Prevention, Including Awareness Raising and Advocacy

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. Hide

ESCAP convened a High-level Intergovernmental Meeting to Review Regional Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and Its Regional and Global Outcomes (November 2009), during which, a panel discussion entitled “Regional campaign to end violence against women” was held. The experiences of various countries in measuring and addressing violence against women, including through engaging with men and boys and with faith-based organizations, were shared. A regional consultation for the Secretary-General’s campaign to end violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region was also organized. Hide

UNAIDS is an active member of the Secretary General’s Africa-wide Campaign to End Violence Against Women. Hide

In support of the Secretary-General’s Campaign, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, coordinated inter-agency efforts towards the launch of the UNiTE in Africa and UNiTE Latin America and the Caribbean regional components of the Campaign. It organized with OSAGI and the Center for Women's Global Leadership a civil society consultation in relation to the Campaign. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, Issues # 3 and 4 of Words to Action were produced, with feature articles on the Secretary-General’s Campaign “UNiTE to end violence against women” and the IANWGE Task Force’s joint programming pilot initiative, respectively. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported public events and information dissemination on ending violence against women through various mediums, including: International Women’s Day in India, Nigeria and Viet Nam; youth conferences on sexual harassment in Egypt and on support to sexual and gender-based violence survivors in Tanzania; a Zimbabwe television series to highlight trafficking issues; a documentary on good practices in ancestral justice for indigenous women in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador; and a youth rock concert in Colombia. Within an interagency programme in Haiti, UNIFEM supported the dissemination of information regarding especially to sexual and gender-based violence protection measures through media and schools (in collaboration with the Ministry for the Status of Women and Women's Rights). Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to provide technical and other support in the context of joint United Nations efforts in the Asia-Pacific region, engaging men and boys to prevent violence against women. Hide

UNFPA sent a high-level delegation participate in the March 2009 international colloquium that was held in Liberia on “Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security”. UNFPA made a presentation on “Developing Linkages for Collaboration on the SG Campaign on VAW” at the UNDP global annual gender meeting that was held in Caracas, Venezuela, in April 2009. Hide

UNFPA participated in the March 2009 Rio Global Symposium on Engaging Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality; developed a toolkit on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality and sexual and reproductive health (with Instituto Promundo); developed case studies of Engaging Men and Boys in Gender, Sexuality and reproductive health in Asia and Africa (with ICOMP); and, documented good practices on Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality and HIV and AIDS. UNFPA represented the UN Team in the drafting committee of the Rio Call to Action and continues the collaboration with the “Men Engage Alliance” as well as respective partners.UNFPA continued its advocacy work on elimination of violence, abuse and discrimination against women and girls, with a special focus on vulnerable and marginalized groups of women and girls. It collaborated with Help Age International, the Global Action on Aging and the NGO Committee on Ageing in advocating for the implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, and contributed to UNAIDS’s guidance note on HIV and sex work. Other instances of work with such groups includes the new UNFPA-AECID Latin America initiative - “Strengthening Indigenous Women’s Organizations and Health Systems to Promote Maternal Health, with an Intercultural and Human Rights-Based Approach”. In Jamaica, in partnership with the government, UNFPA support the launching of the campaign “Sister to Sister”, using popular icons and messages.During the Commission on the Status of Women, UNFPA hosted various events on the inter-sectionality of HIV/AIDS and violence against women. Hide

A number of stories on violence against women, such as violence against albinos in Tanzania and violence against female domestic workers in Brazil, were posted during the Durban Review Conference, held in April in Geneva, on both the OHCHR and the Conference sites. Another story focused on the side event “Double Odds: Women Overcoming Multiple Discrimination” including a presentation by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. Other stories were posted in 2009 in relation to human trafficking.In March 2009, the OHCHR Women’s Rights and Gender Unit co-organized a side event on “Honour Killings” during the Human Rights Council. On the occasion of the 12th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, UNHCR and OHCHR organized a side event entitled “A Modern day "Crucible" - Witchcraft accusations against women and children in the 21st Century” to draw attention to witchcraft accusations, often targeting marginalized groups, including refugees and IDPs.OHCHR participated in the organization of an awareness-raising workshop on human rights and national laws related to women's rights in May 2009 for an Arab settlement in Zeina, in Sudan. OHCHR’s Regional Office in Central Asia produced leaflets, in Kyrgyz and Russian languages, with information on the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, including the template individual communications form.In order to celebrate International Women’s Day and the anniversaries of the adoption of the CEDAW Convention and its Optional Protocol in 2009, the OHCHR in Uganda featured an article in Uganda’s main daily newspaper, calling for speedy enactment of pending bills, including the ones on domestic relations, sexual offences and domestic violence.. OHCHR’s country office in Uganda, in cooperation with Pader NGO Forum and the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC), sensitized internally displaced persons (IDP) community leaders on the human rights of women, focusing on ending sexual and gender-based violence, forced and early marriages, and promoting inheritance and property rights. In February and July 2009, in Kitgum District/Uganda, the Office facilitated sessions on sexual, gender-based violence and human rights. The Country office also gave a presentation on the role of international organizations and civil society organizations in preventing sexual and gender-based violence during activities organized by the Refugee Law Project.In February 2009, the OHCHR Regional Office for Eastern Africa commemorated the International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation through a range of activities. In March 2009, it participated in the launch of the “Leave No Woman Behind Project”, implemented by the Ethiopian and Spanish Governments and UNFPA, including also elements on ending violence against women.OHCHR supported financially awareness-raising and advocacy programs implemented by the human rights components of various United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. On International Women’s Day 2009, the human rights component in the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire organized training and sensitization sessions through its nine regional offices, in close cooperation with other UNOCI components, the UN Country Team and a wide range of stakeholders. The mission has focused on raising awareness of gender-based violence in Côte d’Ivoire, such as rape and female genital mutilation, early and/or forced marriages, as well as of the legal provisions contained in the Ivorian Penal Code. The Human Rights and Protection Section of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, in collaboration with County Gender Coordinators and women’s organisations, continued to raise awareness of women’s rights, female genital mutilation and sexual and gender-based violence, targeting also traditional leaders. Hide