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In June 2019, Under-Secretary-General DiCarlo issued a new Women, Peace and Security policy to strengthen DPPA’s implementation on WPS issues. One of the five priorities for DPPA’s implementation of the WPS Agenda is preventing and addressing conflict-related sexual violence as a priority for peace. In 2019 DPPA also introduced a new gender marker methodology for 2020 projects to ensure that all XB-funded projects contribute to advancing DPPA’s WPS Policy and ensure a more consistent reporting across Divisions. For 2020, a 15% benchmark for WPS was set and surpassed for all of DPPA’s extra budgetary funding.

On 21 June 2019 in Geneva, the International Labour Conference adopted the Violence and Harassment in the World of Work Convention (No. 190) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 206), which are the first-ever international standards on this topic. The Conference also adopted the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future or Work, expressing a clear commitment to a world of work that is free from violence and harassment.

Throughout 2019, UNHCR has drafted and consulted on the upcoming UNHCR Policy on the Prevention, Risk Mitigation, and Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which will be launched in 2020. The Policy institutionalizes UNHCR’s work on SGBV and consolidates the progress made by UNHCR and partners to prevent, mitigate and respond to SGBV. The Policy aims at pursuing that the risk of SGBV is reduced for all persons of concern and at all survivors to access quality services in a timely and equitable manner. 

During the 28th session of the Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) from 20-24 May 2019, UNODC co-organised two side events of relevance: firstly, “The role of technology in facilitating and addressing sex trafficking,” held together with the Government of Belarus, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Equality Now; secondly, the “UNODC issue paper on inter linkages between trafficking in persons and marriage,” held together with the Government of Germany and the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI). 

In Solomon Islands, the Regional Rights Resource Team of the Pacific Community, funded by the UN Trust Fund, is implementing a pilot project aimed at improving access to justice for women survivors of violence in the provinces of Guadalcanal and Malaita. The aim of the project is to assist the authorities of Solomon Islands in the implementation of the 2014 Family Protection Act. The Act provides for an integrated response by various government departments, for assistance to survivors of family and domestic violence, for improved access to justice and for redress for survivors of violence against women. The grantee has developed a national training curriculum and accreditation scheme to develop the capacity of selected informal justice mechanisms established in rural communities under the Family Protection Act to deliver quality services. Five capacity-building and monitoring missions at each of the 37 project sites have resulted in an increase in the number of cases reported and in discussions about domestic violence as a harmful practice. A total of 48 authorized justices have been trained. They continue to show a willingness to hold awareness-raising sessions and speak to their communities about their role and about the purpose of the Family Protection Act.

The study on “Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa: Implications on Legislation, Policy, Culture & Interventions” undertook mapping of the legislative frameworks in 10 countries in Africa, which is also guiding the countries in strengthening the EVAW and Child Marriage legislations.   Another important area the ESARO is supporting is the framing of bye-laws to harmonize the national laws with the customary laws in line with the international conventions.   At least in 5 countries such initiatives are ongoing, these include, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Liberia.  

A study on “Mapping of Discrimination Faced by Women with Disabilities in ESAR” also highlighted the various forms of discrimination and violence faced by women with disabilities and will help advocacy with member states on enactment of legislation and policy in the 6 study countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Report: Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
This report presents a summary of the discussions held during the first Regional Forum on Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe (CoE), in partnership with European Women’s Lobby, the regional forum reviewed progress in fulfillment of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. The forum took place within the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds". The report is available here. 

Report: Second Reginal Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
The report presents a summary of discussions and conclusions from the Second Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of Albania, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe, the Second Regional Forum reviewed progress in ending violence against women and girls and implementing the Istanbul Convention in the region. The forum took place on 9-10 October 2019 under the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.” The report is available here.

ESCWA organizes annually an Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD) which bring together policy makers and regional stakeholders to discuss the various themes on the SDG agenda. The outcomes of the AFSD are then shared with the High-Level Political Forum. In April 2019, ESCWA in partnership with other United Nations agencies organized two sessions, which addressed among other issues violence against women. In addition, ESCWA partnered with National Women Machineries and other United nations agencies in organizing side events during the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2019. This included a side event with Jordan and Tunisia on “Adopting the SDGs to the Local Context” including Goal 5 and its targets on combating violence against women, a side event with the United Nations Population (UNFPA) on the “Guidelines to Estimate the Economic Cost of Domestic Violence in the Arab Region”, a side event with UN Women, the League of Arab States, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) on “Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans on the Arab Region: Lebanon and Jordan”, and a side event with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women and UNFPA on “Gender Justice and the Law: Implications of Inequality before the Law for Social Protection and Women’s Empowerment.

