Measures

In 2013, UNDP progressed work on a forthcoming publication “UNDP Support for Domestic Violence Law Reform” to assist staff and partners to support national and other partners to undertake domestic violence law reform.UNDP supported several initiatives to enhance capacity of the UN system in addressing VAW through a training to UNCT members on their professional and personal roles in addressing VAW and in changing societal attitudes (Albania); compulsory online training course for UNDP staff on “UN Programme on the Prevention of Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Abuse of Authority in the Workplace” (Serbia); support by Women Safety and Security Initiative (WSSI) to institutions to establish a secure environment for women and young girls (Kosovo) 2; development of a Gender Equality Strategy with several priorities on violence against women (Afghanistan); revision of the UN Gender Theme Group Terms of Reference to include responses to gender-based violence in emergencies and in situations related with HIV and AIDS (Namibia). Hide

UNDP, in collaboration with N-Peace, organized training on Building Advocacy Skills for Effective Implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) on UN SCR 1325 and 1820. In Egypt, UNDP supported the Cairo Regional Center for Training on Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping Center (CCCPA) in mainstreaming gender across its various training modules. It also provided training for police officers in Ivory Coast; supported investigation on alleged mass rapes and sensitized population in DRC. Hide

UNDP also supported capacity building efforts through mainstreaming of gender and juvenile justice issues within the work of the Ministry of Justice and the establishment and training of the Juvenile Justice Unit in OPT; the establishment of specialised units in Libya and Iraq; an assessment of the capacity of the National Police as well as of the specialized EVAW units of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Afghanistan. In addition, it supports the development of several tools such as guidelines for Family Protection Units of the Police and curricula for lawyers, judges and prosecutors on how to deal with cases of VAW (OPT), protocols for police (Panama), including on femicide, trafficking and sexual violence (Guatemala), and training material for judges, lawyers and paralegals in India. It further supports the Gender Unit of the civilian police force in OPT including, through the development of an accredited diploma program, as well as the establishment of a Coordination Committee for the Gender Units in the different security services. Training was further provided by UNDP for female prosecutors in Central America and the Caribbean; for youth as paralegals in Tajikistan; for various governmental authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chile, Iraq and Panama; for judges, prosecutors and police officers in Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Somalia, and Timor Leste. Hide

UNICRI has launched a new research aimed at providing data on the consequences of the economic crisis on women’s rights and gender inequality. It focuses on domestic violence, discrimination, access to justice and welfare service and explores possible strategies to address the risks. Case studies are collected from the grassroots level from France, Spain, Italy and Greece, where the impact of the economic downturn on the women and the coping responses of their respective governments are studied from a gender perspective. The research intends to address the gap in the research about gendered impact of the economic crisis at national and regional levels and to contribute to the post-2015 development framework. Hide

In Cairo, Egypt, UN-Habitat conducted women’s safety audits in the 3 selected areas for intervention and prepared situational analysis reports and recommendations which were submitted to government. Place-making participatory planning workshops have been conducted in each of the 3 areas and the implementation of women-inclusive management of public spaces model has been approved by government. Progress has been made in highlighting safety concerns of women and girls through the “Because I am a Girl Urban Programme” jointly implemented by UN-Habitat, Plan International and Women and Cities International. A set of 5 tools have been developed and situational assessments conducted in 5 cities (Kampala, Delhi, Cairo, Lima and Hanoi). In each of the cities, girls shared similar experiences of insecurity, of sexual harassment and of feelings of exclusion as well as visions for safer future cities. Hide

The UN Department of Public Information (DPI) supported and facilitated activities carried across the System for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), as well as for the V-Day “One Billion Rising for Justice” initiative in February 2013. On the occasion of the International Day, a partnership was established with Google to include on their homepage a special “doodle” linking to DPI’s International Day website. The Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, took part in UN Women’s portraits photo gallery “I wear Orange because” on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence.DPI’s network of 63 UNICs joined with UN Country Teams and others to organize over 100 public outreach activities throughout the world to mark the International Day, including exhibits, round-tables discussions, press conferences, and film screenings. UNICs also translated information materials on the issue into various languages including Turkish, Portuguese, Persian and Polish.DPI highlighted VAW and the “Orange Your World" campaign on its UN social media platforms – including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and Sina Weibo, in the six official languages, plus an additional 20 languages covered by UNICs. DPI’s UN Radio produced programmes on violence against women and girls in the six UN languages plus Kiswahili and Portuguese. UN Television covered the issue in several of its features for the magazine programme 21st Century, including on human trafficking of women and girls into Europe as well as “corrective rape” in South Africa. DPI’s UNifeed disseminated 19 related news stories. DPI’s News Centre produced 28 news stories highlighting the issue, available online, through social media and by email. The Department disseminated press releases, stories on iSeek and Delegate, briefings, and visual brand materials for the "End Rape in War" campaign managed by the Office of SRSG. DPI also provided photographic and webcast as well as coverage of a wide variety of events on VAW. The UN Academic Impact organized several activities to raise awareness of the issue amongst the academic community, including with an event held in March 2013 in association with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Hide

ECLAC provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Woman of Paraguay on the elaboration of their National Action Plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which was the second one in the region to be published. A pilot course for the regional training curriculum on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 was carried out highlighting the need to involve women in conflict resolution processes and peacekeeping. Hide

ECLAC is finalizing a regional report on violence against women, including femicide, the State responses and challenges to address it. Hide

The Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has designed an analysis matrix for identifying fair gender equality policies which proposes an assessment of the capacity of public policies to tackle: (a) socioeconomic injustice, (b) legal and cultural injustice, and (c) representation injustice. This initiative aims to highlight fair policies from a gender perspective as well as their assessment and implementation. During the reporting period, ECLAC has identified and included in the Gender Equality Observatory two fair equality policies related to gender-based violence: Maria da Penha Law 11,340 (2006) in Brazil, which recognises the right of every woman to live a life without violence and considers this type of aggression a threat to women’s rights; and the policy against gender violence in Uruguay.The National Advisory Council for Combating Domestic Violence in Uruguay drafted, in accordance with the law, the First National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence as well as a National Strategy to Eradicate Gender-Based Violence (http://www.cepal.org/oig/noticias/noticias/8/47918/2012-830_Matriz_de_analisis_ingles_WEB.pdf). Hide

A new e-learning course on Measurement of violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean is under review by ECLAC. The course is designed for policy makers with the objective to provide further understanding of what violence against women is, its manifestations and impact. Hide