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ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA, held a special online meeting with its Committee on Women on “Policy Responses to Protect Women and Girls from the Impact of COVID-19” on 23 April 2020.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNDP, delivered online training for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on “Building and Delivering Effective Hotline Service Provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic” during May 2020.
ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Republic of the Sudan entitled “Best Practices and Shared Experiences on Shelters for Women Survivors of Violence in the Republic of the Sudan” on 25-27 August 2020.
ESCWA, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Family Affairs of Kuwait, organized a “Webinar Series on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the State of Kuwait” on 28-29 September and 13 October 2020.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP and UNODC, coordinated and delivered a series of 12 webinars on Violence against Women and COVID-19 for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from October-December 2020.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, the League of Arab States and the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a high level virtual meeting on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on 4 November 2020.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP and the League of Arab States, organized and facilitated webinar sessions on gender justice and the law designed to better inform members of the subcommittee on gender equality and SDGs on tools to examine and align national legislation with international frameworks, most notably CEDAW, Beijing Platform of Action and SDG target 5.1 on 8-10 December 2020.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Women Organization, facilitated “Sub-regional Training Webinars on Reporting to the Committee on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)” on 12-16 January 2021.
ESCWA, with support from ABAAD, delivered an online workshop for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on “Supporting Women between Empowerment and Rehabilitation: Different Approaches” during March 2021.
ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Sultanate of Oman entitled “Technical support in the field of combating violence against women in the Sultanate of Oman: Ensuring a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing violence against women through legal/policy frameworks and service provision” on 22-23 June 2021.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women and WHO, delivered an online workshop for representatives from National Women Machineries and other relevant stakeholders who provide services for survivors of violence on “Services to Protect Women Survivors of Violence the Arab Region” on 26-29 July 2021.
UN-Women designed and facilitated a 3 half-day, scenario-based capacity building workshop specifically for its PSEA focal points from all regions. To additionally ensure alignment with the UN system wide PSEA strategy and its UNCT operationalization, UN-Women invited speakers from the Victims’ Rights Advocate, the UN Development Coordination Office, and the Office of the Special Coordinator for improving the UN response to SEA.
Scenario-based trainings for addressing SEA and SH were developed by UN Women to complement and contextualize the existing mandatory online training for both topics. The case scenarios used were specifically created for the UN-Women contexts to maximize relevance and relatability of the training. UN Women piloted the tow trainings in 4 country offices and is in the process of coordinating their rollout across the organization.
UN Women East and Southern Regional Office has organized a 4-day training for electoral management bodies, political parties, security institutions, and relevant women’s organizations who are major stakeholders in the conduct of elections, on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections using the UN WOMEN Preventing VAWE in Elections Guide. The training aims to provide election stakeholders and relevant civil society organizations with in-depth knowledge on the nature and consequences of VAWE, and tools and good practices to prevent it and/or mitigate its consequences.
In Zimbabwe UN Women provided technical support and capacity building to key electoral stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Zimbabwe National Police, to enhance institutional capacities to monitor VAWP. These initiatives include development of knowledge, capacity building efforts, development of partnerships with political parties and key state actors, creating avenues for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to work with institutions such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police and civil society to address the problem. UN Women trained 80 (45 women and 35 men) members of the police service and supported the development of the police strategic document for police 2021 to 2025. The initiative equipped the police with skills to monitor VAWP.
At the East & Southern African regional level, to bring the global commitments to the field and to create an enabling safe, secure and equitable environment in line with the UN Secretary-Generals guidance, a Training of Trainers program on “Gender Parity” and “Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was organized in partnership with UN Women HQ with participation by 42 participants from 12 countries in the region representing UN Women, UNPFA, UNHCR, IOM, ICAO and UNDSS in Mombasa, Kenya. Following the training at least 5 countries have replicated the training in their countries and also took initiatives to establish and strengthen the PSEA task forces.
In Kenya, UN Women continued to play a key role in convening and leading stakeholders to demand accountability for ending violence against women and girls, while at the same time ensuring access to quality and essential services for survivors. As one of the key highlights, UN Women together with its’ partners convened a National GBV Conference in 2019 bringing together over 450 participants from across the country with the aim to harness accountability for GBV prevention and response. As a result of the Conference a communique with 27 recommendations articulating roles for each duty bearer was finalized.
Standardization of GBV training was improved through UN Women support in the development of the Safe Spaces and Applicability Manual[1], the GBV Service Providers Data Bank tools, and the Model Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centers Guidance Note. These tools are expected to provide a harmonized training curriculum for use by duty bearers while the guidance note will provide a framework for provision of GBV services within a multi-sectoral framework. The Harmonized GBV Training Manual[2] was also finalized. Further KCO led in the development of the “Implementation Guide for the Global Women’s Safety Framework”[3]. The guide to implementation provides a “how to” and a “step by step” guidance for tea chain producers who are keen to address sexual harassment. Prevention and response to GBV by the National Police Service was strengthened through KCO’s support in the development of a National Action Plan (NAP). The NAP provides for the creation of a special gender crimes unit within the policy system and provides opportunities for all actors to strengthen their partnership with the Police, by seeking to support different aspects of the action plan.
