Prevention, Including Awareness Raising and Advocacy

As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign, UNRWA, in collaboration with various stakeholders, organised events in Gaza, Jordan, Syria, and West Bank, involving its health, education, relief and social services programmes. Activities included photograph exhibitions, mobile theatres, awareness events and poetry. UNRWA, in Gaza, held awareness-raising workshops on the role of the international instruments in fighting gender-based violence, where UNRWA teachers participated. Hide

Within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, UNESCO organized the following conferences and exhibitions:- ”Under the Wings of the Butterflies”;- "Voices on the rise: Afghan Women Making the News”, as well as the projection of the film "Girls on the air", both having a look into the lives of Afghan women;-“Water, women and sustainable development in Africa", organized in cooperation with the French association « Femmes de Demain » and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), addressing the challenges that women face and the role they play in relation to water resources management, water governance and development. Hide

ESCWA Centre for Women is a member of the Steering Committee of the project Ending Violence against women through men and boys, led by Kafa and Oxfam, in Lebanon. The chief of the Centre for Women gave several interviews to the media on the topic. Hide

In October 2010, UNDP Myanmar organized a discussion forum on the advancement of women, drawing on the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (APHDR) on Gender, including topics on gender-based violence and trafficking. The panel stressed that cultures and traditions can retain customs that are unfair to women and they need to be addressed. Hide

In Nepal, UNDP and UN Women public awareness materials on gender-based violence and the Anti-Domestic Violence Act were distributed. UNDP also partnered with the Office of Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers to organize a public awareness event in support of the “16-days of Activism Campaign” against gender-based violence. Hide

An important milestone of the recently concluded UNICRI programme “Trafficking of Minors and Young Women from Nigeria to Italy” is the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in combating trafficking in persons between the National Anti-Mafia Bureau of Italy (DNA) and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related Matters of Nigeria (NAPTIP), which are the responsible agencies for the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases in their respective countries. Hide

UN HABITAT continues to support the NGO Jagori in the implementation of the project called “Youth and Girls Safety”.UN-HABITAT and WICI developed the background document on girls and urbanization for the Plan International Publication “Because I am a Girl”. UN-Habitat attended the launch of the PLAN report “ Because I am a Girl” in Nairobi and Kampala. An expert working group on “girls’ safety in cities” will be based on the recommendations of the publication.The Third International Conference on Women’s Safety: Building Inclusive Cities was held in New Delhi, India in November 22nd to 24th 2010, with the participation of stakeholders from 41 countries and 60 cities. The conference was co-organised by Women in Cities International and Jagori, in collaboration with UN-HABTIAT, UNIFEM, and the Huairou Commission with the support from the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom, the Canadian Government, the Interchurch organisation for development co-operation (ICCO), the Evangelischer Entwicklingsdienst (EED), UNICEF, the German NGO Freidrich Ebert Stuftung, CITYNET, the Australian Government, Red Mujer y Habitat America Latina, and Plan International. The conference resulted in the Delhi Declaration. Hide

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. Hide

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). Hide

Awareness on gender-based violence and livelihoods was raised through a documentary produced by UNAIDS “Empowered over their fields, empowered over their lives, food security response to HIV and gender inequities” (http://vimeo.com/14921424 or http://www.fao.org/emergencies/current-focus/hiv-aids-and-emergencies/en/), a brochure http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/al315e/al315e00.pdf and several articles in FAO Dimitra newsletter and IRIN Media Centre (Kenya: growing self-esteem at farm schools (IRIN)) http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89179). Hide