Protection, Support and Services for Victims/Survivors

In Sri Lanka, the UNV Volunteer Information and Coordination Centre (VOICE) has been extended into 2008-2010 to include a Legal Empowerment Volunteers Scheme. This pilot project mobilizes university volunteers to support legal empowerment activities. Legal aid is provided to migrant women workers by 30 volunteers in seven locations. Through the empowerment scheme, the legal volunteers learn about marginalisation and vulnerability in their own society. The legal aid pilot project also concentrates on those affected by gender-based violence to help them attain equal access to justice. The VOICE project is supported by one national and five international UNV volunteers. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, provided support to civil society and women’s organizations for initiatives including community-based Multi-purpose Centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo; HIV/AIDS and violence counselling protocols in Peru. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in partnership with various national government, bi-lateral government (donor), non-governmental and United Nations partners, supported legal aid to women survivors in the North of Uganda; training for Rwandan women survivors on handicraft, health and financial skills; the establishment of two referral centres in Afghanistan; efforts addressing post-election rape, including the development of guidelines to prepare women’s court testimonies in Kenya. Hide

In Venezuela, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported gender-responsive budgeting work that resulted in the earmarking of funds for shelters, in selected municipalities. Hide

During 2008, UNFPA’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office (LACRO) undertook an initiative aimed at improving access of victims of sexual violence to justice through the design of public policies on sexual violence, and the strengthening of legal protection systems and health services in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua). The initiative will develop pilot prevention and care models, to be linked to public security, legal, medicine, health and justice institutions. Hide

UNRWA’s legal department in the Syrian Arab Republic provided refugees with access to legal and counselling services to combat gender-based violence. Hide

Women’s empowerment activities started under the project “Action against Human Trafficking from Nigeria to Europe”, submitted by Edo State (Nigeria) NGO Coalition against Human Trafficking (ENCATIP) and NAPTIP (the Nigerian National Agency against Trafficking) and approved by UNICRI. Hide

The World Bank’s Post-Conflict Fund (FCF) provides umbrella funding for a range of activities in Africa, including work on gender-based violence. An example is a US$733,000 grant to administer a "Protection from Gender-Based Violence" programme in Côte d’Ivoire. The project aims to prevent sexual violence against women and provide assistance to victims, and it builds on initial work carried out by the International Rescue Committee. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, through its gender-responsive budgeting programme in South East Europe, supported civil society, which led to increased regional and municipal budget allocations in 2008 for domestic violence shelters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and amendments to the domestic violence law to ensure co-financing for shelter operations. Hide

UNRWA has developed guidelines, a referral system and a training course for health staff on handling cases of violence against women and children in UNRWA clinics. The UNRWA West Bank field office produced a draft brochure on domestic violence for health clinics. Hide