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In Bolivia with UN-Women’s technical assistance, the Office of the Ombudsman commissioned an analysis of the level of compliance with the legislation on VAWP at sub-national levels. The research findings concluded that only 19% of Municipal Autonomous Governments and 5 out of 9 Departmental Autonomous Governments have internal regulations in line with Law 243. The publication titled "Regulatory Package, for the Prevention and Sanctioning of Harassment and Political Violence against Women, in Departmental Autonomous Governments and Municipal Autonomous Governments",[1] aims to assist Municipal and Departmental Autonomous Governments to tackle key barriers to address VAWP providing tools to develop and implement regulations and procedures in line with the national law including: i) a model proposal for General Rules of Procedures of the Departmental Assembly or the Municipal Council; ii) draft Rules of Procedure of Ethics Commissions; iii) internal staff regulations and iv) a model proposal for the disciplinary regime
An institutional protocol to monitor and address Violence Against Women in Elections was developed by the National Electoral Commission in Liberia. UN Women provided technical support .
UN Women ESARO supported the development of a model law for establishment of special mechanisms to fast track SGBV cases by International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) with UN Women support. This had been one of the articles of the Kampala Declaration (2011) and provides a comprehensive framework to facilitate development of national instruments to fast track prosecution of SGBV cases.
In Kenya, UN Women provided both financial and technical support in the development of the GBV policy for Migori County. This was done through a participatory, multi-sectoral workshop attended by state and non-state GBV actors in the county.
In South Africa, UN Women as the lead UN agency has significantly made financial and technical contributions to the Coordination stream of the work of the Interim Steering Committee to ensure that the structure and legislation are drafted and the drafting of the Nation Strategic Plan. Other UN agencies have contributed in other streams of work.
Funding intersectional violence against women and girls (VAWG) services
This policy brief highlights the value that ‘by and for’ organizations bring to the fight to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) and examines how the current funding landscape jeopardizes the existence and autonomy of these organizations. It provides key recommendations on improving the nature of funding frameworks to support organizations that address the specific needs of minoritized women and girls.
Good Practices in Responding to Domestic Violence : A Comparative Study
With the aim of assisting the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina in supporting responsible government bodies to advance minimum standards in ensuring response and assistance to victims of gender-based violence, good practices were analyzed across four countries, two EU Member States (Austria and Spain), and two non-EU States within the Western Balkan region (Albania and Serbia). This document provides a detailed, technical description of national programmes and initiatives that have been recognized internationally as good practice. It provides comparative information from the four selected countries in order to demonstrate distinct approaches and models. The aim is to provide diverse options to assist relevant actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina in selecting the best approach tailored to their current needs and circumstances in line with international standards. For each practice, after setting forth the relevant international standards based on the Istanbul Convention, the UN Guidelines on Essential Services Package, jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and Council of Europe Guidelines, the flagship best-practice initiatives are described, comparing like models, where good practice exists in more than one country. Challenges to implementing each good practice model are also noted, including deviations from international standards as well as practical barriers to implementation.
UN Women Analysis of the Capacities for the Implementation of Council of Europe Convention of Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence and Violence against Women in Police and Free Legal Aid Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina
With this analysis, UN Women seeks to support the Agency for Gender Equality of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees Bosnia and Herzegovina to establish minimum standards for service provision to survivors of gender-based violence in several sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis examines the two sectors' capacity to implement the standards derived from the Istanbul Convention including state obligations and due diligence, integrated policies and data collection, prevention, protection and support, substantive law, investigation, prosecution, and procedural law. In addition to the detailed assessment of legal, operational and institutional framework, the analysis further examines the capacities of responsible sectoral governmental institutions and service providers at the local level, including relevant NGOs. Detailed information from institutions and service providers were collected from interviews, representing the opportunity for identifying a new way of understanding the topic at hand. The analysis will add to the evidence-based support to the activities of institutions in the country with a view of meeting the obligations that stem from the Istanbul Convention, and ultimately providing adequate support to victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence, as well as processing of perpetrators.
https://eca.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2019/05/bosnia-police-and-free-legal-aid
National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons (2021-2025) in Malaysia
The National Action Plan on Anti-Trafficking in Persons (2021-2025) or “NAPTIP 3.0” was successfully launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 31 March. The new NAPTIP provides the policy and implementation directions for Malaysia’s anti-trafficking efforts in the next five years. The NAPTIP 3.0 was developed through a collaborative process among the Malaysian Council for Anti-Trafficking in Persons, UN Women, ILO, UNODC (as the implementing agencies of the Safe and Fair Programme) and civil society organizations. The inputs from UN Women and ILO mainly focused on enhancing the prevention of trafficking in persons by addressing risk factors, protection through legal remedies and provision of services to survivors, including increased prosecution of TIP.
