Feb 2017 - Apr 2018 | UN Women

Lebanon PPIn 2017, UN Women Lebanon in consultation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, supported 13 centers within 5 regions (Akkar, Tripoli, Beirut, Maten and Bekaa) to conduct GBV awareness sessions. 4 of these centersl also provided access to GBV multi-sectoral services to women and girls including legal, health and psycho-social support advisory services. Furthermroe, UN Women in partnerhsip with UN-Habitat & UNICEF finalized the establishment of a Referral Center in Bab Tibaneh/Tripoli, which will be providing PSS and multi-sectoral services center for GBV victims. The Referral Center will be luanched in June 2018. Palestine COUN Women Palestine office supported MA’AN to provide legal aid and psychosocial support to Westbanker and Gazan women living in the negev. Those women face challenging issues related to their legal status with the Israeli authorities (they hold a palestinian ID and live in Israel) and many of them suffer from family and intimate partner violence. During the reporting period UN Women Palestine office supported Maan center to provide legal aid to 110 women from the West bank and Gaza who live in the Negev (inside Israel). The cases evolved around issues related to personal status matters : (divorce, child custody, alimonies), issues related to their legal status inside Israel (citizenship and family reunification), residency, eligibility to social and health services, national insurance and cases of VAW. Additionally, 79 women from the Bedouin community in the Negev were provided with psychosocial support throughout Ma’an hotline, 30% of them are from the West Bank and Gaza. Topics covered included legal status inside Israel (citizenship related issues and family unification, residency, eligibility to social and health services, national insurance, etc… ) and on VAW cases. UNW Palestine in collaobration with the PBA- West Bank provided legal aid support and counselling to more than 100 female inmates in 3 CRCs in the West Bank . As a result of this support, many women have their cases proceeded in courts and some received mitigative sentences. On the other hand, through the support that lawyers provided to inmates, some cases witnessed progress in their relaiton with families, including spouses, as some cases managed to reach agreements with their families and spouses, particularly regarding children visitation matters.Morocco COIn 2017, UN Women has contributed to enhance the capacity of the providers of essential services to Women Survivors of Violence to be able to effectively prevent and respond to VAW. It has been successfully done through Justice stakeholders training, South-South cooperation and the fostering of coordination. In partnership with the Ministry of Justice, a cycle of three workshops aimed at developing the capacities of a group of magistrates has been finalized. In fact, a third, and final, workshop has been organized and saw the participation of 14 magistrates on andragogy. Also in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, over 70 social workers from 56 cities participated in a week-long training on the implementation of the Family Code. Various topics were addressed, such as divorce procedures, the Family Support Fund, models and practical cases in the Family Code, and general skills management for social workers. Finally, both South-South cooperation and coordination were fostered thanks to a regional workshop organized in Cairo in December with the attendance of representatives of the relevant sectors (Justice, Police, Health, Civil society) to present the Essential Services Package and to engage the attendees’ departments towards the qualitative upgrading of services and their coordination.Jordan COBy building the capacity of long term service providers, UN Women works to institutionalize efforts to respond to and prevent SGBV. This is done through service provision and awareness raising. In 2017 UN Women directly supported 4 centres in Amman, Ramtha, Khaldeya and Zarqa to provide service and referral options to meet the needs of both local vulnerable Jordanian women and Syrian refugees (alltogether the joint programme supports 11 centers). In the four centers UN Women supports directly, 1,515 beneficiaries have been able to reach safe spaces and receive quality services. 91 women survivors of violence were offered quality safe and confidential access to shelter through the Jordanian Women's Union's shelter for women. Throughout this reporting period, 36 women survivors of violence were offered quality safe and confidential access to shelter through the Jordanian Women's Union's shelter for women and rehabilitation of their facilities was undertaken. Through UN Women Oases in Zaatari Camp UN Women worked with UNHCR and all camp partners to provide referrals to women survivors of violence for legal and medical and other protection services. UN Women also accepted referrals in from other camp partners for vulnerable women in need of livelihoods opportunities. On average UN WOmen supports 10 refugee women protection cases per month per Oasis. Cascading a corporate and regional initiative, UN Women in collaboration with UNFPA is rolling out the 'Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence' . The 'package' aims to provide greater access to a coordinated set of essential and quality multi-sectoral services for all women and girls who have experienced gender based violence. During the reporting period, the two agencies worked on a mapping of GBV services in Jordan to inform the formulation of a dedicated national action plan with national authorities and service providers.Regional Office for Arab States"The Regional Workshop to Roll Out the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence in Arab States was organized by UN Women Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) and UNFPA ROAS on 11-12 December 2017 in Cairo, Egypt. The two-day workshop aimed at orienting country teams to the ESP and engaging them in a participatory development of a road map to roll out the ESP in their countries. Tunisia PPWith the support by UN Women Tunisia, three new shelters in Jendouba, Kairouan and Gafsa and 2 daycare centers ( Zarzis and Sfax) for women victims of violence were opened in 2017 in different governorates bringing the total number of such specialized centers to six in Tunisia. Also, the hotline (1899) managed by the Ministry of women, family and childhood was reinforced and to date offers orientation during the administrative working hours.Iraq COUN Women has been providing services to vulnerable women and survivors of sexual violence, including phsycosocial support and legal asssistance, as well as referals to health and social services. UN Women has supported 1328 women, including survivors of GBV, in livelihoods activities, empowering them to earn income, and in some cases return to their homes with their businesses, enabling them to restart their lives quickly, or build a more stable life in their new homes. In collarboration with UNDP, provided 935 survivors of gender based violence and conflict related sexual violence with psychosocial support, legal assistance, and referrals as part of the Stop Rape Now United Nations Against Sexual Violence and Conflict fund. Many of these women were survivors of violence perpetrated by ISIS, and were able to register their cases with the Genocide Committee based in Dohuk, Iraq, contributing to documentaion of ISIS's crimes and providing them with access to justice. Egypt COThe UNTF and UN Women Egypt supported a local civil society organization to implement the first project in Egypt that addresses the intersection of violence against women and girls and HIV/AIDS. A Drop-In Center was established in the targeted low-income community that provides a comprehensive package of services for women and girls who are vulnerable to SGBV and STDs in an environment free of stigma and discrimination. The project has positively impacted over 1600 women and girls who accessed and benefited from free-of-charge legal, psychological, health, and listening services. Project interventions also engaged over 2100 men and boys to change their perceptions of gender roles and gender stereotypes and encourage positive behavioral change that is based on mutual respect. The project also produced a policy brief on the nexus between SGBV and HIV, with the aim of informing the design of national programmes and interventions in this important area.UN Women Egypt in collaboration with the National Council for Women (NCW) and the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity expanded the protection and support services for women victims/survivors of violence. In collaboration with the Women’s Complaints office of the NCW, over 3,700 women victims/survivors of violence and/or who had suffered from discrimination gained access to free-of-charge legal advice and legal assistance, through a lawyer, as well as referrals to credible organizations providing quality essential services, each based on their respective area of expertise. Furthermore, support was provided to strengthen the capacities of staff of 8 government-run women’s shelters, upgrade the physical infrastructure of two main shelters, and reform the by-laws of the shelter, to enhance women’s access to protection and support services. Over 3,700 women victims/survivors of violence were referred to essential support services at the shelters, ranging from psycho-social support, legal and health, and vocational training.