Measures

ESCWA undertook advisory missions in 2007 to strengthen capacity for the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, including legal reform and application of existing law in line with the Convention, as a pre-requisite for eradicating violence against women in the region. Hide

Research carried out on domestic violence, with UNDP support, has contributed to policy development and promotion of women’s human rights in Mexico, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Jamaica, Croatia, and Belarus. In Jamaica, the findings of a research on gender-based violence were fed into the development of a national action plan, including the identification of school based initiatives and the role of the family to address gender-based violence. Hide

Through its “Addressing Gender-based Violence in Darfur” project, UNDP undertook a project on gender-based violence from 2006 to 2008. The project established a Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Working Group that served as a forum for coordination and collaboration; provided technical support to the SGBV committees in compiling a national plan on SGBV, in collaboration with other UN entities; established women’s committees/centres that were trained in dealing with SGBV; conducted SGBV and GBV awareness raising sessions and trainings for paralegals, judges, lawyers, the judiciary and local communities; established a partnership with the Chief Justice, the Chief Prosecutor, the Chief Attorney-General in El Fasher, in raising awareness on SGBV and on addressing it; referred several SGBV cases to the UNDP-supported Legal Aid Network. Hide

UNDP advocates for the elimination of violence against women and raises awareness by promoting multi-media national and local campaigns, including the “16 days of activism against gender violence” and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Hide

In Nicaragua, a UNDP pilot project on domestic and sexual violence is being implemented in two municipalities in partnership with the National Police. In Afghanistan, UNDP is supporting the implementation of a project to strengthen the Police Force’s family violence unit in Kabul. Hide

Policy influence has been a major component of UNDP’s assistance in supporting governments to address gender-based violence in Mozambique, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Maldives. In Cambodia, for example UNDP’s policy advocacy and support for the development of monitoring indicators on gender equality has resulted in the adoption by the Cambodian government of four Monitoring Indicators on gender equality, one of which relates to domestic violence. Hide

In Equatorial Guinea, the findings and the recommendations of a UNDP-supported study on violence against women and children have been integrated in the draft bill on family law. Hide

With UNDP’s support, policy debates and dialogues, backed by research, on women’s security and citizenship in Lebanon, Egypt, Syrian Arab Republic, Morocco, and Bahrain were held to promote women’s human rights and draw attention to violence against women. In Belarus, the findings of an in-depth gender analysis of the situation of commercial sex workers, which was carried out with the support of UNDP, helped to integrate issues, related to human rights of commercial sex workers, including prevention of violence against them, into an on-going project.In Samoa, a Human Rights Small Grants Scheme by UNDP has contributed greatly to increasing the knowledge of community men and women on human rights, especially prevention of domestic violence against women and children. Hide

In Costa Rica, UNICRI carried out specialized training for law-enforcement professionals. It provided training for Hotline and Information Call Centers operators on commercial sexual exploitation of children; the extension of the Information System for specialized public prosecutor offices to the Prosecutor’s Office of Liberia and Jacó and related training of personnel. Hide

UNICRI undertook the production and distribution of information material for child sex crime victims. Hide