Protection, Support and Services for Victims/Survivors

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

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include capacity building workshops for women in Panama; psychological counselling in Venezuela and Turkey; distribution of sanitary materials in India and Thailand; improved access to health facilities and income-generation activities in India; allocation of subsistence allowances to unaccompanied children in Egypt; language classes in Malta, vocational training in Bosnia; and the establishment of safe houses in Yemen and Turkey. UNHCR expanded the provision of Post Exposure Phropyhlaxis (PEP) following rape to prevent transmission of HIV. Hide

In China, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, support to the Xuzhou Domestic Violence Shelter is being considered for nation-wide scale-up by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Hide

In Bolivia (Municipality of Cochabamba) and Ecuador, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported advocacy for increased allocations for services for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, resulting in the Government of Ecuador committing $2 million for implementation of the national plan of action. Hide

OHCHR has funded a legal assistance project in Tajikistan for women subjected to domestic violence. UNRWA provided legal aid and counselling through Women Programme Centres. Hide