A number of capacity building and trainings were undertaken targeting law enforcement and other officials in the ESAR countries. Most significantly, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe also benefited from the Spotlight funding and undertook a number of initiatives aimed at training and capacity building of relevant actors in addressing VAW, HP and promotion of SRHR.
Roll-out of RESPECT
Together with the Prevention Collaborative and WHO, UN Women rolled out the RESPECT framework and Implementation Package in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in early 2021. The workshop series was attended by representatives from UN entities, civil society, academic and governments and resulted in national workplace to take forward initiatives to prevent VAW.
Webinar series on the use of technology for remote service provision to support survivors of violence
Frontline service providers who have been utilizing technology to deliver services to women migrant workers shared their lessons learned and tips to use technology safely especially in the context of COVID-19. The three sessions facilitated linkages between violence against women services and technologies by adapting remote methods used in service delivery to meet the survivor-centered principles of privacy, confidentiality and security. Two technical briefs were launched during the webinar: “Safe Technology for the Provision of Services to Women Migrant Workers at Risk of or Subject to Violence” and “Remote Service Provision for Women Migrant Workers at Risk or Subject to Violence” with the Action Cards: 10 Things to Know About Violence against Women Migrant Workers.
Responsible Representation and Reporting of VAW/VAC
The new Guidelines on Responsible representation and reporting of violence against women and violence against children, developed by UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF, provide recommendations to media professionals to ensure that media coverage does not contribute to harm. This document offers guidance on interviewing survivors of violence, applying an intersectional and survivor-centered approach to reporting, avoiding victim-blaming or stereotyping, and using gender-responsive language. This guideline emerged from conversations within the regional UNITE Working Group during COVID-19.
Webinar Series on Violence against Women and Girls Data Collection and Use
The webinar series was organized to engage VAWG professionals, national statistics offices and service providers to deepen and exchange practices regarding the collection, analysis and use of data on violence against women with a specific focus on administrative data. The webinar series explored the main types of VAWG data – prevalence, costing data – and strengthen reporting on VAWG-related indicators. The webinar was based on the ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Violence against Women and Girls Data Collection and Use.
Addressing Violence and Harassment in the World of Work: Women migrant workers in ASEAN
A training tool to complement the ILO-UN Women “Handbook: Addressing violence and harassment against women in the world of work” was developed to be used in trainings on the continuum of violence faced by women and women migrant workers. The tool specifically targets CSOs and key government stakeholders. This tool focuses on addressing violence and harassment against women in the world of work, featuring examples from ASEAN and highlighting specific risks related to women migrant workers.
With UN Women Albania Support:
- Capacities of 231 service providers increased in ensuring familiarity and use of changes to legal framework on GBV.
- Capacities of 71 service providers from 4 municipalities of the country were increased to address cases of VAWG from vulnerable communities such as Roma women, women with disabilities, women from LGBTQI+ community.
- There is better coordination among actors of the referral mechanisms which address cases of violence against women was ensured through workshops in the municipalities of Prrenjas, Peqin, Cerrik, Belsh, Gramsh and Elbasan with a total of 69 CCR members.
- Staff of 27 administrative units of Tirana increased capacities to respond to violence against women and girls through 11 capacity building sessions.
With UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina support extensive number of trainings was conducted resulting in: more than 190 individuals have better knowledge on gender equality and GBV including sexual harassment in public space; 21 teacher and 35 high school students have capacities to conduct advanced prevention activities in high schools; and 15 religious' leaders across BiH have in depth knowledge on violence against women and how this can be prevented; and finally, more than 20 media professionals have increased knowledge on responsible reporting on GBV.
As a result of UN Women Ukraine support: 36 (12 men and 24 women) representatives of local authorities and local legal aid providers from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts increase their knowledge on applying a survivor-centred approach when developing policies and implementing services for gender-based violence victims/survivors; 37 persons (35 women and 2 men), Deputy Heads of communities and Heads of Social Protection Departments from target communities of Donetsk oblast and Luhansk oblast increased their knowledge on the international and national legal frameworks on the prevention and counteraction of domestic and gender-based violence, on effective coordination and referral aimed at ensuring quality protection and a coordinated response, through a two-day training; UN Women jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Police of Ukraine developed the “Guidelines for police on prevention and response to domestic violence in Ukraine”; 60 (51 women, 9 men) of media representatives from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts increased their knowledge on gender-sensitive and human rights-based reporting.
Pursuing the goal to increase police capacity to hold domestic violence offenders accountable and better protect the safety of victims and their children, UN Women Moldova CO supported various capacity building and as a result:
- 16 police officers, including 6 women and 10 men, representing different regions from Moldova are certified trainers and have knowledge and skills to deliver EVAW trainings for law enforcement officials, as part of the team of national trainers within Center for Integrated Application of Legislation (CIPAL) (2020).
