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UNFPA works with key stakeholders to address inadquacies in national legislation in the vast majority of its 124 Country and Sub-Regional Offices. As much as 93 percent of UNFPA Country Offices are involved in the drafting of national legislation on VAW. In 2015, the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) succeeded in assisting the governments and parliaments of Nigeria and Gambia on enacting specific national legislations on FGM/C. The “Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act” was adopted in Nigeria and an amendment was made to the “Women’s Act of 2010” in The Gambia.
FAO has been instrumental in the finalization of the Committee on World Food Security’s (CFS) Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (FFA), a global policy guidance instrument endorsed in October 2015. The document explicitly recognizes the role of all stakeholders in “protecting against all forms of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly towards refugees and IDPs, to allow safe access to resources to meet food and nutrition needs”, and in “designing and delivering food security and nutrition policies and actions in ways that minimize the risk to recipients and contribute to preventing and ending gender based violence.”
In Viet Nam in 2016, UN Women supports Legal Aid Department of Ministry of Justice to build a legal aid system sensitive to the needs of VAW survivors. This includes 1) technical assistance to legal drafters of the amended Legal Aid Law and to develop joint UN recommendations together with UNDP, UNICEF, UNODC, UNAIDS, highlighting gaps with international normative frameworks; and 2) support to develop a guideline for legal aid providers, reflecting the legislative changes of the criminal laws in 2015 and promoting gender-sensitive and survivor-centred response based on international standards. Materials developed through the support to Judicial Academy and UNODC's handbook for legal aid providers on domestic violence cases will be utilized for this purpose.
UN Women has been instrumental in ensuring that the Prevention against Domestic Violence Bill was adopted by the national Parliament in Kenya. This was a significant achievement, since Kenya previously did not have a specific law for prevention and response to domestic violence.
Throughout the period 2014 to 2016, ESCWA has delivered relevant advisory services on VAW legislation to three Member States. In June 2014, ESCWA provided support to the adoption of new legislation on violence against women in Egypt. ESCWA supported national efforts to enact legislation on VAW in Egypt by co-organizing a workshop to present the UN Model Law on Violence against Women and related international instruments. This workshop targeted senior officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and members of the National Council for Women, as well as service providers and practitioners. The workshop allowed participants to share experiences and lessons learned. In December 2014, ESCWA provided advisory services to Tunisia to discuss the draft law to combat Violence against Women and Girls.
In Vietnam, UNODC supported the revision of the penal code and penal procedure code, promoting the incorporation of relevant international standards and norms, especially concerning violence against women. Similarly, With UN Women, UNODC conducted a gap analysis of Viet Nam's Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code providing research findings and key UN joint recommendations for strengthening effective responses to violence against women to the National Assembly.
In Myanmar, UNODC provided inputs to bring legislation related to violence against women and drug control into line with international standards and norms.
UNFPA is a member of IASC and in contexts where the IASC Cluster Approach has been activated, UNFPA and UNICEF are mandated to co-lead the GBV Area of Responsibility. As co-lead, UNFPA is accountable for working closely with national authorities, partners and communities, to ensure that minimum standards are in place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergencies.
A standard-setting item on “Violence against women and men in the world of work” is listed on the agenda of the ILO 107th Session (June 2018) of the International Labour Conference.
In Serbia, UNDP supported the Government to ratify key international conventions, enact a body of relevant laws and develop policies to eliminate gender based violence. Country’s priorities are outlined in the National Strategy for Prevention and Elimination of VaW in the Family and in Intimate Partner Relationships 2011-2015. The document is aligned with the international standards, particularly with Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating VaW and Domestic Violence. Serbia ratified the Convention in 2013 and it entered into force on 1st August 2014.