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ESCWA, in partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the Coalition for Arab women Parliamentarians organized a regional workshop to support National Women Machineries and National Statistical Offices and women parliamentarian in the Arab region in their efforts to address violence against women. Discussion topics included methods of costing violence against women and the differences between them. This workshop also created a platform for participants to discuss the approach to cost VAW, and which dimension a country should focus on, which relates to several factors including availability of data.
ESCWA, also organized an advanced training workshop to present a training manual on estimating the cost of violence in partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy and UNFPA. The guidelines are intended for government officials, programme managers and researchers seeking to estimate the cost of Domestic Violence in the Arab region.
ESCWA drafted brief to better inform policy in member States on “Technology as a Tool to make Cities Safe and Combat Violence against Women”. This brief reviewed successful experiences in adopting laws to criminalize sexual violence and harassment of women in public spaces and discussed how some countries are utilizing technology, particularly Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to innovatively raise awareness and advocate for safe public spaces, report unsafe public spaces and track safety. The policy brief concludes with recommendations to Governments and relevant stakeholders in the Arab region on ways to use technology to address violence against women in public spaces and make cities safe for all.
ESCWA in partnership with Women against Violence Europe (WAVE), UNFPA and Abaad Resource Center for Gender Equality, examined shelter services in the Arab region. The publication: “Shelters for Women Survivors of Violence: Availability and Accessibility in the Arab Region” is based on a detailed questionnaire that was sent to providers of shelter services in the region and presents an analysis of the presence of shelters in the region, their number and geographic distribution as well as the services offered with them. The study concludes with a set of recommendations to ensure that shelter services are accessible and available for women survivors of violence. These included: 1) encouraging countries to expand the network of shelter services, 2) remove legal obstacles hindering women’s access to these services; 3) build the capacity of workers providing the services and 4) adhering to international standards in provision of shelters.
ESCWA also examined the provision of protection orders in the Arab region through a study “Beyond Boundaries: Utilizing Protection Orders to Cultivate a Holistic Response to Domestic Violence in the Arab Region” is based on a desk review on the availability of protection orders in existing legislation and an analysis on how whether these are in line with international standards such as the work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women is Causes and Consequences, the General Recommendations of CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action. The study concludes with summarizing the importance of a holistic, comprehensive and coordinated response to violence against women where states must facilitate access to civil and criminal protection orders for women survivors of violence.
To further the production of knowledge and policy recommendations for decision-makers, ESCWA published a policy brief on “The Due Diligence Standard, Violence against Women and Protection Orders in the Arab Region” that discusses protection orders as a part of the international framework on due diligence. It builds on the work of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women is Causes and Consequences that elaborate on the role of the state to prevent, protect, prosecute, punish and provide reparation in relation to domestic violence.
ESCWA in partnership with the Center for Social Protection and Rehabilitation in the State of Qatar (AMAN) organized a workshop to increase the participants’ awareness of pertinent good practices emanating from international standards and norms, and therefore methods and mechanisms to address violence against women on the national level. This workshop comes as part of Qatar's efforts to promote the advancement and protection of women from all forms of violence and the State's commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Sustainable Development Goals, with the aim of introducing international frameworks on combating violence against women and relevant national machineries
ESCWA in partnership with the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs and Population (July 2019) organized a national workshop which discussed international instruments and best practices to address violence against women in Syria, in in cooperation with the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs and Population. The workshop focused on relevant national mechanisms, including legislations, policies, strategies or services, and role of the various stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, and service providers involved in this issue. The workshop brought together representatives of government agencies (concerned ministries such as social affairs, labor, health, interior, justice, and the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs) and non-governmental organizations (civil society).
ESCWA, the Council of Europe (CoE), OHCHR, UNFPA, UN Women, ESCWA, and UNODC contributed to a national conference on the Preventing and combating violence against women: One year after the promulgation of Organic Law 2017-58 on the elimination of violence against women: Implementation challenges and recommendations (Tunisia, March 2019). The conference addressed the status of Law 2017-58, examining interventions in the security, justice, health and psycho-social sectors and developing a way forward. To initiate the discussion, ESCWA provided an overview of the implementation of violence against women laws across the Arab region and discussed Arab States’ international legal obligation to combat all forms of violence against women and conform to the due diligence standard. ESCWA also contributed to a panel on ways to counter gender stereotypes in the media, raise awareness of violence against women, and prevent recidivism amongst perpetrators. The conference closed with a commitment to fully implement Law 2017-58 in a holistic manner.
In its efforts to build the capacities of Arab countries to cost VAW, ESCWA facilitated a national consultation in Iraq and Lebanon with representatives from governmental and non-governmental organisations providing services for women survivors of violence, to share with participants the key findings of the field mission and agree on key elements relating to estimating the cost of violence. The findings of the workshop were used as a basis for the related national operational model to be used for costing VAW.
ESCWA in partnership with Westminster Foundation for Democracy organized a capacity building workshop focused on the role of parliamentarians and the experience in Iraq. Parallel to this, a draft guideline for the role of parliamentarians in costing violence against women is being produced.