- In 2021, UN Women CO is supporting a comprehensive capacity building in partnership with the General Inspectorate of Police, the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation, and the National Inspectorate of Public Security for the up 400 police officers. As result of the first phase - 8 two-day training activities 182 police officers, 93 from criminal investigative and 89 public security division, 75 women and 107 men from 36 different regions of the country acquired relevant knowledge and skills to respond promptly and in accordance with the provision of national law to cases of domestic violence.
In addition to that, to support the establishment of a specialist service for victims of sexual violence in Cahul and Ungheni, over 41 law enforcement representatives and medical staff, psychologists, and social assistants have acquired new knowledge and skills for a better response to cases of sexual violence to trauma-oriented approach and coordination of efforts of all specialists involved in response to cases of sexual violence.
In Tajikistan – series of training for WLWH have been conducted to build their leadership skills and adopt transformational leadership approach in advocating for the life free of violence and discrimination. Service providers in SPT pilot districts have been trained in localized case-management system.
25 participants, most of whom are lawyers of human rights organizations or individual practicing lawyers with more than 10 years of experience (68% of participants), have been trained and increased their knowledge and skills on International standards and procedures for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence and procedures for filing complaints with CEDAW and other UN convention bodies on an online training which was held for lawyers and advocates in Dushanbe and Khujand.
Over 80 of experts, general public, community and beneficiaries in Tajikistan have strengthened their knowledge and understanding on mechanisms of legal protection and assessment of physical and psychological injuries resulting from violence and mechanisms of legal protection and medical documentation from impunity.
In the frames of the 16 Days campaign, the local UN Women partner, NGO Human Right Center, received technical and logistical support from UN Women to conduct two webinars "Mechanisms of Legal Protection and Assessment of Physical and Psychological Injuries Resulting from Violence" (November 25th) and "Mechanisms of Legal Protection and Medical Documentation from Impunity" (December 1st).
According to the report, in total, 84 women, girls, lawyers, health specialists, psychologists, etc. participated in the webinars and increased their knowledge and understanding on the topics and the ways to address violence and related issues. Notably, representatives of WLWH, one of the most marginalized and discriminated group of the Tajik society, have also participated in the webinars. UN Women contributed to this by supporting local NGO Human Rights Center in preparation of those webinars by provision relevant information and data. Several local gender activists and advocates contributed to the webinars by leading thematic sessions and answering questions from participants.
After launching the COVID-19 and EVAWG outreach campaign, the Red Crescent Society in Tajikistan encountered several challenges in capacity building and training of volunteers in EVAWG realm due to social distancing modalities and health-related issues which caused constant turnover of NGO staff and volunteers. The duration of the project was only 5 months and UN Women tried to come up with innovative, promising, and effective service delivery modalities, especially in conveying outreach and VAWG essentials to the volunteers, who have been mainly trained in disaster response and emergency. As a solution to face-to-face training, UN Women developed a digital tutorial for community volunteers and NGOs on outreach essentials, communication skills with the victims of violence and further referral of these victims to the local VAWG service providers. The digital tutorial was adapted to the mobile version and disseminated among volunteers. Volunteers had hands-on guidelines on communication modalities, identification of VAWG cases and referral mechanism in their mobile phones, which they used in a daily work in remote districts. According to the Red Crescent Society and NGOs, work efficiency and coverage have increased as newcomers among volunteers used the tutorial instead of face-to-face induction training.
15 professional lawyers, members of the Tajik Bar Associations enhanced their knowledge in mainstreaming gender in justice sector, criminal, and civil cases, considering a human rights-based approach and consequences of HIV/AIDS.
UN Women Tajikistan strengthened the capacity of NGO staff and volunteers through trainings on VAWG case management and referral mechanism, supporting 12-hour operation of 12 NGO staff for remote consultations and developed information materials on VAWG support services in 6 target districts (Isfara, B. Gafurov, Vose, Rudaki, Gissar and Yavan).
UNDP has organized a series of trainings on gender and GBV for local government officials including police and judiciary, CSOs, and survivors.
In Azerbaijan, UNDP trained local women-activists to provide rapid psychosocial support, safety plans, case management and referrals to assist GBV survivors of all genders.
With the support of the Johns Hopkins University, the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), a trans-diagnostic mental health intervention developed for delivery by non-professionals, is being implemented in Moldova. CETA is also an evidence-based programme demonstrated to significantly prevent intimate partner violence.
UNDP Iraq , Fiji, Maldives, Serbia, Ukraine, Brazil, Peru and others also provided training on GBV prevention for judges, prosecutors and police officers to end gender-based violence.
The office in Somalia supported a SGBV programme in Mogadishu and Puntland starting in 2020. A fully functional SGBV Unit was established and staffed in Mogadishu. UNDP also worked with Office of the Attorney General in Puntland, with the aim of providing technical support and building the capacity of the institution to promote access to justice for survivors/victims of sexual and gender-based violence
A three days’ workshop, providing Libya law enforcement with information related to offenses that constitute gender-based violence (GBV), was organized by UNDP Libya.
