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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.
The United Nations Trust Fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women is a global, multilateral grant-making mechanism that supports efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls. The Trust Fund, which was established in 1996 by the General Assembly in its resolution 50/166, is administered by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) on behalf of the United Nations system. With the strong institutional support of UN Women and its regional, multi-country and country offices, and working closely with the rest of the United Nations system through its inter-agency Programme Advisory Committee, the Trust Fund plays a vital role in driving forward collective efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.
The OHCHR supported the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women during the first week of CSW63 in March 2019. In particular, support was provided for three side-events:
- Side-event on 25 years of the mandate and the femicide watch initiative, co-sponsored by the Republic of Croatia;
- Side-event on the mandate of the SRVAW and CEDAW General Recommendation 35, co-sponsored by Timor-Leste;
- Side-event on online violence against women and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, organized jointly with Facebook.
The OHCHR also supported the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in the organization of a working level meeting with the members of the institutional platform of international and regional women’s rights mechanisms created in March 2018.
ESCAP and UN Women co-chair the Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (TWG-GEEW), which has formally integrated the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign into the development and implementation of its regional interagency workplan. Under the auspices of the TWG-GEEW, ESCAP and UN Women co-organized the Regional Commemoration for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women under the umbrella of UNiTE and #HearMeToo on 23 November 2018. The Ted-talk style event named E.Quality Talks: My Story of Ending Violence against Women, involved survivors of violence, survivor advocates, women’s movements representatives and women’s human rights defenders. Hearing directly from those who have endured violence, fought against it, or helped to prevent it happening to others added credibility, and helped put ‘a human face’ on facts and statistics that can provoke the public to take action. Feedback for the event was unanimously positive from both storytellers and listeners.
The event was attended by the diplomatic community, civil society organizations and UN staff. At the Regional Commemoration, the #DontTellMeHowToDress exhibition, which is a Thai version of the #MeToo movement, was launched at the UN compound. The exhibition displayed the clothing victims wore at the time of the assault to challenge the misconception around sexual violence.
From this year's experience, the UNITE Worknig Group learnt that it is very important to provide those who are not usually heard with an opportunity to speak, and platforms to share their messages.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, become an International Gender Champion and as such, committed to raise global awareness about the gendered impact of weapons, from small arms and light weapons to weapons of mass destruction.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, published an op-ed on the relationship between gender equality and gun violence against women and girls
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) also presented at a regional workshop on Enhancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Northeast Asia, which aimed to address global linkages and synergies between disarmament and Women, Peace and Security efforts, as well as gender aspects and approaches in regional disarmament initiatives.
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 2018. The competition attracted a record number of submissions – almost 200 – from young people from 10 Arab States, who submitted paintings, photos, videos, songs and poems on the theme ‘#HearMeToo’: Speak up against violence against women and girls.” The best submissions were showcased at an event, which also featured a roundtable discussion on arts and activism.
ESCWA engaged with students enrolled in the Fashion Design Programme at the Lebanese American University School of Architecture and Design to create designs for a tote-bag to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism campaign. This activity engaged students and solicited their artistic abilities to produce a bag with a powerful message. As part of the partnership, ESCWA staff also led a discussion on gender-based violence with the students to inspire their work.
ESCWA launched a social media campaign for the 16 Days of Activism campaign. ESCWA created a set of 16 cards presenting key facts about gender-based violence in the Arab region, as well as concrete steps that can be taken by youth and the general public to address it. The cards were shared on ESCWA social media channels in English and Arabic on each of the 16 Days of Activism, as part of a broader social media campaign that also featured videos, polls and other multimedia content.
ESCWA facilitates gender discussion series, open to all members of the community. The following topics have recently been addressed: How cinema and theatre can advance women’s rights; and Protection orders in the Arab region.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN DESA and Simon Fraser University in Canada, hosted the Symposium on Women and Water Security for Peacebuilding in the Arab Region. The objective of the Symposium was to review and advance the emerging water security gender nexus in the Arab region, through the lens of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
ESCWA partnered with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University (LAU) to utilize ESCWA publications in the curriculum for an M.A. program in “Interdisciplinary Gender Studies” at LAU. This included ESCWA staff leading interactive discussions with students on subjects such as women’s political participation, violence against women, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and the regional state of gender justice in the Arab region.
1. Secretary-General’s Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women, 2008-2015” (UNiTE Campaign)
3. United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN ACTION) WFP has three dedicated staff at the global level covering protection (including prevention and response to GBV). Furthermore, GBV is a part of the annual work plans of two members of the Gender Office, who work on the Orange Days and annual 16 Days of Activism Campaign.
5. Inter-Agency Standing Committee: Sub-Working Group on Gender and Humanitarian Action (IASC) WFP has actively contributed to and benefited from its engagement in a number of inter-agency initiatives on gender equality and GBV as well as broader interagency engagement on protection.
WFP has a particular interest in continued engagement with the IASC Gender Reference Group and the Gender-based Violence AOR. WFP has also maintained an active presence in the IASC PSEA/AAP task team, the Global Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies, the Global Protection Cluster, the IASC GenCap Steering Committee and the Secretary General’s initiative on Human Rights Up Front. Members of the Gender Office represent WFP in IASC GRG, and the Gender Office serves as Co-Chair of the IASC GenCAP Steering Committee. |