A Guidance Note to Develop Migrant-Sensitive National Action Plans on Violence against Women
This guidance on inclusion of women migrant workers’ rights and realities related to VAW builds on the UN Women resource, “Handbook for National Action Plans on Violence Against Women”. The Guidance note provides specific recommendations to ensure the concerns and interests of women migrant workers are incorporated into National Action Plans on Ending Violence Against Women.
UN Women Albania:
1- Supported the Albanian State Police to develop policy and procedures against harassment and sexual harassment to protect women and men among the police forces.
2- Supported the Albanian State Police (ASP) to develop an E-Learning Course on the Policy against Harassment, including Sexual Harassment in the Workplace.
3- Supported five municipalities (Durres, Korce, Tirane, Elbasan, Lezhe) to effectively apply gender responsive planning and budgeting in the local MTBP, with a focus on budgeting in VAWG
With UN Women support, Ministry of Interior of Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina has improved standardization of police response to violence against women and domestic violence in Federation of BiH (FBiH). A Framework policy and 10 proposals for improved cantonal policies for internal division of tasks in response to cases of domestic violence was developed to standardize roles within the police force. In place are also a Manual for in-service training of police officers on the response to cases of domestic violence and recommendations for changes in the FBiH Police Academy curriculum for improved knowledge of police cadets on legal and institutional response to DV and VAW.
In Ukraine, with the aim of strengthening the local gender machinery and enabling local governments to develop, implement, monitor and coordinate gender-responsive policies, UN Women successfully advocated with local public authorities the establishment of 13 Local Gender Coordination Councils[ with an extended mandate focusing on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Safe Cities for Women and Girls. Furthermore, because of UN Women advocacy efforts 5 Deputy Heads of communities were appointed as Commissioners on Gender Equality and Prevention and Combating of Domestic and Gender-based Violence delegated with the promotion of equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men at the community level. In Ukraine, women, and girls from 12 communities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts benefit now from socio-economic development programs and target programs inclusive of measures on preventing and combating violence against women and girls. UN Women provided expert support to local authorities and tailored capacity development for Self-Help Groups on preventing gender-based violence and participation in decision-making processes.
In Ukraine, 3 conflict-affected communities adopted Safe Cities for Women and Girls Programs using evidence generated by the UN Women Multi-site Scoping Study on the risks and experiences of sexual violence encountered by women in public spaces in conflict-affected East of Ukraine.
In Moldova, with UN Women CO support, The Ministry of Health Labor and Social Protection co-created/developed with all relevant institutions (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, NGOs, Probation, and women's survivors of violence) the Intersectoral protocols and referral mechanisms on EVAW, which are awaiting approval by the Government in 2021. As well, UN Women CO supported the development of intermediary analysis of EVAW Strategy and as a result a new Plan for 1,5 year was developed and awaiting approval by the Government.
UN Women Kosovo, supported development of the Kosovo Programme for Gender Equality (2020-2024) and the Action Plan (2020-2022), which was approved by the Kosovo government on 23 May 2020. The decision obliges the institutions of Kosovo to implement this Programme according to the activities foreseen in the Action Plan, while the Agency for Gender Equality within the Office of the Prime Minister is obliged to monitor the implementation and to annually report on the implementation of the program. Provisions from the UNSCR 1325, gender sensitive transitional justice activities and support for mainstreaming gender into the security sector were also included in the Kosovo Gender Programme 2020-2024, with direct support of UN Women.
With UN Women Kosovo support, in November 2020, Policy against Sexual Harassment in Public Administration in Kosovo, was adopted by the government. The aim of the policy is to serve as an instrument and in creating a workplace environment free from of any form of sexual harassment and sanction such action. A new Kosovo Strategy and Action Plan on Protection from Domestic Violence (2022-2026) is currently in drafting process, with the support of UN Women.
In Tajikistan, UN Women assisted the GoT in developing localized integrated referral system for survivors of violence.
UN-Women designed and facilitated a 3 half-day, scenario-based capacity building workshop specifically for its PSEA focal points from all regions. To additionally ensure alignment with the UN system wide PSEA strategy and its UNCT operationalization, UN-Women invited speakers from the Victims’ Rights Advocate, the UN Development Coordination Office, and the Office of the Special Coordinator for improving the UN response to SEA.
Scenario-based trainings for addressing SEA and SH were developed by UN Women to complement and contextualize the existing mandatory online training for both topics. The case scenarios used were specifically created for the UN-Women contexts to maximize relevance and relatability of the training. UN Women piloted the tow trainings in 4 country offices and is in the process of coordinating their rollout across the organization.
UN Women East and Southern Regional Office has organized a 4-day training for electoral management bodies, political parties, security institutions, and relevant women’s organizations who are major stakeholders in the conduct of elections, on Preventing Violence Against Women in Elections using the UN WOMEN Preventing VAWE in Elections Guide. The training aims to provide election stakeholders and relevant civil society organizations with in-depth knowledge on the nature and consequences of VAWE, and tools and good practices to prevent it and/or mitigate its consequences.