In the East and Southern Africa Region, UNFPA and WHO co-developed and co-facilitated a joint training to support integrated SRHR and GBV services. The 6-week training had around 90 participants from 14 countries in East and Southern Africa.
As of August 2021, 128 participants from 35 countries are enrolled in the kNOwVAWdata course, to develop and strengthen their skills on safe and ethical VAW data collection, analysis and reporting.
The Facilitator Guide on Mainstreaming GBV Risk Mitigation was launched in 2020 and until September 2021 a total of 124 participants from sectors have been trained on the topic.
Another 24 colleagues from 15 country operations and HQ graduated from the 2020 Cohort of the GBV Training of Trainers and more than 210 participants were brought together for the 2020 GBV Global Workshop, which was adapted to online modalities.
Across UNHCR, 2,617 UNHCR learners completed at least one level of the GBV e-learning in the period between January 2020 until September 2021.
UNHCR released its Gender Equality Toolkit in 2020 and provided operational support towards the institutionalization of gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives. To facilitate cross-operational learning and seize opportunities to advance gender equality, UNHCR and partners documented emerging and promising practices in sub-Saharan Africa and collaborated with the Population Council to document community-based protection practices in East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
During the reporting period, UNODC provided training and capacity building on crime prevention and criminal justice responses to gender-based violence against women for criminal justice professional (police, prosecutors, judges, legal aid and other service providers) in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iraq, Jordan, Liberia, Mexico, Nepal, Saudi, Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, State of Palestine and Viet Nam.
For example, in Viet Nam, UNODC trained 166 criminal justice officers in providing protective and justice services for victims of violence against women and girls. The UNODC Handbook on effective adjudication of violence against women was adopted by the Supreme Court.UNODC also provided training, with a focus on the gender aspect of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrant, under its GLO.ACT and TRACK4TIP programmes. This included specialized workshops for judges in Kyrgyzstan, the Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency, the GBV police unit of Trinidad and Tobago, Community Justice Homes supporting Dominican-Haitian women, as well as trainings for Venezuelan women to promote early identification of TIP and safe case referral.
In 2020, WFP also focused on capacity building, prioritising dedicated resources for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA) and adapting its current practices to the COVID19 context. A few examples of the work WFP did to translate exiting guidance into practice and the outcome of these initiatives are outlined below.
WFP provided feedback and supported the development of material for the GBV IASC online course that was launched in 2021. This material includes videos from WFP country offices in India, Colombia, and Uganda on how they mainstream GBV mitigation into food security and nutrition assistance/services.
WFP facilitated a webinar for the WFP Cash-based Transfer (CBT) learning series on mainstreaming GBV mitigation into cash-based assistance. This was an opportunity for the Women Refugee Council (WRC) and CARE subject experts to introduce WFP to existing guidance that complements the IASC Guidelines and present country-level good practices.
WFP used the opportunity to develop new commitments for the Call to Action on Protection from GBV 2021-2025 Roadmap to engage country offices, regional bureau (RB) and the foods security cluster to raise awareness about the IASC Guidelines, review existing practices and initiatives and jointly define priorities and indicators to measure the impact of the new commitments. The commitments were approved in April 2021 and will be officially launched in June 2021 in a webinar addressed to dedicated protection and gender personnel and in a broader event in December 2021.
WFP conducted regional online training sessions for PSEA Focal Points in all six-regional bureau (RB), co-hosted by NGO Unit, the Office on Inspections and Investigations (OIGI) and the respective RB, with participation from approximately 60 Country Offices.
As part of its interagency engagements, WFP committed to designating Inter-agency PSEA Coordinators in Afghanistan, Colombia, Mozambique, Sudan and Nigeria WFP supported their recruitment and induction.
Integrating PSEA into core WFP Training Initiatives-The Ethics Office worked closely with the Field Security Division to integrate a PSEA module within the WFP Safe and Secure Approaches in Field Environments (SSAFE) Training Course to support WFP employees that are part of processes.
Supported the dissemination of the Harmonised UN IP PSEA Assessment -The Ethics Office and NGO Unit co-hosted a session to introduce the tool to field colleagues which was attended by over 150 participants across WFP. In addition, WFP initiated a field pilot of the Assessment Tool with selected Country Offices.
The IASC “Say No to Sexual Misconduct” learning package was developed and launched to equip partner organizations with the awareness and skills to define, detect and respond to SEA. WFP had a lead role in adapting the package, working together with UNHCR, other UN agencies and IASC members, from an earlier initiative by IOM.
