activities: review global and regional legal commitments on GBV/VAW and analyse obligations by States; review and recommend for strengthening AU reporting frameworks to facilitate monitoring progress and improve performance in implementation of commitments; compile good practices in addressing GBV/VAW in Africa. Hide

ECLAC initiated the development of a Gender Observatory, as a tool to support governments in analysing regional realities, monitoring gender equality policies and international agreements, and providing technical support and training to national mechanisms for the advancement of women, as well as to national statistical agencies in countries that request such support. Violence against women is one of four main issues of concern of the Observatory. Hide

UNAIDS undertook two reviews focusing on violence against women and AIDS: (1) a review of the gender policies of the three major AIDS financing institutions – the World Bank, the US President’s Emergency Planfor AIDS relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) – with a view towards strengthening harmonization and coordination of approaches; and (2) a review of over 50 national strategic plans on AIDS to ascertain the degree to which gender issues were integrated. Hide

The United Nations Statistical Commission, at its thirty-ninth session held in February 2008 in New York, approved the formation of a “Friends of the Chair” group to conduct an in-depth technical review of proposed indicators to measure violence against women, and requested the group to report back to the Commission at its fortieth session. The work of the group is based on the proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on Indicators to Measure Violence against Women, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2007. The group consists of representatives from eight Member States (Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Ghana, Italy, Mexico and Thailand), and is chaired by Mexico. Observers include representatives from United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the World Health Organization. The Statistical Division is providing substantive and technical support to the Group. Hide

A World Bank report on Bangladesh dated March 2008 on gender and social transformation entitled “Whispers to Voices” (2008) examined among other aspects, attitudes towards and extent of gender based violence (GBV). As a follow up, the Nordic Trust Fund (NTF) is supporting work in Bangladesh that addresses GBV by exploring the social and economic impacts of women’s employment and its possible linkages to violence against women. Hide

In partnership with Gender Links, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in its capacity as Chair of the Southern African Gender and Human Rights Advisory Group, promoted the development of score-cards to measure progress in ending violence against women in the context of the SADCC Gender and Development Protocol. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported initiatives for better data collection and national statistical monitoring on gender-based violence, including in Afghanistan, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, and Venezuela. In Afghanistan, UNIFEM supported the development of a database to collect and track service-based data to monitor the ‘Strategic Framework for Eliminating Violence against Women’. Hide

As a follow up to the Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children, in December 2007, UNICEF supported the development of a new publication on violence against girls, entitled ” From Invisible to Indivisible” highlighting the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children and the study on violence against women. Hide

In 2007, UNFPA, in collaboration with the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), developed a model for costing violence against women, to be used for Bangladesh, Uganda, and Morocco. Data collection has commenced. Hide

In December 2007, UNFPA published A Holistic Approach to the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. This document describes the holistic approach utilized by UNFPA - such legal and policy reform, national capacity building and working at the community level – in its FGM/C abandonment programmes, and gives a brief sampling of the organization's country level experiences. Hide