In Zimbabwe UN Women provided technical support and capacity building to key electoral stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Zimbabwe National Police, to enhance institutional capacities to monitor VAWP. These initiatives include development of knowledge, capacity building efforts, development of partnerships with political parties and key state actors, creating avenues for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to work with institutions such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police and civil society to address the problem. UN Women trained 80 (45 women and 35 men) members of the police service and supported the development of the police strategic document for police 2021 to 2025. The initiative equipped the police with skills to monitor VAWP.
At the East & Southern African regional level, to bring the global commitments to the field and to create an enabling safe, secure and equitable environment in line with the UN Secretary-Generals guidance, a Training of Trainers program on “Gender Parity” and “Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was organized in partnership with UN Women HQ with participation by 42 participants from 12 countries in the region representing UN Women, UNPFA, UNHCR, IOM, ICAO and UNDSS in Mombasa, Kenya. Following the training at least 5 countries have replicated the training in their countries and also took initiatives to establish and strengthen the PSEA task forces.
In Kenya, UN Women continued to play a key role in convening and leading stakeholders to demand accountability for ending violence against women and girls, while at the same time ensuring access to quality and essential services for survivors. As one of the key highlights, UN Women together with its’ partners convened a National GBV Conference in 2019 bringing together over 450 participants from across the country with the aim to harness accountability for GBV prevention and response. As a result of the Conference a communique with 27 recommendations articulating roles for each duty bearer was finalized.
Standardization of GBV training was improved through UN Women support in the development of the Safe Spaces and Applicability Manual[1], the GBV Service Providers Data Bank tools, and the Model Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centers Guidance Note. These tools are expected to provide a harmonized training curriculum for use by duty bearers while the guidance note will provide a framework for provision of GBV services within a multi-sectoral framework. The Harmonized GBV Training Manual[2] was also finalized. Further KCO led in the development of the “Implementation Guide for the Global Women’s Safety Framework”[3]. The guide to implementation provides a “how to” and a “step by step” guidance for tea chain producers who are keen to address sexual harassment. Prevention and response to GBV by the National Police Service was strengthened through KCO’s support in the development of a National Action Plan (NAP). The NAP provides for the creation of a special gender crimes unit within the policy system and provides opportunities for all actors to strengthen their partnership with the Police, by seeking to support different aspects of the action plan.
A number of capacity building and trainings were undertaken targeting law enforcement and other officials in the ESAR countries. Most significantly, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe also benefited from the Spotlight funding and undertook a number of initiatives aimed at training and capacity building of relevant actors in addressing VAW, HP and promotion of SRHR.
Roll-out of RESPECT
Together with the Prevention Collaborative and WHO, UN Women rolled out the RESPECT framework and Implementation Package in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in early 2021. The workshop series was attended by representatives from UN entities, civil society, academic and governments and resulted in national workplace to take forward initiatives to prevent VAW.
Webinar series on the use of technology for remote service provision to support survivors of violence
Frontline service providers who have been utilizing technology to deliver services to women migrant workers shared their lessons learned and tips to use technology safely especially in the context of COVID-19. The three sessions facilitated linkages between violence against women services and technologies by adapting remote methods used in service delivery to meet the survivor-centered principles of privacy, confidentiality and security. Two technical briefs were launched during the webinar: “Safe Technology for the Provision of Services to Women Migrant Workers at Risk of or Subject to Violence” and “Remote Service Provision for Women Migrant Workers at Risk or Subject to Violence” with the Action Cards: 10 Things to Know About Violence against Women Migrant Workers.
Responsible Representation and Reporting of VAW/VAC
The new Guidelines on Responsible representation and reporting of violence against women and violence against children, developed by UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF, provide recommendations to media professionals to ensure that media coverage does not contribute to harm. This document offers guidance on interviewing survivors of violence, applying an intersectional and survivor-centered approach to reporting, avoiding victim-blaming or stereotyping, and using gender-responsive language. This guideline emerged from conversations within the regional UNITE Working Group during COVID-19.
Webinar Series on Violence against Women and Girls Data Collection and Use
The webinar series was organized to engage VAWG professionals, national statistics offices and service providers to deepen and exchange practices regarding the collection, analysis and use of data on violence against women with a specific focus on administrative data. The webinar series explored the main types of VAWG data – prevalence, costing data – and strengthen reporting on VAWG-related indicators. The webinar was based on the ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Violence against Women and Girls Data Collection and Use.
Addressing Violence and Harassment in the World of Work: Women migrant workers in ASEAN
A training tool to complement the ILO-UN Women “Handbook: Addressing violence and harassment against women in the world of work” was developed to be used in trainings on the continuum of violence faced by women and women migrant workers. The tool specifically targets CSOs and key government stakeholders. This tool focuses on addressing violence and harassment against women in the world of work, featuring examples from ASEAN and highlighting specific risks related to women migrant workers.