Some highlights from the country level: in Nepal, WFP supported the development of a facilitator guide that incorporates gender and inclusion including gender-based violence with updated facts supported by data and reporting mechanism in place to address sexual exploitation and abuse. The session is developed particularly for the participants of emergency logistics trainings. In Myanmar, guidance was prepared based on GBV risks in cash-based interventions in Rakhine State. In Nicaragua, WFP implemented an initiative call "the construction of new masculinities for the transformation of gender relations in WFP and the smallholder farmers”. WFP’s male staff and smallholder farmers’ organizations sensitized and trained on issues of violence prevention and new masculinities.
Peacekeeping missions ensured that COVID-19 related re-orienting of mandate implementation, including contingency planning and programme criticality mapping, as well as support to national authorities and collaboration with UN Country Teams and AFP’s, is gender responsive.
Given the increasing levels of violence against women, especially domestic violence, all missions have expanded mitigation and prevention measures through awareness raising, collaboration with GBV sub-clusters and tracking and monitoring of GBV incidence. In Cyprus, the mission supported awareness raising on GBV, while in Darfur and Abyei, UNAMID and UNISFA respectively, supported women’s protection networks to disseminate protection and GBV related information to IDP settings as well as the community at large. UNIFIL increased awareness on GBV, including dissemination of referral guidelines. UNMIK with other partners increased GBV awareness and issued statements, and key messages including in women’s correction facilities. In DRC, the mission raised awareness on GBV and access to referral services.
Missions developed gender-responsive frameworks to inform Community Violence Reduction (CVR) programming and incorporate emerging threats to security related to COVID-19. UNMISS, MINUSCA, UNAMID mapped gender specific CVR priorities, including as a component of DDR/CVR programming. For example, MINUSCA expanded women’s economic options through innovative income generation activities. UNMISS and UNISFA focused on gender inclusive PoC responses.
The Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements (MARA) Working Groups in peacekeeping settings served as collaborative platforms to document the impact of the pandemic and find solutions to ensure accessibility of services for survivors of sexual violence. In collaboration with the UNCT/HCT, to reduce reporting barriers for survivors, telephone hotlines were established in the DRC and South Sudan. For instance, in the DRC, the hotline enables information collection, the remote provision of psychosocial and legal support and referrals to appropriate legal and medical services.
UN-Women highlighted the importance of preventing SH during COVID-19 in multiple settings, including on health, care and domestic work as well as on public spaces and cyber harassment, through webinars with a total of 1820 participants from within and outside of the UN system.
#HeForShe at home campaign
To creatively address concerns about rising violence at home during COVID-19, and the increased burden of unpaid care work, UN Women in Asia and the Pacific joined forces with a community of influencers, activists and celebrities in Thailand to involve the public in the #HeForSheAtHome campaign. The campaign was designed to ease tensions at home using humor, and advocated for shared caring responsibilities to prevent family violence. The campaign reached approximately 46 million viewers and engaged more than 140 content producers across various social media platforms, with the core message that men can be more involved in caring roles at home.
Political Engagement Strategy in Asia and the Pacific
UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has been instrumental in implementing the Secretary General's Political Engagement Strategy on Gender Based Violence (GBV), helping to highlight EVAW as a significant political issue on government agendas in the region. Along with country offices in Asia and the Pacific, the Regional Office supported states in the region include EVAW within their essential services. With leadership from the UN Resident Coordinators (RCs) and support from other UN agencies, ROAP has supported efforts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other countries in the region to adopt short- and long-term action areas identified within the Political Engagement Strategy.
Safety planning for violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Safety Plan was developed under the COVID-19 pandemic context when the ‘isolation measures’ could put women at further risk of violence. The Safety Plan provides a way to think about how to stay safe at home, in community and in workplace regardless of the migratory status of women. This is designed in a way to help women, especially women migrant workers, prepare for dangers if they are in an abusive situation of fear of violence or harassment. The Safety Plan is available in 9 languages.
Action Brief: A Guide for Action to Stem Increasing Violence Against Women amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia and the Pacific
This is a guide for governments, aid agencies, service providers, businesses and other groups on what to do to protect women from violence during the pandemic and its associated array of lockdowns, movement restrictions, services closures, and other disease control measures.
In response to COVID-19, UN Women Albania:
- Supported the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in the adoption of Protocol “On the operation of public and non-public residential centres, providing shelter services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking during the COVID-19 pandemic”, followed by a video broadcast on public TV and on social media to encourage reporting VAWG during the lockdown period, which reached 400,000 views.
- Supported the Sub-Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality to identify interventions in the area of gender equality during COVID-19 pandemic and maintained ongoing communications with local and national institutions for managing the situation of violence against women and other groups, who were at higher risk of facing domestic violence due to the lockdown.
- Supported women’s rights CSOs to conduct monitoring of referral mechanisms in 11 municipalities, including a special reporting during COVID-19 health crisis.
- Trained 37 public and non-public service providers on provision of sheltering services during COVID-19 based on the approved protocol.
- Conducted 2 Rapid Gender Assessments to (i) measure the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on women and men, including in the area of GBV; (ii) assess challenges and gaps of 6 women’s CSOs in offering services to survivors during COVID-19, resulting in adaptation of support to CSOs based on the situation.
