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UNHCR launched a policy on Access to Justice for Survivors of SGBV, in 2012, aimed at strengthening provision of legal services for survivors. The policy included conducting advocacy and awareness-raising with high-level and local authorities, and capacity-building activities in both formal and informal justice fora. Hide

UN Women has provided an array of support to implement laws and policies and improve access to services. Such support has included: formalization of multi-sectoral mechanisms with 13 departments led by the Ministry of Justice in Morocco; One-stop centres and shelters for survivors of violence in Afghanistan, Burundi, Ethiopia, DRC, Guatemala, Mozambique, OPT, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Tunisia; increased police capacities to respond in Ethiopia, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominican Republic, Kenya, Thailand; and access to justice to end impunity in Argentina, Brazil, India, Kosovo, Lao PDR, Tanzania, Zimbabwe; institutionalization of national standards for sheltering services, sustainability of the Mehwar Centre and establishment of the comprehensive service centre -Al Hayat Centre in the State of Palestine; legal aid services in Zimbabwe; joint support with UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and PAHO to the Domestic Violence Office of the Supreme Court of Justice in Argentina; and at the request of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, facilitated a capacity assessment for the deployment of female officers to the borders, support for an equal treatment and equal opportunity policy and together with the Liberia National Police developed a Gender Sensitive Basic Curriculum for Recruits. In Nepal, UN Women supported dissemination of standard operating procedures on violence against women for distric level police and supported the establishment of POURAKHI (an organisation of women migrant workers, now functional in 15 districts) who assist migrant workers who have faced abuse. Hide

In Guinea Bissau, OHCHR supported and provided technical assistance to national NGO Djinopi in the organisation of the Islamic Conference on combatting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), where a Declaration by the Imams of Guinea Bissau on the Abandonment of FGM was adopted. Support to Djinop also resulted in the publishing of a “Golden Booklet” in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic containing short Islamic studies and statements against FGM. Hide

In Togo and Chad, OHCHR supported activities on the implementation of UPR and CEDAW recommendations on violence against women. Hide

UNDP is also working to develop the capacity of service providers, including: integration of specialized and clear rules of conduct in cases of VAW into the General Protocol of Cooperation of relevant institutions, together with the Government in Serbia; technical assistance to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Cambodia to pilot the recommendations identified in the One-Stop Service Centre (OSSC) feasibility study; and technical assistance to the Papua New Guinea Family Sexual Violence Action Committee to integrate GBV into the national training curriculum for civil servants in 2012. Hide

UNDP is working to strengthen access to justice, including: in Guinea through training of magistrates and auxiliaries, CSOs and CBOs to establish credibility, professionalism, independence and efficiency of the justice system; in the Dominican Republic,through capacity development of the Justice System on monitoring and integration of citizen safety and security and through the inclusion of gender and GBV in the observatories under the auspices of the Nation’s Attorney General; in Sierra Leone through support to CSOs operating nationwide providing shelter, legal and prosecution assistance; in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 4,500 women have been reached in North and South Kivu through multipurpose community centres offering legal assistance and support for sustainable economic and social reintegration into their community; in Afghanistan providing access to legal support through the Help Centres located in each province reaching 3,000 victims of domestic violence; and in Nepal and Pakistan through legal aid clinics. Hide

UNDP, UN WOMEN and UNICEF have collaborated on a number of initiatives, including: development of “Integrated Responses to Gender-Based Violence in Serbia" to be implemented in 2013-2014 with funding from UN Trust Fund to end Violence against Women; the joint programme “Every Safe Home: Supporting Thailand towards Effective Implementation of Protection of Domestic Violence Victims” aimed at strengthening coordination, capacity-building and public awareness to end violence against women in public and private spaces; and integration of GBV in the security sector reform process of Guinea. Hide

An ILO programme, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), on Economic Empowerment and HIV Vulnerability Reduction along Transport Corridors in Southern Africa, reported that acceptance attitudes towards violence, through project interventions, such as education on gender equality, had significantly decreased. The project has a strong component on violence against women and focuses on building women’s economic resilience, business skills and related capacities. Hide

In 2012, UNFPA responded to crises under the GBV cluster coordination mechanism with special focus on the health needs of women and girls in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Georgia, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Hide

In 2012, around 3,144 health facilities have integrated FGM/C in their reproductive health services, particularly in their antenatal and postnatal care, with the support of UNFPA. UNFPA has ongoing collaboration with the Auckland University of Technology to support health systems in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Kiribati to better respond to survivors of violence, including through the development of protocols and multi-sectoral referral mechanisms, as well as training for doctors and nurses. Hide