With UN Women Albania Support:
- Capacities of 231 service providers increased in ensuring familiarity and use of changes to legal framework on GBV.
- Capacities of 71 service providers from 4 municipalities of the country were increased to address cases of VAWG from vulnerable communities such as Roma women, women with disabilities, women from LGBTQI+ community.
- There is better coordination among actors of the referral mechanisms which address cases of violence against women was ensured through workshops in the municipalities of Prrenjas, Peqin, Cerrik, Belsh, Gramsh and Elbasan with a total of 69 CCR members.
- Staff of 27 administrative units of Tirana increased capacities to respond to violence against women and girls through 11 capacity building sessions.
With UN Women Bosnia and Herzegovina support extensive number of trainings was conducted resulting in: more than 190 individuals have better knowledge on gender equality and GBV including sexual harassment in public space; 21 teacher and 35 high school students have capacities to conduct advanced prevention activities in high schools; and 15 religious' leaders across BiH have in depth knowledge on violence against women and how this can be prevented; and finally, more than 20 media professionals have increased knowledge on responsible reporting on GBV.
As a result of UN Women Ukraine support: 36 (12 men and 24 women) representatives of local authorities and local legal aid providers from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts increase their knowledge on applying a survivor-centred approach when developing policies and implementing services for gender-based violence victims/survivors; 37 persons (35 women and 2 men), Deputy Heads of communities and Heads of Social Protection Departments from target communities of Donetsk oblast and Luhansk oblast increased their knowledge on the international and national legal frameworks on the prevention and counteraction of domestic and gender-based violence, on effective coordination and referral aimed at ensuring quality protection and a coordinated response, through a two-day training; UN Women jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Police of Ukraine developed the “Guidelines for police on prevention and response to domestic violence in Ukraine”; 60 (51 women, 9 men) of media representatives from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts increased their knowledge on gender-sensitive and human rights-based reporting.
Pursuing the goal to increase police capacity to hold domestic violence offenders accountable and better protect the safety of victims and their children, UN Women Moldova CO supported various capacity building and as a result:
- 16 police officers, including 6 women and 10 men, representing different regions from Moldova are certified trainers and have knowledge and skills to deliver EVAW trainings for law enforcement officials, as part of the team of national trainers within Center for Integrated Application of Legislation (CIPAL) (2020).
- In 2021, UN Women CO is supporting a comprehensive capacity building in partnership with the General Inspectorate of Police, the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation, and the National Inspectorate of Public Security for the up 400 police officers. As result of the first phase - 8 two-day training activities 182 police officers, 93 from criminal investigative and 89 public security division, 75 women and 107 men from 36 different regions of the country acquired relevant knowledge and skills to respond promptly and in accordance with the provision of national law to cases of domestic violence.
In addition to that, to support the establishment of a specialist service for victims of sexual violence in Cahul and Ungheni, over 41 law enforcement representatives and medical staff, psychologists, and social assistants have acquired new knowledge and skills for a better response to cases of sexual violence to trauma-oriented approach and coordination of efforts of all specialists involved in response to cases of sexual violence.
In Tajikistan – series of training for WLWH have been conducted to build their leadership skills and adopt transformational leadership approach in advocating for the life free of violence and discrimination. Service providers in SPT pilot districts have been trained in localized case-management system.
25 participants, most of whom are lawyers of human rights organizations or individual practicing lawyers with more than 10 years of experience (68% of participants), have been trained and increased their knowledge and skills on International standards and procedures for the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence and procedures for filing complaints with CEDAW and other UN convention bodies on an online training which was held for lawyers and advocates in Dushanbe and Khujand.
Over 80 of experts, general public, community and beneficiaries in Tajikistan have strengthened their knowledge and understanding on mechanisms of legal protection and assessment of physical and psychological injuries resulting from violence and mechanisms of legal protection and medical documentation from impunity.
In the frames of the 16 Days campaign, the local UN Women partner, NGO Human Right Center, received technical and logistical support from UN Women to conduct two webinars "Mechanisms of Legal Protection and Assessment of Physical and Psychological Injuries Resulting from Violence" (November 25th) and "Mechanisms of Legal Protection and Medical Documentation from Impunity" (December 1st).
According to the report, in total, 84 women, girls, lawyers, health specialists, psychologists, etc. participated in the webinars and increased their knowledge and understanding on the topics and the ways to address violence and related issues. Notably, representatives of WLWH, one of the most marginalized and discriminated group of the Tajik society, have also participated in the webinars. UN Women contributed to this by supporting local NGO Human Rights Center in preparation of those webinars by provision relevant information and data. Several local gender activists and advocates contributed to the webinars by leading thematic sessions and answering questions from participants.
