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The WFP Men Stand for Gender Equality Movement was founded by 24 male WFP colleagues during the 16 days of activism in 2015. Its members have been increasing ever since at HQ, Regional Bureaus and especially in the Country Offices, and the movement has been growing. In November 2016, the South Sudan Country Office launched its own ‘WFP Men Stand for Gender Equality’ initiative, and as of January 2017, the movement counts 322 members.
In 2016, a new record number of at least 105 countries joined the UNiTE campaign’s “Orange the World” movement in support of the 16 Days of Activism. From marches in Uganda, Serbia, and Timor-Leste, a public rally on motorbikes in Pakistan, orange bike rides in India and the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, and the lighting of symbolic buildings in orange across the globe.
UNHCR supported the annual 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in its country operations across the globe in 2016. From November 25 until December 10, UNHCR staff in country and field operations engaged in a number of awareness-raising activities to end sexual and gender-based violence. Activities included the participation of refugees, internally displaced people, stateless people, host-communities, women, men, boys and girls, community leaders, partners and governments representatives in a global effort to promote healthy relationships so that young people can feel safe at home, in their schools and in their communities.
In 2016, WFP campaign took place from Friday 25 November 25 to 10 December 2017, focusing on the importance of resources to prevent and eliminate violence against women, men, girls and boys. Importance was given to the financial, technical, and human resources necessary to support concrete activities to end gender based-violence (GBV), and how WFP contributes in each of these categories, and how it could be doing more. During the first week of the campaign, WFP highlighted its internal resources, policies, tools and training materials that contribute to reducing gender based violence; in the second week it looked at partnerships and how they contribute to eliminating gender-based violence (in line with SDG #17 about partnership).
''We Men, stand for Gender Equality'' is a movement started in Nov 2015 by a group of men employees in WFP pledging their support for gender equality and ending violence against women and girls. By March 2016, over 200 men within the Organisation joined the movement, hence over 1% of the total of staff worldwide.
In March 2016 a webinar on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Food Security and Nutrition interventions was delivered, available to all staff, as part of the roll-out of the new corporate guidelines. Tailored guidance will be provided to staff working on projects in decentralized offices during 2016 and 2017.
Some 3000 WFP staff and partners have been trained on integrating protection in WFP's operations. The training covers gender-based violence and aims at building people's capacities for the integration of protection measures in food assistance programs, including Gender based violence related measures.
In 2015 FAO hired a consultant, Gender Expert (Gender-based violence and food security), to develop an FAO-specific Guidance on addressing gender-based violence. The aim of the Guidance titled, 'Protection from gender-based violence in food security and agriculture interventions: A Guide for FAO and partner staff' is to assist FAO country offices in designing and delivering food security and nutrition interventions in ways that prevent and mitigate gender-based violence and contributes to the protection of survivors and those most at risk.
Within the framework of UN Secretary-General’s campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women”, UNIC (United Nations Information Centres) Beirut, Lebanon in partnership with the Theatre Club at the Balamand University in Lebanon produced a theatre play on the issue of violence against women targeting school students - a work that was fully supported and sponsored by the Lebanese Minister of Education and Higher Education. The play, entitled “We Are All Humans”, presented real cases of violence against women within families in Lebanon through a vibrant script and a combination of gestures, songs, music and dance performed by university students. It tackles the hereditary violence against women and sheds light on physical and moral violence practiced directly or indirectly against girls in society. UNIC took part in the script drafting and the directing process to reflect the real objectives of the UNiTE campaign aiming to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls and eliminate this scourge.
Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality organized a session on Ending Violence againt Women during the 15th Annual session of the IANWGE with panelists from UN Women and UNODC in March 2016.