- Supported 12 CSOs with 1,100 protective equipment units to continue service provision including accommodation in shelters during COVID-19
- Supported CSO service providers to offer direct services to approximately 400 women survivors of VAWG.
In response to the COVID 19, UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) provided immediate support to 8 Safe Houses in BiH covering their running costs, basic needs of survivors and children placed in the safe houses, and basic personal protection equipment. As a result, immediate support in the first months of the COVID 19 outbreak was provided to survivors of different forms of violence through more than 1500 SOS calls and 1300 persons through phone and online counselling. Comprehensive specialized support services within Safe Houses were provided to 176 women and children. In the months after initial response UN Women BiH has provided more structural support for improved accessibility and availability of specialized services to survivors of violence in all 8 Safe Houses in BiH. Safe Houses were able to provide additional 950 SOS calls, admit 380 women and children and provide 155 different services survivors of domestic.
Ukraine: Aimed at preventing gender-based violence against women and girls 1,200 brochures for perpetrators of domestic violence comprising information on criminalization of domestic violence, as well as educational information on increased domestic work imposed on women, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns, promoting respectful relationships between intimate partners and household members were disseminated to men from 13 target communities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
53 staff (22 women, 31 men) of the National Police of Ukraine Departments in eastern oblasts of Ukraine, increased their knowledge on gender mainstreaming as a tool for effective integration of gender equality priorities into their work and on prevention and respond to GBV during COVID-19 pandemic.
In the response to the COVID-19, UN Women Moldova CO has conducted a rapid assessment of women’s needs, affected by gender-based violence and of the systemic response to cases of violence in the context of the Covid-19 crisis through a national NGO. Based on the needs highlighted by partner organizations, UN Women Moldova has provided essential online services through several national NGOs, to around 353 women and girls affected by violence, women's survivors of violence, 156 women migrants (including those affected by violence, or in substantial risk) for a 4-month period. In addition to this, essential products have been provided to 250 women survivors of violence beneficiaries of 15 institutions (shelters, organizations, etc.) and to 3,279 social assistants and social workers, from 36 Territorial structures of social assistance across the country, including the Transnistrian region. They have been assisted during emergency lockdown conditions and equipped with necessary items (food and hygiene products) and personal protection equipment (PPE) during COVID-19 outbreak.
In the context of Joint UN Programme „Strengthening the Republic of Moldova’s National Response to the COVID-19 Crisis”, funded by UN COVID-19 Response and Recovery Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UN COVID-19 MPTF), under UN Women CO component, 295 women survivors of violence, 41 indirect beneficiaries’ members of their families and 500 members of multidisciplinary teams in different regions of the country have been provided with essential products.
As part of COVID-19 Response and Recovery Window of the Moldova 2030 SDGs Partnership Fund (SDGPF) in 2021, over 3,000 women in vulnerable situations or part of vulnerable groups (unemployed due to COVID-19 pandemic, living with HIV, from vulnerable families, with disabilities, with more than 4 children, older people within extreme poverty, etc) from both banks of the Nistru river have been supported with essential products (food, hygienic products, PPEs).
PPE items were offered to multidisciplinary teams from Cahul and Ungheni districts to maintain their work/interventions to respond to violence against women and children in times of crisis. Around 1,200 social workers from 70 localities were enabled to provide continuous social assistance to the local population. More than 3,400 vulnerable women and children from Cahul and Ungheni were better able to maintain their well-being and increase their personal protection from COVID-19 by receiving direct support (food, hygiene packages, and PPE items).
Supported by UN Women Kosovo, around 550 women/DV survivors in the shelters were provided with supplies such as food and hygienic kits, bed linen and clothes to shelters. Technical equipment to shelters around Kosovo was also delivered ensuring that the attendance of online learning classes by children in the shelters is not disrupted. Women sheltered in quarantine facility were also provided hygiene packages, clothes, PPE prior to admission. UN Women directly contributed to these results through procuring and delivering these items jointly with UNFPA. Women business owners will be able to benefit from a 2 million Euro worth of grants for allocated by the government as part of its economic recovery package. UN Women contributed to these results by collecting operative data and evidence on the gendered impact of the pandemic in the Rapid Gender Assessment of the Situation and Needs of Women in the Context of COVID-19(RGA), conducted in March-April 2020 and Rapid assessment of the socio-economic impact of the crisis on Kosovan households conducted in April-June 2020. Needs of survivors from non-majority communities were addressed through support to the shelter in North Mitrovica in receiving essential services in North Mitrovica. All DV shelters in Kosovo received working tools including beehives, tailoring and hairdressing tools, baking ovens for the large-scale production of bread and other food items as well as technical equipment. The main aim of this undertaking was to enable income generation for the shelters, in order to foster their economic empowerment and independence in a sustainable fashion. At the same time, provision of these tools offers the opportunity for capacity building for survivors residing in these shelters, who by utilizing these tools gain the ability to use those skills for possible employment opportunities or business start-ups once they leave the shelter. With the average annual turn-over of women in shelters being approximately 600, it can be estimated that up to 600 women will directly and sustainably benefit from the provided equipment Kosovo public at large was informed about:
- The pandemic and key prevention measures;
- The impact of the pandemic on women and women economies;
- DV and GBV through the 16 days of activism campaign; and
- Promotion of Kosovo Police app which can be used to report cases of DV and GBV as well as other incidents and crimes (and which now allows the easy reporting of domestic violence through an updated direct button).