After launching the COVID-19 and EVAWG outreach campaign, the Red Crescent Society in Tajikistan encountered several challenges in capacity building and training of volunteers in EVAWG realm due to social distancing modalities and health-related issues which caused constant turnover of NGO staff and volunteers. The duration of the project was only 5 months and UN Women tried to come up with innovative, promising, and effective service delivery modalities, especially in conveying outreach and VAWG essentials to the volunteers, who have been mainly trained in disaster response and emergency. As a solution to face-to-face training, UN Women developed a digital tutorial for community volunteers and NGOs on outreach essentials, communication skills with the victims of violence and further referral of these victims to the local VAWG service providers. The digital tutorial was adapted to the mobile version and disseminated among volunteers. Volunteers had hands-on guidelines on communication modalities, identification of VAWG cases and referral mechanism in their mobile phones, which they used in a daily work in remote districts. According to the Red Crescent Society and NGOs, work efficiency and coverage have increased as newcomers among volunteers used the tutorial instead of face-to-face induction training.
15 professional lawyers, members of the Tajik Bar Associations enhanced their knowledge in mainstreaming gender in justice sector, criminal, and civil cases, considering a human rights-based approach and consequences of HIV/AIDS.
UN Women Tajikistan strengthened the capacity of NGO staff and volunteers through trainings on VAWG case management and referral mechanism, supporting 12-hour operation of 12 NGO staff for remote consultations and developed information materials on VAWG support services in 6 target districts (Isfara, B. Gafurov, Vose, Rudaki, Gissar and Yavan).
UN Women ESARO supported the development of a model law for establishment of special mechanisms to fast track SGBV cases by International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) with UN Women support. This had been one of the articles of the Kampala Declaration (2011) and provides a comprehensive framework to facilitate development of national instruments to fast track prosecution of SGBV cases.
In Kenya, UN Women provided both financial and technical support in the development of the GBV policy for Migori County. This was done through a participatory, multi-sectoral workshop attended by state and non-state GBV actors in the county.
In South Africa, UN Women as the lead UN agency has significantly made financial and technical contributions to the Coordination stream of the work of the Interim Steering Committee to ensure that the structure and legislation are drafted and the drafting of the Nation Strategic Plan. Other UN agencies have contributed in other streams of work.
Funding intersectional violence against women and girls (VAWG) services
This policy brief highlights the value that ‘by and for’ organizations bring to the fight to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) and examines how the current funding landscape jeopardizes the existence and autonomy of these organizations. It provides key recommendations on improving the nature of funding frameworks to support organizations that address the specific needs of minoritized women and girls. The policy brief is available here.
Good Practices in Responding to Domestic Violence a Comparative Study
With the aim of assisting the Agency for Gender Equality of Bosnia and Herzegovina in supporting responsible government bodies to advance minimum standards in ensuring response and assistance to victims of gender-based violence, good practices were analyzed across four countries, two EU Member States (Austria and Spain), and two non-EU States within the Western Balkan region (Albania and Serbia). This document provides a detailed, technical description of national programmes and initiatives that have been recognized internationally as good practice. It provides comparative information from the four selected countries in order to demonstrate distinct approaches and models. The aim is to provide diverse options to assist relevant actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina in selecting the best approach tailored to their current needs and circumstances in line with international standards.
For each practice, after setting forth the relevant international standards based on the Istanbul Convention, the UN Guidelines on Essential Services Package, jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and Council of Europe Guidelines, the flagship best-practice initiatives are described, comparing like models, where good practice exists in more than one country. Challenges to implementing each good practice model are also noted, including deviations from international standards as well as practical barriers to implementation. The study is available here.
UN Women Analysis of the Capacities for the Implementation of Council of Europe Convention of Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence and Violence against Women in Police and Free Legal Aid Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina
With this analysis, UN Women seeks to support the Agency for Gender Equality of the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees Bosnia and Herzegovina to establish minimum standards for service provision to survivors of gender-based violence in several sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis examines the two sectors' capacity to implement the standards derived from the Istanbul Convention including state obligations and due diligence, integrated policies and data collection, prevention, protection and support, substantive law, investigation, prosecution, and procedural law.
In addition to the detailed assessment of legal, operational and institutional framework, the analysis further examines the capacities of responsible sectoral governmental institutions and service providers at the local level, including relevant NGOs. Detailed information from institutions and service providers were collected from interviews, representing the opportunity for identifying a new way of understanding the topic at hand. The analysis will add to the evidence-based support to the activities of institutions in the country with a view of meeting the obligations that stem from the Istanbul Convention, and ultimately providing adequate support to victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence, as well as processing of perpetrators. You can read the analysis here.
