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ESCWA, in partnership with UNDP, UNFPA, and UN WOMEN launched a new report entitled “Gender Justice & Equality Before the Law in the Arab States Region: A Regional Analysis of Progress and Challenges” that brings a unique regional lens to laws and law enforcement practices – examining social and economic contexts in which laws are made and pointing to examples of good practice from across the region to encourage exchanges of experience and ideas to advance gender justice. The report builds upon 18 country reports that partners produced, one year ago, under their joint Gender Justice Initiative and which highlighted successful legal provisions and identify gaps that countries can target to meet their international obligations and commitments.

ESCWA, in partnership with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (IADC), has started the implementation of the project titled “Support to Women Refugees from Syria and Vulnerable Women and Girls in Host Communities in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon” (2018-2020).  The project seeks to engage women refugees from Syria and vulnerable women and girls in host communities in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon to better advocate for their rights and exercise their voice to improve their status and reinforce their resilience. The two phases of the project in Jordan and Lebanon with women refugees from Syria and host community were completed as planned. Three position papers will be developed to be shared with decision-makers Jordan, Lebanon and Syria on the specific needs of women refugees, including the particular needs for protection from 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.

ESCWA organizes annually an Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD) which bring together policy makers and regional stakeholders to discuss the various themes on the SDG agenda. The outcomes of the AFSD are then shared with the High-Level Political Forum. In April 2019, ESCWA in partnership with other United Nations agencies organized two sessions, which addressed among other issues violence against women. In addition, ESCWA partnered with National Women Machineries and other United nations agencies in organizing side events during the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2019. This included a side event with Jordan and Tunisia on “Adopting the SDGs to the Local Context” including Goal 5 and its targets on combating violence against women, a side event with the United Nations Population (UNFPA) on the “Guidelines to Estimate the Economic Cost of Domestic Violence in the Arab Region”, a side event with UN Women, the League of Arab States, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) on “Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans on the Arab Region: Lebanon and Jordan”, and a side event with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women and UNFPA on “Gender Justice and the Law: Implications of Inequality before the Law for Social Protection and Women’s Empowerment.

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a youth arts competition for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2019 to address the theme “My City, My Space”. To accompany the competition, ESCWA ran a social media campaign throughout the 16 Days, which included facts about violence and harassment of women in the public sphere, as well as videos of women from around the region talking about what a safe city means for them.

ESCWA in partnership with the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship facilitated a gender discussion serie, open to all members of the community on “Women and extremism in the Arab region”.

ESCWA in partnership with UN Women and UNFPA developed an interactive online tool on costing VAW in English and Arabic.  The interactive tool is a user-friendly platform created to assist the viewer in understanding why and how costing VAW can support governments and service providers in developing a targeted response to eradicating VAW while ensuring comprehensive and empowering services for survivors.

ESCWA finalized a study on the role of ICTs in achieving Goal 5. This includes the role of ICTs in addressing targets 5.2 and 5.3 focused on combating Violence against Women. The study includes a stock taking of existing initiatives in the region and good practices that are suitable for adaptation from the international to the regional context.

ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, and the National University of Ireland, Galway, developed a model to cost the economic impact of child marriage in the Arab region. The model was further dev

ESCWA in partnership with the Irish mission in NY and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Palestine implemented the household survey which includes questions specifically aimed at collecting data pertaining to costing VAW in Palestine. Currently, data is being analyzed and the launch of the related study is planned to take place in 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with the League of Arab States and UN Women, organized a regional workshop which brought together representatives of National Women Machineries, National Statistics Offices and National Human Rights Institutes in the Arab countries as key stakeholders to assist them in the process of the adaptation, implementation, and follow-up and review of SDG 5 at the national level. This workshop facilitated a dialogue on a consolidated vision to accelerate the achievement of SDG 5 using a human rights and evidence-based approach. It showcased the importance of using ICTs as a means to promote women’s rights including the right of a life free of violence and achieve SDG 5 and to support the means of implementation of other SDGs and related targets.

ESCWA participated in the 13th Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics (IAEG-GS) in the Arab Countries. The meeting brought together gender statisticians and experts from the international, regional and national institutions that are IAEG-GS members. The meeting took stock and provided feedback, from a gender perspective, on the methodological work being undertaken by UNSD and the Expert Group on Innovative and Effective Ways to Collect Time-Use Statistics, in line with international standards. It also discussed and reviewed the on-going work of the IAEG-GS Advisory Group on Strengthening Administrative Systems to Close Gender Data Gaps. Also, it reviewed on-going national, regional and global initiatives to improve evidence for gender-relevant policies, including the development and implementation of international methods and standards and discussed progress towards gender equality at the national, regional and global levels, in particular in the context of Beijing+25.

ESCWA organized a training workshop aimed at improving technical capabilities in using gender statistics to monitor SDG gender indicators and in disseminating, communicating and using statistics and indicators. The workshop assisted researchers in their efforts to mainstream gender into their national statistical system, which will result in improved availability and use of gender statistics at the national, regional and international levels for better evidence-based gender policies.S5

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.