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In terms of protection, support and services, ESCWA developed in 2015 a toolkit for service and protection provision to address Gender-Based Violence in the Arab region. This toolkit, developed in partnership with CAWTAR, targeted Government representatives, religious leaders and media professionals with a view to change gender-related behaviours and perspectives in public policy and the public sphere.
WHO, with support from UNA, developed a methodology for measuring the experience and perpetration of violence among women and men in conflict/humanitarian settings, which has been further developed by partners and is currently being tested.
In Colombia, through support of UNDP's programme, psychosocial support was provided to 2,000 victims/survivors of sexual violence. 1,505 women were supported in registering with the Victim's Unit to receive assistance and reparations in the transitional justice process.
In Kenya, among Somali refugees over 500 survivors received some form of legal assistance and 62 percent of reported cases were prosecuted. Among the activities, the deployment of 10 translators to police gender desks located at various police stations in the camp strengthened confidential reporting and enhanced the investigation of reported cases. Additionally, close to 40 percent of police stations in the Dadaab operation have uninterrupted access to the Internet, which facilitates the police’s participation in an online training platform covering SGBV.
Compared to the previous year, in 2015 significantly greater levels of assistance were provided to survivors across a range of key core services: psychosocial counselling was provided to survivors in 27,616 reported SGBV incidents (38% increase compared to 2014); legal assistance in 7,342 reported incidents (31% increase); medical assistance in 4,518 reported incidents (7% increase); material assistance in 5,542 reported incidents (27% increase); and safe spaces in 3,948 reported incidents (50% increase). Additionally, over 6,000 survivors were enrolled in income generating and occupational activities doubled the number enrolled in the previous year.
OHCHR provided conceptual and policy support, legal advice, technical assistance and capacity building for the establishment of gender sensitive and participatory transitional justice processes. For instance, in 2014, OHCHR assisted in facilitating consultations with survivors of sexual and gender based violence in the DRC, Nepal, Uganda and Kosovo. In the DRC, OHCHR implemented projects to strengthen victims’ access to justice, including through mobile courts, legal clinics and pilot initiatives to inform broader reparations efforts. One such pilot initiative included providing support to survivors of sexual violence in the areas of Bukavu and Shabunda. In Uganda, OHCHR provided technical advice to the International Crimes Division of the High Court to facilitate compliance with good practices in handling cases of sexual and gender-based violence. OHCHR support focused on ensuring victims and witnesses’ access to justice and protection, especially for children and victims of sexual and gender-based violence. In 2015, OHCHR and the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in Liberia assisted national counterparts established centres that provided comprehensive services to survivors of sexual gender-based violence. Additionally in 2015, OHCHR finalized a guidance tool on witness and victims protection, with specific focus on victims of sexual and gender-based violence.