At the East & Southern African regional level, to bring the global commitments to the field and to create an enabling safe, secure and equitable environment in line with the UN Secretary-General's guidance, a Training of Trainers program on “Gender Parity” and “Prevention of Sexual Harassment, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was organized in partnership with UN Women HQ with participation by 42 participants from 12 countries in the region representing UN Women, UNPFA, UNHCR, IOM, ICAO and UNDSS in Mombasa, Kenya. Following the training at least 5 countries have replicated the training in their countries and also took initiatives to establish and strengthen the PSEA task forces.
In Kenya, UN Women continued to play a key role in convening and leading stakeholders to demand accountability for ending violence against women and girls, while at the same time ensuring access to quality and essential services for survivors. As one of the key highlights, UN Women together with its’ partners convened a National GBV Conference in 2019 bringing together over 450 participants from across the country with the aim to harness accountability for GBV prevention and response. As a result of the Conference a communique with 27 recommendations articulating roles for each duty bearer was finalized.
Standardization of GBV training was improved through UN Women support in the development of the Safe Spaces and Applicability Manual , the GBV Service Providers Data Bank tools, and the Model Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centers Guidance Note. These tools are expected to provide a harmonized training curriculum for use by duty bearers while the guidance note will provide a framework for provision of GBV services within a multi-sectoral framework. The Harmonized GBV Training Manual was also finalized. Further KCO led in the development of the “Implementation Guide for the Global Women’s Safety Framework” . The guide to implementation provides a “how to” and a “step by step” guidance for tea chain producers who are keen to address sexual harassment. Prevention and response to GBV by the National Police Service was strengthened through KCO’s support in the development of a National Action Plan (NAP). The NAP provides for the creation of a special gender crimes unit within the policy system and provides opportunities for all actors to strengthen their partnership with the Police, by seeking to support different aspects of the action plan.
A number of capacity building and trainings were undertaken targeting law enforcement and other officials in the ESAR countries. Most significantly, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe also benefited from the Spotlight funding and undertook a number of initiatives aimed at training and capacity building of relevant actors in addressing VAW, HP and promotion of SRHR.
Algeria PP
In Algeria, UN Women was the only UN agency invited to participate in a 2 days inter-ministerial workshop in February 2018, to design a new strategy on preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls. During the workshop attended by members from the National Commission on violence against women, UNW's technical contribution was vital to provide a framework for effective action and gather inputs from all the relevant sectors (Justice, Police, Health, Education, Social and Religious affairs etc.). The workshop resulted in the elaboration of a National Plan of Action currently awaiting final validation from the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women's condition (MSNFCF). Building on the workshop's result, UN Women and the MSNFCF will join forces to elaborate in a collaborative manner, Algeria's 2019-2022 strategy on promoting, protecting and empowering women and girls in Algeria. The strategy's first pillar will be entirely dedicated to eliminating violence against women and girls in Algeria.
In early 2018, UN Women Algeria played a strong coordinating role within the UN System in Algeria, by being the driving force behind the re-establishment of the Gender Themed Group (GTG). UNW currently shares the GTG presidency with UNFPA. An annual plan of action has been adopted by GTG members, with several actions implemented during Q1. Most notably, UNW partenered with UNICEF to host a documentary screening on the violence and discriminations faced by women in public spaces. The documentary entitled "HNA BARRA" was presented on the occasion of the IWD, and attended by the documentary director, Bahia Bencheikh El Fegoun.Palestine CO
As part of UN Women Palestine office efforts to institutionalize the work of the Specialized Public Prosecutors on VAW, UN Women provided technical support to the Public Prosecution to devleop responsive SoPs on investigating and litigating VAW, inluding the referral of cases to other service providers. The SOPs were revised and discussed with CSOs and Government partners and have been finalized and approved by the Attorney General. The SoPs aim at enhancing protection for women survivors and accountability for perpetrators of crimes against them. UN Women Palestine office initiated the creation of a joint platform for the Family and Juvenille Protection Unit (FJPU) at the police and at the Specialised Public Prosecution on VAW to discuss challenging issues and enhance cooperation between the two institutions when addressing VAW cases. Four successful monthly dialogue meetings were held during the reporting period and addressed highly contested issues by both institutions. UNW is following up closely with both instituions to facilitate the implementation of the dialogue meetings recommendations.
Jordan was part of the second group of Member States presenting its Voluntary National Review (VNR) to the High Level Political Forum in July 2017. In preparation of Jordan’s VNR, and within the framework of the coordinated action of the dedicated inter-agency focused group, UN Women provided technical support to the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MOPIC) in order to mainstream gender in the process. A dedicated policy paper has been prepared by JNCW outlining contextual trends on GEWE (including issues related to GBV) to be considered as well as presenting needs, opportunities and gaps in terms of legislative reforms and policy development. As a result of UN Women advocacy efforts, three additional action points in the Government-led road map for the SDGs were added, namely strengthening gender mainstreaming in the 2030 Agenda landing process, finalize the SDGs mapping in terms of national indicators (especially Goal 5), and enhance institutions’ capacity development. The VNR also included references to the needed amendements to Jordan's Penal Code provisions related to distriminatory provisions against women and girls.
