Protection, Support and Services for Victims/Survivors

UN Women provided support to survivor assistance networks and counseling/crisis centers in Algeria (the CIDDEF and BALSAM network), Morocco (the ANARUZ network), and Mauritania (El Wafa crisis center, AMSME), which enabled women survivors of violence (about 830 in Algeria, 1700 in Morocco, and 150 victims of sexual violence in Mauritania) to access psychological and legal advice and support. In Algeria, four new counseling centers joined the BALSAM network, which is now composed of 15 counseling centers. This enlargement enabled the BALSAM network to cover other regions and provide services to women survivors of violence in rural areas. Technical assistance to a leading non-government organization in the area of economic empowerment of women survivors of violence in Morocco resulted in the development of tools necessary to the establishment of a fund to support income generating activities for women victims of Economic Violence Based on Gender. Hide

UN Women provided women inmates in Palestinian correction and rehabilitation centres (Palestinian prisons) with legal aid and representation from a gender perspective, social counseling sessions, recreational and rehabilitative activities; and provision of goods for primary needs for the women and their newborn children leaving inside the prison. Regular monitoring of the situation (social and legal) of women inmates in the occupied Palestinian territory was conducted and a paper was produced. UN Women has also provided financial support to the existing toll-free help in the occupied Palestinian territory for women and children victims of violence. Hide

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UNICEF is the lead agency, with the Ministry of Health, to coordinate response – “the Multi-Sectoral Assistance pillar” - with a goal to improve the quality, accessibility and delivery of services for survivors. In the Horn of Africa, UNICEF supported safe access to fuel and fuel efficient stoves. A regional strategy is being developed along with Women’s Refugee Committee, UNHCR and WFP. Hide

In Uganda, OHCHR, in partnership with the Human Rights Commission, consulted women and girls who were victims of grave violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law on their views on remedy and reparation. This work was published in the report “The Dust Has Not Settled: Community reflections on reparations in northern Uganda.” In May 2011, an expert meeting on gender and witness and victim protection was organized. The discussions elaborated on specific challenges and demands with respect to witness and victim protection in proceedings and programmes relating to human rights violations disproportionately affecting women, such as sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, so-called honour crimes and trafficking, and will contribute to the development of the framework of a tool for use at national level. Hide

In Afghanistan, OHCHR/UNAMA provided support to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and provincial Departments to establish commissions on the elimination of violence against women in different provinces. Hide

In Latin America, UNODC Regional Office for Brazil and the Southern Cone developed a project for the strengthening of public and civil society institutions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The project seeks to improve the countries' capacity to offer support to gender-based violence victims and to develop a regional knowledge/expertise on this problem and to architect a good practices network, gathering players from the community, civil society and governmental institutions. Hide

WHO is currently finalizing a systematic review of evidence on effective interventions to address violence against women and HIV for peer-reviewed publication. A systematic review of evidence on the links between violence against sex workers and risk of STI and HIV infection as well as of effective interventions to reduce violence against sex workers is being finalized for peer-reviewed publication. In addition, grey literature is being reviewed and a technical consultation is being convened to document "good practices" in preventing and addressing violence against sex workers in the context of HIV/AIDS in Montreux on January 30-31 2012. The outcomes of the systematic review and the technical consultation will be the basis for developing a section on addressing violence against sex workers in the WHO Guidelines on HIV prevention, treatment and care among sex workers. Hide

WHO is finalizing clinical and policy guidelines for the health sector response to intimate partner and sexual violence. The Guidelines Development Group (GDG), bringing together researchers, practitioners and policy makers, met in September 2011 to review the evidence and develop evidence-based recommendations for the health sector response to these forms of violence. A draft is being reviewed by the GDG and will be finalized by June 2012. A Programming Guide on Addressing violence against women in the context of HIV is also being finalized. Hide

With the support of UN Action, WHO organized, in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, a technical meeting on responding to the psychosocial and mental health needs of survivors of sexual violence. The meeting in November 2011 reviewed the evidence and experiences from the field and made programmatic, policy and research recommendations. Hide

UNRWA has installed referral systems in its five fields of operations (Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and West Bank). In Gaza, UNRWA has established 12 one-stop centres located in UNRWA’s heath centres. In the West Bank, a multi-sectoral, community approach to addressing gender-based violence (GBV) has been the core of the referral system. Family and Child Protection Committees made up of representatives from UNRWA departments and community members are in place in 10 refugee camps to promote awareness and prevention of GBV/violence against women (VAW), and provide protection, and access to services. In Jordan, the primary mechanism of the system is to provide assistance to GBV survivors through referral to external partners who would be able to provide more comprehensive support to those seeking assistance. In Syria, the system was developed in Yarmouk and Deraa camps around the Family Support Offices, which consolidated introducing new services (social interventions and case management), while also strengthening relations with external partners to provide services that are not readily available at the offices (psychosocial counselling, sheltering). In Lebanon, the referral is in the early phases of development. Through the system that is being set-up, UNRWA staff will detect and refer GBV victims to its external partners for counselling and support. From January until November 2011, 561 survivors were detected and referred for services, protection and support. Hide