Measures

DPKO Gender Advisers are making efforts to ensure that regular reports of the Secretary- General to the Security Council highlight steps taken to combat sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). In the field, DPKO Gender Advisers are involved in advocacy, in ensuring United Nations leadership on the issue of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) as well in strengthening national and regional efforts towards combating SGBV and they are working with peacekeeping missions’ public information units, particularly radio stations. They have also supported national organizations to spearhead campaigns on SGBV. Hide

DPKO Gender Advisers in peacekeeping missions support efforts to address gender-based violence within the work of mission components such as the UN Police (UNPOL), human rights, rule of law and public information, as an important part of their gender mainstreaming strategy. Hide

On 25 November 2007, the Gender Team of the United Nations Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) gave a presentation on sexual and gender-based violence to police officers during a workshop on women’s rights organized by the Mission’s Human Rights Section, in cooperation with UNHCR and UNICEF. Hide

BONUCA, in cooperation with UNIFEM, carried out sensitization efforts as part of the campaign “16 days of activism against gender violence”, in November/December 2007, including a radio interview with BONUCA’s Gender Affairs Officer; reports and interviews with women and men participants at the sensitization meetings broadcasted on radio; sensitisation meetings to raise awareness among military personnel and civil society; a sketch and a discussion on ways to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence in the Central African Republic; and banners, posters and T-shirts with sensitization messages. Hide

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) liaised with other United Nations entities (OHCHR, UNFPA and UNIFEM) on issues relating to women’s rights, including violence against women. The Mission also participated in various forums such as the sexual and gender-based violence-Network, chaired by OHCHR, Security Council Resolution 1325 Peace Support Working Group, chaired by UNFPA and the Embassy of Norway, as well as in information sharing and strategy discussions on ways to support national mechanisms to address violence against women and girls. Hide

ECE’s work is undertaken by a Task Force that operates under the framework of the Conference of European Statisticians. The Task Force prepared an assessment of existing surveys and methodology on measuring violence. During 2006-2007, ECE completed the following: a comparative analysis of 25 National Surveys carried out by 17 Member countries10, which highlighted the differences and commonalities of the methodology used to measure violence against women and a common basis from where it would be possible to develop standard methodology was also identified; eight indicators were identified for sexual, physical and intimate partner violence, and harmful practices while other areas were identified for the development of new indicators, such as sexual harassment, killing of women by intimate partners, psychological and economic intimate partner violence. Hide

In November 2007, ECLAC published the regional report on violence against women. The Spanish version was launched in November 2007, under the title “!Ni una más! El derecho a vivir una vida libre de violencia en América Latina y el Caribe”. In December 2007, ECLAC published a report on the follow-up to Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals, including a chapter on violence against women. Hide

In July 2007, ESCAP held an expert group meeting for senior law-making officials and national machineries for women to review the concluding comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and integration of the Convention in domestic law. The meeting focused, as one major issue, on strategies for policy reform in the area of violence against women, including on such issues as recognition of marital rape, mechanisms to enforce existing laws - particularly on domestic violence, and personal or religious law that condones violence against women.As part of ESCAP project to build the capacity of the Pacific Islands to adopt and implement the Stockholm Agenda for Action and the Yokohama Commitments to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth, a Regional Stakeholders’ Consultation and Planning Workshop for government officials and NGOs was held. The workshop was based on situational analysis studies on the commercial sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children in the Pacific and it also addressed violence and abuse of girls and adolescents. The meeting, on 19-21 November 2007 in Suva, Fiji, was co-organized with ECPAT International and Save the Children Fiji. Hide

OCHA is a founding member of the IASC Steering Committee for the Gender Standby Roster (GenCap) which deploys senior gender advisors to work in humanitarian situations. OCHA supported the GenCap Standby capacity to deploy nine senior gender advisers to the offices of Humanitarian Coordinators to ensure strengthened coordination on programmes to address gender-based violence in conflict and displacement. OCHA participated in inter-agency efforts to develop a standard gender-based violence incident reporting system. OCHA spearheaded efforts along with other members of UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict to pay special attention to gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as to the follow-up to the UN Action mission to Darfur, Sudan. Hide

The Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict (S/2007/643) of 28 October 2007, prepared by OCHA, placed considerable focus on gender-based violence in conflict and highlighted ways for all actors to strengthen their actions. The report called on states to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators, including the commanders under whom they serve, if the commanders failed to take measures to prevent the violations, in the case of the armed forces and the police. The report also called on humanitarian actors to strengthen and better coordinate their work. Hide