UN Women organized two consultations on Gender Justice under the patronages of the Department for Women Empowerment and the High Council for Women Affairs in Baghdad and Erbil and in partnership with UNDP and UNFPA. The objective of the consultations was to discuss the law and its implementation to enhance gender justice and more equality between men and women. The consultations took place in Baghdad in November 2017 and December 2017 in Erbil, both attended by high level Governmental stakeholders, Non-Governmental stakeholders, legal aid providers and women activists.
Egypt CO
UN Women Egypt supported the National Council for Women to develop the National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment (NSWE). The NSWE complements Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy and is aligned with the goals and targets of the SDGs. It is based on an analysis of existing data regarding gender equality and informed by extensive consultations with diverse groups to understand the critical gaps and inequities that will be addressed under each of its pillars. The main pillars of the strategy focus on: (a) women’s leadership and political participation, (b) economic empowerment, (c) social empowerment, and (d) protection. Violence against Women and Girls is addressed in a comprehensive manner under the social empowerment pillar with indicators, baselines, and targets for the year 2020 and 2030. The NSWE was endorsed by the President of Egypt.
Lebanon PP
In 2017, 3 induction/capacity building sessions on GBV tools for around 12 youth-led NGOs active in different areas in Lebanon was organized. The main focus of the induction is Gender Roles & Societal Expectations from both Women and Men in Public and Private Spheres. Furthermore, to support the role of youth-led and women-led organizations, UN Women organized in partnership with ABAAD a GBV/Masculinity TOT training workshop in October 2017 which involved 9 CSOs. The 3 days’ workshop aimed at building the capacities of participating NGOs on the concepts of human security, gender based violence and masculinities and addressing negative coping mechanism. The CSOs were able to utilize their newly acquired knowledge and technical skills while conducting GBV awareness raising sessions within their community to address stigma against GBV survivors and reduce all forms of violence.
The UN Women Gender Specialist secondee to OCHA has been working closely with national and sub-national cluster coordinators, gender focal points and humanitarian funding partners to improve gender outcomes, including conducting training on Gender and Age Marker for 90 participants.
In Algeria, UN Women has reached an important milestone, in strenghtening the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women Condition's (MSNFCF) capacities to collect data on women and girls victims of violence. A modernized and common data collection framework integrating international guidelines and indicators on WSV, with a focus on SDG 5, was developed by UN Women in partnership with the MSNFCF. The new administrative databased named "AMANE" will allow the MSNFCF and its different structures to collect comprehensive data on Survivors seeking aid from its services. All 54 professionals from the Directorates for Social Action and Solidarity (DASS) and from Women Shelter's have benefited from a specific training on how to use AMANE with a component on gender-based violence and gender issues.
As part of UN Women efforts in supporting the Palestinian police to improve the Family Protection and Juvenile Unit (FPJU) performance in dealing with VAW cases, and supporting the implementation of the capacity building plan of the FJPU, a two-day workshop has been conducted in Jan 2018 on cybercrimes against women and girls. 24 police officers from FJPU and the cybercrime unit have been targeted and agreed on recommendations to improve coordination between both units whe dealing with VAW cases. following that, UNW facilitated a meeting between heads of the specialized units of the cyber-crime and VAW, to reflect on the workshops main points and present the findings and recommendations. Both units agreed to discuss internally proposed arrangements, including the assginment of the FJPU as the first responder for the cyber-crime -violence against women and the aspects of coordination mechanisms between the units when dealing with VAW casesto ensure privacy and confidentiality.
UN Women has reinforced and developed partnerships with key departments for the provision of essential services to WSV. Justice professionals (magistrates and legal social workers) were assessed and trained on women’s access to justice and on human trafficking, and benefited from South-South exchanges with their counterparts from Palestine. The training aimed for the magistrates focused on the role of the security services during the investigation phases, the investigation of trafficking cases, and the identification and protection of victims. The dozen magistrates-experts will, following the training cycle, will conduct similar trainings to the rest of the magistrates within the Ministry of Justice thus ensuring national ownership with regards to human trafficking best practices.
UN Women and AWLN held a series of workshops with parliamentarians and legal practitioners on SGBV and women’s access to justice in order to raise awarness of the legal framework, gaps adn challenges, and how to promote services for survivors.
UN Women supported the Jordanian National Commission for Women in strengthening its positioning with female MPs, organizing three capacity building initiatives during the reporting for members of the women’s caucus in the Parliament and adressing issues related to their role in legislative writing, budget design and oversight, implementation of the SDGs, and constituency-building through online outreach. At the margins of one of the sessions, a dedicated session to review the draft cyber crime law was also conducted.
