Measures

The UN Trust Fund took specific steps to ensure that organizations were strengthened and supported during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feedback from Civil Society and Women’s Rights Organizations (CSOs/WROs) in 2020 and 2021 showed that many were concerned about survival of the women and girls they serve, while ensuring their organizational existence. In response to needs voiced by CSO/WRO partners, the UN Trust Fund organized a series of webinars and training. Training covered areas such as project modification (96 per cent of attendees rated this as useful or very useful); cash-based interventions (80 per cent of attendees rated this as useful or very useful); and procurement and recommended procedures (94 per cent of attendees rated this as useful or very useful). In a post training survey, all respondents indicated that the knowledge and skills gained from the training will be useful for them even beyond the management and implementation of the current project. In general, organizational capacity development activities reached more than 1,100 grantee participants in 2020. Grantees were also provided with training on effective management of projects, preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as ethics and safety.  Hide

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, held an Expert Group Meeting on “Methodologies for estimating the costs of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5)” to receive input and expert advice on the proposed approaches and methodologies to estimate the opportunity cost of achieving the SDG 5 in the Arab States.ESCWA, in partnership with UNDP, UNFPA, and UN Women, under the Gender Justice & the Law project, has updated all country studies to account for amendments to legislation impacting gender justice and violence against women in the Arab region. Additionally, ESCWA developed the Gender Justice Portal (http://genderjustice.unescwa.org/), which includes all relevant materials on the legislation impacting gender justice and violence against women in the Arab region.ESCWA published the “Violence Against Women Survey Implementation Toolkit: Complete questionnaire for a stand-alone survey.”ESCWA contributed to a “Situational Analysis of Women and Girls in MENA and Arab States Region” coordinated by UNICEF and in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, WFP, WHO, UNESCO, FAO, Tdh, and Plan International.  The situational analysis aims to present a snapshot of the lives of women and girls in the Arab region, including instances of violence against women and women’s access to justice.ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA and National University of Ireland, Galway, produced the technical report on “Estimating the Cost of Child Marriage in the Arab Region: Background Paper on the Feasibility of Undertaking a Costing Study”  ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNODC and WHO, is undertaking a research study on domestic violence service provider coordination and referral systems in the Arab regionESCWA, on behalf of the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs, is currently conducting a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) of the May 2021 aggression against the Gaza Strip, including an analysis of the impact on GBV and access to GBV services.ESCWA contributed to a Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) of the Beirut Port Explosions, which was coordinated by UN Women, in partnership with UNFPA, CARE and ABAAD. The analysis includes a discussion of the impact of the aftermath of the explosion on GBV and access to GBV services.ESCWA, in partnership with the National University of Ireland, Galway, supported the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs with the technical paper on the “Economic Costs of Marital Violence against Women in the State of Palestine.”ESCWA is supporting the Jordan National Commission for Women to implement a national survey to estimate the cost of the out of pocket expenses for survivors of domestic violence. Hide

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a youth arts competition for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2020 to address the theme “Life in Times of Emergency.” To accompany the competition, ESCWA ran a social media campaign throughout the 16 Days, which included facts about violence against women during different types of emergencies. The campaign closed with a panel of women’s rights activists from the region discussing different facets of activism during conflict, revolution and transition.

ESCWA provided an academic module on Gender Justice and Violence against Women in the Arab region to the MA programme on Gender Policies and Women's Rights course at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut.

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ESCWA supported the Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs in drafting a “Situation Analysis for the State of Palestine’s Violence against Women and Girls Response,” which aimed to inform the Ministry’s forthcoming Violence against Women Strategy.

ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, supported the National Council for Lebanese Women in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) for the public and private sector to fully operationalize the “Law to Criminalize Sexual Harassment and [for] Rehabilitation of Its Victims.” 

ESCWA delivered a workshop for the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Development and Family Equality in Morocco on “Costing the Implementation of the National Strategy on Combatting Violence against Women and Girls by 2030 in the Kingdom of Morocco” on 29-30 June 2021. 

ESCWA supported the Jordanian National Commission for Women in evaluating Jordan’s National Action Plan (NAP) to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), on women, peace and security (JONAP-I (2018-2021)) to inform the design of JONAP-II.

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ESCWA participated in several side events at the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2021. This included:

 

A side event with the Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Jordanian National Commission for Women on "Examining the Implementation and Efficacy of National Strategies to Combat Violence and Ensure the Advancement of Women."

 

 

A side event with the Jordanian National Commission for Women, the Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development in Morocco, UNDP, UN Women, and UNFPA on "Gender Justice & The Law: Implications of inequality before the law for full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence."

 

 

A side event with the Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs on "The Social and Economic Situation of Palestinian Women under Israeli Occupation (2018-2020).

 

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, the Georgetown Institute for Women and Peace and Security (GIWPS), and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), held a regional Capacity Development Workshop on the Women, Peace, and Security Index on 19-26 January 2021.

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ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA, held a special online meeting with its Committee on Women on “Policy Responses to Protect Women and Girls from the Impact of COVID-19” on 23 April 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UNDP, delivered online training for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on “Building and Delivering Effective Hotline Service Provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic” during May 2020.

ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Republic of the Sudan entitled “Best Practices and Shared Experiences on Shelters for Women Survivors of Violence in the Republic of the Sudan” on 25-27 August 2020.

ESCWA, in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Family Affairs of Kuwait, organized a “Webinar Series on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the State of Kuwait” on 28-29 September and 13 October 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP and UNODC, coordinated and delivered a series of 12 webinars on Violence against Women and COVID-19 for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from October-December 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, the League of Arab States and the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a high level virtual meeting on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325 on 4 November 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP and the League of Arab States, organized and facilitated webinar sessions on gender justice and the law designed to better inform members of the subcommittee on gender equality and SDGs on tools to examine and align national legislation with international frameworks, most notably CEDAW, Beijing Platform of Action and SDG target 5.1 on 8-10 December 2020.

ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Women Organization, facilitated “Sub-regional Training Webinars on Reporting to the Committee on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)” on 12-16 January 2021.

ESCWA, with support from ABAAD, delivered an online workshop for the National Family Safety Programme (NFSP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on “Supporting Women between Empowerment and Rehabilitation: Different Approaches” during March 2021.

ESCWA delivered an online workshop for the Sultanate of Oman entitled “Technical support in the field of combating violence against women in the Sultanate of Oman: Ensuring a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing violence against women through legal/policy frameworks and service provision” on 22-23 June 2021.

ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women and WHO, delivered an online workshop for representatives from National Women Machineries and other relevant stakeholders who provide services for survivors of violence on “Services to Protect Women Survivors of Violence the Arab Region” on 26-29 July 2021.

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No estás Sola or "You are not alone" in English is an intervention of the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP) and UNDP, with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation that was born in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to generate synergies between the public and private sectors, through the strengthening of a community sensitized and committed to the prevention of violence against women, gender equality and positive masculinities. The objective of the intervention is to bring care services closer to women victims of gender-based violence, or at risk of being so; as well as to promote a culture of equality and positive masculinities, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, through the dissemination of prevention messages against this type of violence.

UNDP Country Offices in Lao PDR, Bhutan, Myanmar, Ukraine and many others are cooperating with local governments, UN agencies and others in communications and community outreach efforts to ensure that accurate information on COVID-19 and its disproportionate impacts on women are disseminated and that women are aware of the various support services available should they require assistance

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UNDP is working closely with national partners to support their legislative development to address gender-based violence, and to support national capacities on access to justice and protection through multi-sectoral support and services.

In Myanmar, UNDP and UN Women have made headways in linking legal aid services to women in villages and IDP camps. UNDP supported with technical inputs for the Prevention of violence against women Bill (PoVAW).

The Malaysian office is implementing a gender mainstreaming project with the Ministry of Women and drafting the Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill.

UNDP is in close cooperation with the National Parliament to strengthen the legislation related to GBV and EVAWG in Timor- Leste.

In Peru, UNDP in cooperation with national ministries, is strengthening national system of justice for protection and punishment around VAW.

UNDP Maldives, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Argentina, Ecuador and many other country offices are working with national authorities in reviewing the existing law and drafting the necessary amendments or supporting new act to enhance gender responsiveness of legislation.

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UNDP is participating in the Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements (MARA) Working Group whereby the UN System as a whole works together to combat Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV).

The purpose of MARA is to ensure the systematic gathering of reliable and objective information on CRSV that will be used to promote action to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual violence. The information collected should inform strategic advocacy, enhance prevention and programmatic responses for survivors and serve as the basis for Security Council action, including imposing sanctions and other targeted measures. UNDP as part of the MARA working group, contributes inputs for the quarterly reports that are sent to the OSRSG and other relevant stakeholders on CRSV. UNDP also contributes to the SG thematic reports on CRSV.

Additionally, UNDP Pakistan, through its Community Stabilization Programme, has established referral mechanisms for women in post-conflict (Swat) and fragile situations (Multan). In both locations, a mobile Gender Desk Officer reached out to community women to collect their grievances and link them with existing social services – including to medical or psycho-social support as well to protection mechanisms in cases of sexual violence and more broadly gender-based violence.

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UNDP has organized a series of trainings on gender and GBV for local government officials including police and judiciary, CSOs, and survivors.

In Azerbaijan, UNDP trained local women-activists to provide rapid psychosocial support, safety plans, case management and referrals to assist GBV survivors of all genders.

With the support of the Johns Hopkins University, the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), a trans-diagnostic mental health intervention developed for delivery by non-professionals, is being implemented in Moldova. CETA is also an evidence-based programme demonstrated to significantly prevent intimate partner violence.

UNDP Iraq , Fiji, Maldives, Serbia, Ukraine, Brazil, Peru and others also provided training on GBV prevention for judges, prosecutors and police officers to end gender-based violence.

The office in Somalia supported a SGBV programme in Mogadishu and Puntland starting in 2020.  A fully functional SGBV Unit was established and staffed in Mogadishu. UNDP also worked with Office of the Attorney General in Puntland, with the aim of providing technical support and building the capacity of the institution to promote access to justice for survivors/victims of sexual and gender-based violence

A three days’ workshop,  providing Libya law enforcement with information related to offenses that constitute gender-based violence (GBV), was organized by UNDP Libya.

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