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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

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 the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UNICEF is the lead agency, with the Ministry of Health, to coordinate response – “the Multi-Sectoral Assistance pillar” - with a goal to improve the quality, accessibility and delivery of services for survivors. In the Horn of Africa, UNICEF supported safe access to fuel and fuel efficient stoves. A regional strategy is being developed along with Women’s Refugee Committee, UNHCR and WFP. Hide

In October 2011, in collaboration with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and the Togolese Ministry of Women Affairs, the ECA organized a Regional Stakeholders’ Meeting in Togo on “Women’s Access to Legal and Judicial Services”, which focused on access to justice for women victims of violence including in conflict settings, and on the need for a multisectoral response to victims through the provision of legal, medical and psychosocial support services. Hide

In Bolivia, with the sponsorship of UN Women, the Centre for Integral Development of Aymara Women (CDIMA) worked with local authorities from the municipalities of Mocomoco, Comanche and Simanco. Following this collaboration, the authorities signed agreements to ensure indigenous women´s access to justice in particular in cases of gender based violence. In the process of improving women´s access to justice, CDIMA has strengthened the coordination between ordinary jurisdiction and indigenous justice systems. Hide

With the support of UN Action, WHO organized, in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, a technical meeting on responding to the psychosocial and mental health needs of survivors of sexual violence. The meeting in November 2011 reviewed the evidence and experiences from the field and made programmatic, policy and research recommendations. Hide

In Afghanistan, OHCHR/UNAMA provided support to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and provincial Departments to establish commissions on the elimination of violence against women in different provinces. Hide

In Latin America, UNODC Regional Office for Brazil and the Southern Cone developed a project for the strengthening of public and civil society institutions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The project seeks to improve the countries' capacity to offer support to gender-based violence victims and to develop a regional knowledge/expertise on this problem and to architect a good practices network, gathering players from the community, civil society and governmental institutions. Hide

UN Women manages the project Pacific Regional Facility Fund in Support of Organisations and Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women (EVAW), which is a regional ‘basket fund’ to support a small grants facility for Pacific Island organisations and actions to eliminate VAW. Hide