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UN Women continued to work with the Government of Moldova and civil society organization partners to help over 1,000 women access services as survivors of violence. Through the positive deviance approach, an innovative approach to help communities drive asset-based solutions, and UN Women’s coordination role, survivors advocated concrete actions to end violence against women and were involved as key experts on eliminating violence against women in legislative, institutional and community initiatives. The number of women who sought services within the first four months of implementing this approach is a ten-fold increase compared to the scope of previous activities. Central and local public officials, civil society organizations and media were also essential actors in this approach and subsequent result. The world renown academic institutions like Oxford University and others have expressed their interest in further analyzing Moldova’s innovative experience and results and further document it for academic use. The Executive Program, run jointly by HEC Paris and the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford has invited the Moldova Country Office to present the Innovation in EVAW, and thus, to mainstream the case into their mainstream curriculum already from March, 2017.
UNHCR's Guidelines on International Protection No. 12 on Claims for Refugee Status Related to Situations of Armed Conflicts and Violence, issued in December 2016, provide substantive guidance for assessing claims to refugee status related to situations of armed conflict and violence in accordance with the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol as well as the broader regional refugee criteria. Specific reference is made to refugee protection from sexual and gender-based violence as this common is a form of persecution in many situations of armed conflict and violence. (http://www.refworld.org/docid/583595ff4.html)
UNHCR deploys Senior Protection Officers (SPOs) with expertise in SGBV to UNHCR operations around the world. These UNHCR staff work for an average of six months per deployment to prioritize SGBV prevention and response at the onset of emergencies. To evaluate the deployment scheme, UNHCR developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework around a set of 47 essential actions across sectors that – when fully implemented – are deemed most effective at preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during humanitarian emergencies.
UN Women organized an international seminar on Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the Gaza Strip in September 2016 with 350 participants representing local and international actors working on GBV including governmental actors, INGOs, UN agencies, humanitarian sectors and clusters, NGOs (from the West bank and Gaza), donors and academics. During two days, participants shared current challenges and opportunities with regards to integrated response to GBV in Gaza, and exchanged national and international experiences around GBV prevention and response in humanitarian settings with the aim of developing concrete, context-specific recommendations for GBV programming in Palestine. The seminar generated very important recommendations including the need to have better inclusion of GBV prevention and response in all stages of humanitarian action in Palestine and the importance of increasing the accountability of different actors to prioritize GBV prevention and response during and after emergencies.
UN Women, in collaboration with the governments of El Salvador and Sweden, launched the global study "Preventing conflicts, transforming justice, ensuring peace" in the Americas at a high level event in El Salvador in April of 2016. This is a report on the implementation of the Resolution 1325, which highlights the participation of women in security issues. The results of the research strengthen and recognize the power of women's peace-building interventions, and show that women's inclusion improves effectiveness in humanitarian assistance, strengthens efforts to build peace and the economic recovery of countries. As part of the activity, two forum panels took place and provided the space to share experiences on the application of 1325 in various countries of the world.
Together with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States launched the “Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence” in October 2016 in the United Arab Emirates. The package of services was introduced to the Arab States for the first time as the launch took place on the side of the second “Investing in the Future” conference organized in the UAE by UN Women and the UAE’s “The Big Heart Foundation” under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. The launch was an opportunity to emphasize the importance of coordination among various multi-sectoral responses for women and girls subject to violence and offered the space for over 100 participants from civil society, academia and governmental institutions to exchange experiences about violence against women in the region.
In Kosovo, OHCHR conducted research on potential conflict related SGBV (Sexual and Gender Based Violence) survivors among non-majority communities in Kosovo. The research included desk review of all relevant documents, meetings and interviews with all stakeholders that might possess information including governmental entities, victim associations, international organizations and religious communities. It enabled access to information about 51 potential non-majority survivors. The follow-up consist in contacting survivors and facilitating verification of status and subsequent access to reparation programs.
In Kosovo, five survivors of domestic violence were granted ownership of apartments as part of an initiative by the mayor of Gjakova Municipality providing housing to society’s most vulnerable individuals. This example of women’s reintegration and empowerment is part of the municipality’s Coordination Mechanism Action Plan on Domestic Violence, and these plans were developed and implemented by UN Women in three municipalities throughout Kosovo. The Coordination Mechanisms include representatives from municipal gender equality office, victim advocates, police, judiciary, health and education sectors, urban planning directorate, shelters and civil society organizations. UN Women worked with municipalities to support capacity building of coordination mechanisms, police and judiciary; support a comprehensive approach to domestic violence case management; implement gender-responsive budgeting; align legislation and practices with international norms and standards; and improve implementation of monitoring mechanisms. UN Women ensured full support from local mayors and engaged them during the development of the Municipal Domestic Violence Action Plans. With this local support, the coordination mechanisms have become fully institutionalized and functional.
In Haiti, OHCHR implemented two CVR (Community Violence Reduction) projects to support women and girls victims of violence. The aim of these two projects is to construct two reception centers, in remote areas where women and girls can seek temporary shelter in order to receive psycho social, medical and legal aid.
In 2016, UNHCR established response mechanisms to people fleeing from conflicts and crises in various parts of the world such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, CAR, Niger and Nigeria. With the continued flow of refugees to many of the mentioned countries, UNHCR operations have sought to swiftly increase and strengthen the SGBV response and assistance. UNHCR has worked together with partners, including refugees, with the aim of ensuring the provision of accessible, prompt, confidential and appropriate multi-sectoral services (safety, legal, psycho-social and medical) to survivors, establishing referral pathways and coordination mechanisms, recording cases on the GBVIMS and reducing of risk of SGBV through prevention and outreach activities. Although challenges persist, UNHCR continues to work to enhance community participation in SGBV programming and towards the empowerment of survivors.