ESCWA finalized a study on the role of ICTs in achieving Goal 5. This includes the role of ICTs in addressing targets 5.2 and 5.3 focused on combating Violence against Women. The study includes a stock taking of existing initiatives in the region and good practices that are suitable for adaptation from the international to the regional context.

ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, and the National University of Ireland, Galway, developed a model to cost the economic impact of child marriage in the Arab region. The model was further dev

ESCWA in partnership with the Irish mission in NY and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Palestine implemented the household survey which includes questions specifically aimed at collecting data pertaining to costing VAW in Palestine. Currently, data is being analyzed and the launch of the related study is planned to take place in 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with the League of Arab States and UN Women, organized a regional workshop which brought together representatives of National Women Machineries, National Statistics Offices and National Human Rights Institutes in the Arab countries as key stakeholders to assist them in the process of the adaptation, implementation, and follow-up and review of SDG 5 at the national level. This workshop facilitated a dialogue on a consolidated vision to accelerate the achievement of SDG 5 using a human rights and evidence-based approach. It showcased the importance of using ICTs as a means to promote women’s rights including the right of a life free of violence and achieve SDG 5 and to support the means of implementation of other SDGs and related targets.

ESCWA participated in the 13th Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Gender Statistics (IAEG-GS) in the Arab Countries. The meeting brought together gender statisticians and experts from the international, regional and national institutions that are IAEG-GS members. The meeting took stock and provided feedback, from a gender perspective, on the methodological work being undertaken by UNSD and the Expert Group on Innovative and Effective Ways to Collect Time-Use Statistics, in line with international standards. It also discussed and reviewed the on-going work of the IAEG-GS Advisory Group on Strengthening Administrative Systems to Close Gender Data Gaps. Also, it reviewed on-going national, regional and global initiatives to improve evidence for gender-relevant policies, including the development and implementation of international methods and standards and discussed progress towards gender equality at the national, regional and global levels, in particular in the context of Beijing+25.

ESCWA organized a training workshop aimed at improving technical capabilities in using gender statistics to monitor SDG gender indicators and in disseminating, communicating and using statistics and indicators. The workshop assisted researchers in their efforts to mainstream gender into their national statistical system, which will result in improved availability and use of gender statistics at the national, regional and international levels for better evidence-based gender policies.S5

Data collection and analysis: UNHCR uses the Gender Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS), an inter-agency initiative that enables humanitarian actors to effectively and safely collect and analyze SGBV incidents reported by survivors. This system informs improvements in response services, SGBV prevention and coordination. As of the end of 2019, GBVIMS was used by UNHCR operations in 21 countries, 19 of those as inter-agency initiatives. During 2019 and prior to the launch of the SGBV Policy, baseline assessments were conducted across 21 countries in six regions.

Research: In 2019, UNHCR has continued its engagement with the CERAH (Geneva Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action) Steering Committee and with the Empowered Aid project on PSEA in Lebanon and Uganda, to produce knowledge that can be used to reduce power disparities in the distribution of humanitarian aid and mitigate risks of SEA. UNHCR collaborated with research and advocacy projects, such as All Survivors Project.

Dissemination of promising practices: In 2019, UNHCR released the report ‘Learning from experience to advance gender equality – promising practices in Asia’, which amongst other includes a promising practice on SGBV coordination in Sri Lanka.      

UNODC produces a biennial Global Report on Trafficking in Persons covering 130-140 countries around the world. The report presents a global overview, regional analyses and detailed country profiles. It provides trends on the main indicators and explores links with other criminal and social factors. The report makes use of qualitative analysis resulting from the narrative of court cases on trafficking in persons collected by national authorities. As of February 2020, data on about 280,000 victims detected between 2003 and 2019 shows that approximately 50% of trafficking victims detected are women, while 20% are girls, reflecting the prevalence of female victims. 

In Southern Africa, UNODC conducted a situational assessment of criminal justice process related to gender-based violence in the member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states.