The total reach of the cumulative campaigns was over 300 000 people through UN Women Kosovo social media alone. UN Women contribution to all these results was provided through technical and advocacy support.
In Tajikistan, Under UN Women technical guidance, the UNCT members jointly with the Governmental structures (health/ women empowerment/ social protection/ emergency) created joint plans, including on awareness raising and prevention. The final SPT COVID-19 Action Plan’s measures and activities were presented and well aligned with the Government’s position and the COVID-19 request issued by state authorities (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of RT, CoWFA, MoH, CoES, CYA). The activities were incorporated, along with monitoring indicators ad targets, in the Integrated Socio-Economic Response Framework. The plan also covered awareness raising elements: Dissemination of information about COVID-19, VAWG, VAC, supporting awareness raising campaigns on TV, social media networks, radio broadcasting on COVID-19 and including on the impact on women and girls, general and user-friendly information (videos, leaflets) developed for dissemination among the population. Within the Spotlight Initiative UN Women developed gender-sensitive recommendations for preparedness to and during quarantine period. Recommendations included specific measures to address GBV, protect women health workers, etc. Recommendation were handed over to MFA and other GoT bodies. In this process, the Spotlight Initiative team participated in several meetings with Government officials and various coordination platforms to advocate for the rights of women and girls in the context of COVID-19.
Rapid Gender Assessment
The report on “What Rapid Gender Assessment data says about the impact of COVID-19 on women’s and men’s lives and livelihood in Tajikistan” was prepared and published in three languages by UN Women in cooperation with Z-Analytics. The overall objective of the assessment was to assess COVID-19 impact on women, girls, men, and boys, and to compare gender issues and social norms during the outbreak period. Furthermore, the assessment aimed to increase preparedness and response efforts to the emergency created by COVID-19 and to provide a gendered insight on how the situation has affected women and men differently. The RGA assessment captured 1,500 respondents in total, both women and men above the age of 18 years. The assessment covered all regions of Tajikistan with total population 9,126.6 people. RGA data shows that, overall, 61 percent respondents received information through traditional media sources, such as television, radio, and newspapers. Furthermore, RGA data disaggregated by target regions demonstrate that in Dushanbe, a considerable number of respondents also received information through internet and social media (22 per cent) and from public announcements (3 percent). In GBAO, 19 percent of respondents received information from health workers which is high by 5–7 percentage points then DRS, Sogd and Khatlon and 11 percentage points higher than Dushanbe. Compared to other regions, more users in DRS, Sogd and Khatlon found mobile phones to be an efficient tool in getting information on COVID-19. In Sogd – where people were dependent on traditional media sources was still utilized by a considerable number of people compared to Dushanbe and DRS. Finally, in Khatlon, most respondents (62 per cent) received information on COVID-19 through traditional media sources, followed equally by internet and social media and health centers and family doctors. As indicated by RGA data in this report, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected both women and men from urban and rural areas and among all age groups. Based on RGA results, several conclusions are drawn that summarize the results of the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on these conclusions, several recommendations for various stakeholders, including national authorities and international organizations, as well as the local civil society organizations (CSO) are forwarded.
Video messages
UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNDP jointly with the Committee on women and family affairs and the EU delegation developed positive transformative messages to the population: The messages in informational videos on promoting positive masculinity and challenging traditional norms among young people, men and women, which were part of the programmatic activities, were adopted to be more focused on men's involvement with care work at home in order to reduce the domestic burden on women, taking into account the increase in self-isolation during COVID-19 and its negative impact of GBV. The COVID-19 response video was also produced by UN Women in cooperation with CoWFA and spread among partners and Gender Thematic Group for further dissemination. The UN Women video on the social media page of the Gender Thematic Group (Facebook) had been viewed more than 18,000.
Informational leaflets
UN Women in consultation with STP RUNOS and Committee of Women and Family Affairs developed the content for the leaflet on COVID19 impact on women and girls. Family resilience during the pandemic (81,400 copies), which has been disseminated among 596,000 people to promote harmonious and non-violent environment in the families. In addition, UN Women produced COVID-19 related leaflets (COVID-19 and women's vulnerability). These leaflets were aimed to women from vulnerable groups and contained information on help centers and hotlines as well as statistics. Teenage volunteers shared brochures and DVDs (developed by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Human Services) on COVID-19 prevention in their communities.
