Search
In Cambodia UNAIDS and partners provided technical support and guidance to the development process of the National Actions Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women, 2019-2023; conducted a Gender Assessment; and developed PEP guidelines, including for survivors of gender-based violence.
In Kenya UNAIDS provided support to National SRHR, SGBN and TB Integration Framework, which was finalised and launched in 2019.
The upcoming SGBV Policy complements the Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) Policy (UNHCR March 2018), as a concrete measure to help accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5. The Policy outlines 10 core actions that UNHCR will take to apply an AGD approach in its work, including reaffirming UNHCR’s five Commitments to Refugee Women: 1) ensuring women and girls participate equally and meaningfully in all decision-making, community management and leadership structures, and committees of persons of concern, 2) are provided with individual registration and documentation, 3) have equal access to and control over management and provision of food, core-relief items, and cash-based interventions, 4) have equal access to economic opportunities, including decent work and quality education and health services and 5) have access to comprehensive SGBV prevention and response services.
UNHCR is involved in the development process of the implementing partner (IP) common assessment tool to ensure IPs meet minimum standards of the UN Protocol on SEA and has made progress on policy alignment to ensure a victim-centered approach guides actions and processes. UNHCR is engaged and provided substantive feedback which fed into the updated IASC Principal 4.
UNODA developed internal guidance on the inclusion of arms control components in national action plans (NAPs) on Women Peace and Security, and The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) provided support to the revision process of Nepal’s NAP which included sexual violence and violence against women.
UNODC continues to support OHCHR and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its work to develop a General Recommendation on the trafficking of women and girls in the context of global migration. As part of this, UNODC co-hosted a regional consultation for Middle East and Northern Africa in cooperation with OHCHR and UN Women in Egypt in November 2019.
In Bolivia, in cooperation with UNDP, UNODC updated the Protocol to Conduct Hearings on Precautionary Measures. In the first seminar on gender-based violence and femicide, UNODC presented ways of measuring gender-based killings of women and girls.
In Guatemala, UNODC’s support to the National Civil Police under the joint UN Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence, resulted in a specialised criminal investigation model and protocol for violence against women cases.
In four regions of Argentina, a project led by the organization FUSA para la Salud Integral con Perspectiva de Género y Derechos Asociación Civil, funded by the UN Trust Fund, has formed an interdisciplinary workgroup to develop policy proposals and strategies to change local laws and policies on violence against women and girls with disabilities so that they adhere to international human rights standards. The organizers of the project are also engaging with and providing training for organizations that advocate for the rights of people with disabilities; thus far, 24 women and girls from such organizations have received training on the rights of women and girls with disabilities and acquired the tools necessary to share what they have learned with a wider audience. Preliminary agreements have been reached with health centres to expand the services they offer, and revised protocols are being reviewed by the ethics committees of those health centres.
WFP’s Gender Policy and Protection Policy both cover elements of addressing Gender Based Violence; both policies are supported by guidance manuals for field based staff.
On 20 July 2018, CEDAW signed a framework of cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Under this framework of cooperation, CEDAW and the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict seek to advance the rights of women and girls by combating conflict-related sexual violence and supporting the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security and CEDAW’s General Recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. Based on the framework of implementation, CEDAW and the SRSG-SVC have exchanged information on countries of concern that the two entities have been seized of under their respective mandates. In 2018 OHCHR supported the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, on her thematic report to the General Assembly on the gender dimension of trafficking in persons and on integrating a human rights- based approach to trafficking in persons in the women, peace and security agenda of the Security Council, where she strengthened the link between trafficking in persons and conflict-related sexual violence(A/73/171)
In Peru, the organization Red Nacional de Promoción de la Mujer is implementing a project in the regions of Ayacucho and Huánuco aimed at reducing gender-based violence against older women who were victims of conflict-related violence in the 1980s and 1990s. The project has empowered more than 487 women, of whom 44 per cent were over 60 years of age, by increasing their awareness of their rights. Through peer-to-peer exchange workshops, the grantee reached more than 210 older women from various organizations and 286 men and other women, including students and youth groups. The grantee adopted a holistic approach to developing participatory needs assessments, awareness-raising and training workshops and communications campaigns, all focusing on rights, interculturality, gender and aging. The project was also aimed at raising awareness among local officials and advocating for gender- and age-sensitive public policies. As a direct result of the project’s implementation, older women are now part of community surveillance committees and the municipalities’ round table on poverty reduction. In addition, four emblematic cases of violations of women’s rights were reviewed and, to date, one case has been decided in favour of the survivor; the remaining three are pending decisions.
In Myanmar, UNODC strengthened the capacity of the police to provide survivor-centered responses, effective investigation and inter-agency coordination among the criminal justice system to better respond to gender-based violence. The Office supported the Union Attorney General’s Office in the prosecution of cases involving violence against women and children through a training curriculum and accompanying materials piloted at two initial trainings of trainers.
In Nepal, UNODC undertook a study about women in the criminal justice system, with a focus on women criminal justice professionals, violence against women and women alleged offenders and prisoners.
In the State of Palestine, UNODC and other UN agencies launched a joint project to support the forensic science laboratory in analyzing evidence on sexual and gender-based violence cases, to sensitize criminal justice personnel and improve cooperation among the stakeholders involved in handling SGBV cases.
Half of the projects funded by the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in 2018 explicitly provided direct protection and assistance to victims trafficked in a situation of armed conflict or fleeing conflict identified within mass refugee and migration movements.
UNODC published a thematic paper on countering trafficking in persons, including the exploitation of women and girls, in conflict situations.
South Sudan Country Office
Monitoring &Evaluation and Emergency team held a GBV workshop on how WFP can adapt its work to address issues raised by the 16-days campaign.