Prevention, Including Awareness Raising and Advocacy

Gender units invest in targeted SGBV prevention activities that include  prevention against VAW across the Missions through targeted capacity strengthening training, implementing gender analysis to identify enablers of SGBV; invest in community based early warning mechanisms and inclusion of  specific SGBV indicators and reporting benchmarks across all functions to identify timely identification of SGBV risks; and establish partnerships with women civil society organisations to collectively develop strategies for an enabling environment that prevents and mitigates SGBV
  In March 2017 DPKO produces a range of communication materials in line with the new gender policy have been developed to provide coherence and consistent advocacy on SGBV prevention. 


DDR/CVR teams across 5 peacekeeping missions (MONUSCO, MINUSCA, MINUSMA, UNAMID and MINUJUSTH ) missions have designed and implemented a series of Community Violence Reduction (CVR) projects, aimed at preventing and reducing violence at the community level in both ongoing and post-conflict scenarios. While interventions target a wide set of actors (e.g. members of armed groups, youth at-risk and community members), these initiates particularly improve security conditions for vulnerable groups, including women and children. Moreover, by ensuring their participation, CVR projects serve to mobilize and empower women within their communities and, as a result, contribute to the constitution of a protective environment. 


Gender-specific mine action programming: UNMAS makes every effort to ensure that its mine action programming is tailored according to specific cultures and gender of the beneficiaries. In some settings, this means women conducting single-gender risk education sessions (e.g. in Iraq in 2017). 
Recruitment of women in mine action programming: Research in Colombia and Lebanon indicates that women employed in mine action (which is traditionally male -dominated) increase their voice and influence in their communities:  http://www.gmap.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/final-report-ARS-2016.pdf

One of OCHA’s 7 priority commitments on gender is to promote gender-responsive Humanitarian Programme Cycle processes. It ensures the systematic inclusion of SGBV programming through the mandatory use of the Gender Marker in funded initiatives, and in reports on how gender and SGBV were addressed during project implementation. As an example, the CERF project application and reporting templates require sex- and age disaggregated data. The application template also includes the IASC Gender Marker which is then recorded in the CERF’s Grant Management System Database for tracking and analysis purpose. 

In addition, information and knowledge on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls have been disseminated through OCHA’s various advocacy platforms such as the corporate website, social media accounts, content websites (such as Medium, Exposure and YouTube) and email. OCHA has updated and edited two “OCHA on Message” products on Gender in Humanitarian Action and Sexual and Gender-based Violence. “OCHA on Message” are reference products that enables staff to communicate OCHA’s position on key issues. OCHA has also delivered remarks and statements containing messaging on gender and SGBV for the Commission on the Status of Women, the 2017 Global Humanitarian Policy Forum, the Center for Global Development and the Royal Institute of International Affairs and as well as briefings to the Security Council, among others.. For International Women’s Day, OCHA launched a successful social media campaign with its “Messengers of Humanity” community around their “Female Humanitarian Heroes” highlighting the professional achievements of women working in humanitarian affairs.

In August, OCHA’s annual World Humanitarian Day campaign centered around the hashtag #NotATarget and advocated for the protection of civilians in armed conflict. The campaign included a strong focus on sexual violence in conflicts, and what can be done to empower and support survivors. As part of a unique collaboration with Facebook, OCHA launched a brand-new Live filter, allowing users to step into the shoes of people affected by conflict as they read real stories from civilians trapped in conflict. The filter included a series of stories by women and girls to highlight the unique challenges they experience in crisis. As part of the campaign, SCB collaborated with UNFPA on a blogpost “Dispelling five myths about sexual violence in emergencies” which was published on OCHA’s Medium platform.

OCHA also supports the International Day to end violence against women and the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. In 2017, OCHA launched a digital campaign, which included an updated Facebook Live filter from World Humanitarian Day that exclusively featured stories of survival from women and girls affected by conflict. The Emergency Relief Coordinator and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, as well as staff members from OCHA’s field offices, participated in the campaign by recording videos, where they shared  the real stories of women trapped in conflict.

