Protection, Support and Services for Victims/Survivors

In a meeting held by WHO in March 2009 the implementation and evaluation of health sector interventions was reviewed and an outline for guidance to the health sector, with a focus on resource poor settings, was developed. Hide

WFP has been actively involved in joint UN initiatives to deliver services to victims of gender-based violence. WFP provides food assistance for medical rehabilitation of victims and, through income-generating activities, supports the victims/survivors to become economically independent. Hide

UNRWA Gaza and West Bank Field offices continued counseling sessions for victims of gender-based violence through the Community Mental Health program (CMHP). Hide

UNRWA Lebanon field office developed their field intervention on violence against women in a workshop the 14th of July 2009. A referral system was drafted coordinating services for women victims of violence. Hide

In Liberia, UNHCR and its partners supported the establishment of a new community health department and organized community health committees and volunteers. The volunteers participated in awareness-raising sessions on primary health care, reproductive health, sexual and gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS. Strong coordination on sexual and gender-based violence is also on-going between UN agencies, the government and NGOs, and response mechanisms to sexual and gender-based violence are being put in place and strengthened. Hide

In Syria, UNHCR and the Syrian Women Union are supporting a new centre for Iraqi refugee women at risk, particularly female teenagers who are involved in commercial sex work. Hide

Action-oriented research on successful intervention modalities for Nigerian minor victims of trafficking was carried out by UNICRI in various Italian regions. Current modalities of services and assistance towards minor victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation were evaluated in several Italian regions in order to develop successful interventions. Hide

Technical cooperation was carried out by ECLAC with the Ministry of Health in Chile to elaborate a new clinical guide for health services’ attention to adult victims of domestic violence. Hide

In Sri Lanka, the UNV Volunteer Information and Coordination Centre (VOICE) has been extended into 2008-2010 to include a Legal Empowerment Volunteers Scheme. This pilot project mobilizes university volunteers to support legal empowerment activities. Legal aid is provided to migrant women workers by 30 volunteers in seven locations. Through the empowerment scheme, the legal volunteers learn about marginalisation and vulnerability in their own society. The legal aid pilot project also concentrates on those affected by gender-based violence to help them attain equal access to justice. The VOICE project is supported by one national and five international UNV volunteers. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in partnership with various national government, bi-lateral government (donor), non-governmental and United Nations partners, supported legal aid to women survivors in the North of Uganda; training for Rwandan women survivors on handicraft, health and financial skills; the establishment of two referral centres in Afghanistan; efforts addressing post-election rape, including the development of guidelines to prepare women’s court testimonies in Kenya. Hide