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In 2008, UNDP supported multi-media national and local campaigns, including during the “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence”, in Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Zimbabwe, Niger and Myanmar.

Throughout 2008, UNDP-supported community conversation sessions were organized by village facilitators in Cambodia, in order to promote the communities’ understanding of social and legal issues related to domestic violence.

In Zimbabwe, IOM supported two community-based events during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, including information materials.

ESCWA participated in a meeting entitled “The effect of violence on women and family“, organized by the Doha International Institute on Family Studies and Development, in November 2008.

As a member of the “Gender is my agenda campaign” (GIMAC), ECA participated in the 13th Pre-Summit African Union Heads of State Consultative Meeting on gender mainstreaming where participants recognized the need to intensify measures in response to the Secretary-General’s campaign “UNiTE to end violence against women”.

UNHCR organized a regional workshop on masculinities in South Africa, in cooperation with Sonke Gender Justice and the Refugee Women’s Commission, to promote the positive involvement of men and boys in addressing sexual and gender-based violence. Multifunctional teams from nine countries in the Great Lakes, Eastern and Southern Africa regions participated, and the event resulted in the development of country-level work plans. As a follow up, three trainings for men and boys were conducted in Kenya, also for the police. Two digital stories were developed on the involvement of men and boys in addressing sexual and gender-based violence.

Within the framework of the commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UNESCO Doha Office with the collaboration of the Qatar Foundation for Child & Woman Protection organized a workshop on “The International Conventions for the Eradication of Violence and Discrimination against Women & their Reflection on the Qatari Legislations”.

UN-HABITAT and UNIFEM Latin America and Caribbean jointly held a workshop on “Women’s Safety”, in Mexico, in November 2008, to present the training and capacity building programme. UN-Habitat and the NGO “Women in Cities International” launched the evaluation report “Women’s Safety Audits – What Works and Where?. UNIFEM, UN-HABITAT, “Women in Cities International” and “Red Mujer” also organized a session entitled “Women and Safety in Urban Spaces”.

Issue # 2 of Words to Action, DAW’s (now part of UN Women) quarterly newsletter on violence against women, was produced with a feature article on legislation.

A meeting "Stopping the HIV epidemic – young women, girls and HIV in southern Africa. What must be done!" was convened in June 2008 by UNAIDS with the University of Witwatersrand Reproductive Health Research Unit. Three research papers relevant to violence against women were presented: intergenerational sex; sexual violence; and risk perception, knowledge and behaviour. The findings of the meeting were presented at ICASA in December 2008 along with communication material put together by Soul City to engage communities and decision makers. They were published in a special supplement of AIDS that was distributed at ICASA.