UNLIREC organized the first Regional Women and Security Symposium for Latin America and the Caribbean, where the discussion focused on, among other issues, how the SDGs can contribute to improving the lives and security of women. Some of the recommendations reached at the symposium focused on the need for solid national legislation and policy responses to gender-based armed violence and for promoting an inclusive security response to such violence.  

Field research and analysis by country research teams in China, India, Indonesia for the research project “When and Why Do States Respond to Women's Claims? Understanding Gender-Egalitarian Policy Change in Asia” (2013-2016; final publications 2018).
http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BB128/(httpProjects)/FFDCCF9EE4F2F9C6C1257BEF004FB03E?OpenDocument

In 2017, UN Volunteers hosted by UN Women supported communications and public advocacy of gender equality among communities.

In Togo, the UNV-implemented project Voices Against Violence provided interactive, youth-centred ways for people to talk and learn about relationships and gender equity in a safe and inclusive environment. A total of 500 national volunteer teachers were trained in the principles of respectful and non-violent behaviour. They then delivered the programme in their classes and their communities – multiplying the power of the project by spreading the curriculum to thousands of young Togolese.

Partners for Prevention (P4P) was a UNDP, UNFP, UNV and UN Women regional joint programme for the prevention of violence against women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. It focused on the prevention interventions, capacity development and policy advocacy by working on the ground with local volunteers. Volunteers acted as a bridge between the UN, governments and national and regional partners. In 2017, UN Volunteers served as project coordinators with P4P in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Viet Nam.

In Afghanistan, UNV supports the Youth-Mullah Gender Volunteer Caravans, through which young Afghan men and women are crafting campaigns and visiting communities in Herat and Balkh provinces to spread their messages of gender equality.

The UNiTE Group for the Americas and the Caribbean, including 9 agencies -PAHO, UNDP, OHCHR, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, ECLAC, WFP and UN Women- and the IDB and the OAS, developed 12 Key Messages to Eradicate Violence Against Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. This unprecedented effort led by UN Women, systematized the lessons learned from all the publications and knowledge produced in the context of the UNiTE Campaign in the last 7 years. These messages were launched in the framework of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Montevideo in October of 2016. Thereafter, the messages were the basis for the celebrations of November 25th at regional and country level.

UN Women established a Community of Practice (CoP) for stakeholders working on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls. Specific objectives of the Flagship Programming Initiatives (FPI) CoP include: Making existing knowledge, tools and approaches on the practice available and easily accessible to members of the CoP, allowing members to share concrete experience, challenges and good-practices on the implementation of the FPI so that members can “learn from others”, and generating new knowledge and tools. This community of practice, which follows various channels of communication (knowledge online platform, webinars, email helpdesk and a focal points’ meeting) will be strengthened based on its users’ experience and on new developments within UN Women’s programmes.

UN Women collaborated with UNESCO to develop a guidance toolkit on prevention of and response to violence against women and girls in the educational sector: “Global Guidance on School-related Gender-based violence” in December 2016 (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002466/246651E.pdf). UN Women continues its collaboration with UNESCO to develop similar toolkits to engage the media and sporting organizations in prevention of and response to VAW. These technical documents provide key information to governments, policy-makers, practitioners and civil society who wish to take concrete action against violence against women and girls. It introduces approaches, methodologies, tools and resources that have shown positive results.

The UN Women Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean, in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), hosted the meeting “Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls in Latin-America and the Caribbean: Lessons learned across the globe”, which was held in Panama City from December 5 to 7 of 2016. This event provided a unique space, bringing together several UN agencies, government officials, diplomats, civil society organizations, global researchers and other experts in the field of preventing and responding to violence against women and girls to exchange experiences and explore ways to implement effective and promising practices to address violence against women. This approach sought to drive change in the region, which has been characterized by the lack of evidence-based interventions and rigorous evaluations. A total of 25 countries were represented in this meeting and UN women key guidance documents such as the UN prevention Framework to End Violence against Women and Girls as well as the Essential services guidelines were disseminated.

In Vietnam, the Domestic Violence Minimum Intervention Package was implemented in two provinces, and 12 Domestic Violence Rapid Response Teams were established.