Outreach campaigns
According to the report from the Red Crescent Society, a 5-month COVID-19 and EVAWG outreach campaign challenged gender stereotypes and the notion of equality and fair distribution of the housework during the pandemic through the leaflet on Impact of COVID19 on Women and Girls. How to sustain family Resilience During the Pandemic. A progress has been made in the framework of SPT COVID-19 Response Plan and 5-month outreach campaign, which increased awareness of 596,000 in 6 SPT target districts (Isfara, B. Gafurov, Rudaki, Vose, Hissar and Yovon) on COVID-19 safety measures, prevention on violence against women and girls, available VAWG service for SGBV survivors and promoting gender equality relations. Project staff of the Red Crescent Society held several meetings with the local authorities in 6 target districts to inform about the project initiatives and obtain their support in organizing outreach campaigns to remote communities and disseminated the information materials via 120 community volunteers.
Youth Involvement
UNICEF, UNDP and UN Women jointly with Youth Committee invested in awareness among youth and children, parenting and prevention of violence against a girl-child through the Peer Education Center of the Committee. WHO and UNCT cooperated with the state ministries on development and publishing the infographics and information for the population in multi-media (WHO website). 130,000 young people benefitted from online gender-sensitive awareness-raising and community mobilisation activities led by the newly established Communication Centre at the Committee on Youth and Sport Affairs. The Communication Centre engaged young volunteers in prevention and awareness-raising activities as part of its COVID-19 response measure. UN Women provided logistical support and several informational and educational materials for dissemination. Other partners included UNDP and UNICEF, who equipped the Center with furniture and other items.
Hotline
Rendering psychological and legal consultations from PSS hub and national hotline was done through the investment on ensuring a 24/7 support, so that women and girls across Tajikistan, both those at risk and those experiencing violence, could have wider access to this service. UN Women provided the hotline with the relevant information on location and availability of services.
COVID 19 and Women living with HIV
People with HIV were also central in planning the activities. 241,058 people reached by non-stigma and discrimination messages towards women living with HIV through a social media campaign designed with the support of 12 women living with HIV.
According to the monitoring report from the official campaign website, accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Odnoklassniki the campaign created a great interest from general population. Messages of the campaign urge peoples to commit to helping create and sustain communities that promote awareness, understanding, and acceptance of people with HIV and generated over 100840 people in Instagram, 111789 people on Facebook and 28429 people on Odnoklassniki.
Women living with HIV got aware on consequences of COVID-19 impact on women living with HIV and supported by UN Women by distributing 7000 items of the leaflets on “What people living with HIV should know about COVID-19” that provided information to women on how to protect themselves, and how to respond to stigma and discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. 300 women living with HIV from Dushanbe, Sughd and Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction were equipped with key protective gear and sanitizers.
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, Development partners, Donors, International organizations, UN Agencies, and civil society organizations have been better informed and make evidence-based decisions to address the needs of women living with HIV on COVID-19 context.
According to the multi-stakeholder group consist of active NGOs working in the field of HIV and AIDS, representatives of National Aids Center, representatives of the development agencies, international organizations, HIV networks, including women leaders, gender experts and Tajikistan Network of women living with HIV members, developed recommendations which have been incorporated in National Response plan and addressed immediate needs of WLWH.
UN Women made a significant contribution through identifying the key actors, members of the group and coordination of the multi stakeholder group further activities. UN Women contributed to this through hiring a National Consultant to serve as Senior peer counsellor and monitor and advise other peer counsellors. The consultant engaged with the government and other key stakeholders and monitored the progress of COVID-19 prevention and response actions, especially for women living with HIV. This virtual network of peer counsellors, consisted of 10 members, eight of them have been trained in psychosocial support and peer-counselling in individual and group consultations.
A new Viber group of peer counselors has been created that enables members to pose questions and receive immediate support from others. According to the final report of the local consultant, over 486 consultations on various issues in the context of COVID-19 and DV have been provided by the peer counsellors to WLWH from different regions. Voice notes and videos are regularly shared on sanitation techniques, social distancing, health care facilities contact details such as doctors, hotlines, and more.
This group of peer counsellors revealed that the number of cases of domestic violence has significantly increased among women living with HIV in Tajikistan during the pandemic. Women received online information on HIV treatment or how to access VAW services and support centers they received a comprehensive advice and guidance on services, made available by SPT in Tajikistan.
Due to the significant increase in the number of cases of domestic violence among women living with HIV, as revealed by the group of peer counselors, a mobile application has been developed for people living with HIV to simplify medical information and treatment, to address the urgent needs and connect women to VAW services.
According to the feedback of women engaged in the testing, the application allows people living with HIV to access timely and necessary medical services. The interactive map shows location of medical centers and nongovernmental organizations supporting people living with HIV.
UN Women provided technical guidance and IT support through the local company. The application design is based on the experiences of its developers and HIV activists. For people living with HIV, the app will act as a personal electronic patient card. It will allow the users to stay in touch with doctors online, setting up reminders about when to take medication and schedule appointments. A help button contains links to hotlines on HIV treatment and prevention and psychological and legal support for women.