In March 2018, UN Women held two consultation meetings with civil society and government partners in Baghdad (24-26) and Erbil (27-29) to analyze humanitarian response plans from a gender perspective. The meetings also served to build a foundation for improved coordination and communication between government and civil society, resulting in the prioritization of the needs of women and girls.
UN Women Egypt in collaboration with the Office of the Public Prosecution and UNODC organized training workshops for 160 members of the Public Prosecution on how to effectively prosecute crimes related to violence against women. Topics covered included gender sensitive evidence-gathering and investigation, understanding the relevant legal articles in the Penal code and identifying common legal and practical issues faced by women victims/survivors, in addition to the provision of support and protection of survivors. Furthermore, in collaboration with the National Council for Women (NCW), training workshops were conducted for 250 recent law graduates on a career path to becoming judges to elevate their competencies to adjudicate cases related to VAW. Additionally, capacity development support was provided to the Women’s Complaints office of the NCW to strengthen their capacity to provide legal awareness and support services to women victims/survivors of violence, in addition to 80 employees of government-run women’s shelters and the supervisory ministry, to provide protection and support services to women victims/survivors of violence.
DRC
Support granted to the government for the elaboration of the National Strategic Development Plan 2017-2021. United Nations agencies are engaged in the process of developing UNDAF 2019-2022.
SENEGAL
UN Women through the Ministry of Women, Family and Gender supports the Government of Senegal to reduce gender-based violence and to care for GBV victims for social reintegration, through the implementation of a multisectoral approach to violence prevention.
CABO VERDE
Strengthened capacities of civil society organization and men alliances for the implementation of the GBV Law and gender equality initiatives was another important component of UNW support to contribute to better an approach in fighting GBV. Cabo Verde has been witnessing the increasing of men’s engagement on fighting gender-based violence, by promoting a positive masculinity. White Ribbon Association – Cabo Verde has been the leader in promoting gender equality through positive masculinity focus on fighting to end violence against women and girls in Cabo Verde many of their members are part of the Government Rehabilitation Program for Men Offenders of GBV (created in 2012 with UN Women’s support). In the same line, UNW has also provided technical and financial support to the assessment of the implementation status of the programme, contributing to the systematization of lessons learned and good practices of the programme, and to the formulation of concrete recommendations for the elaboration of the next phase of the programme.
CAMEROON
Unwomen Cameroon work alongside with the ministry of gender and more than 300 stakeholders in different worshop to developed and adopte the GBV national Strategy, and the National plan on FGM). And the ministry of justice to train magistrate and to look into gender aspect in the new penal code previously adopted.
LIBERIA
UN Women Liberia is supporting the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection in the development of a revised National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Management of Gender Based Violence. The initial plan covered the period 2006 – 2011 Gender Based Violence National Action Plan.
The Revised National Gender Policy is undergoing some minor review for adoption.
NIGER
With the support of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and Child Protection UN Women, the UN office implements activities within the framework of the National gender policy, the national strategy to combat GBV, for the promotion of women's rights, gender equality and better management of GBV survivors.
All new personnel receive a welcome letter to alert them that they need to complete all mandatory courses within 90 days of starting and these include three online courses related to ethics:
Course Name | Direct Link /Contact | Modality/ Mandate |
Prevention of Workplace Harassment, Sexual Harassment, and Abuse of Authority in the Workplace | Online learning programme. | |
Ethics and Integrity at the United Nations | Online learning programme. | |
Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse | Online learning programme. |
In addition to mandatory courses, there are non-mandatory quarterly workshops internally on Ethics and the Workplace provided both to HQ and field-based staff, both in person and online.
DRC
Strengthening of the capacities of several sectoral ministry officials (gender, health, justice, interior, defense) and NGOs in several areas, especially results-based management, protocols for dealing with sexual violence, forensic expertise, etc.
SENEGAL
In Senegal, sector ministry staff benefited from capacity building on GBV. Women leaders, young people through cultural and sports associations and local communities through committees to combat violence.
CABO VERDE
The continuous support provided in training capacities resulted in an increased capacity of key players, namely the police, the justice sector and the civil society organizations in implementing specific activities and actions in alignment with the recommendations of the conducted evaluation of the law implementation, namely spread awareness activities, assessment of the Rehabilitation Program of Men Offenders of GBV and the integration of GBV data and information in the information system of the operational management of the Ministry of Internal Administration.
MALI
UN Women trained 17 young Slam artists, who in turn reinforced the knowledge of 180 young students, girls and boys, who wrote and proclaimed poetic texts on GBV prevention and prevention during a slam contest in Bamako. A pool of 48 police officers was trained on the prevention and management of GBV survivors. 30 men from the media, the written and spoken press benefited from capacity building to raise awareness for prevention and report GBV cases to raise awareness among the population.
The support of the national police in the fight against GBV has been strengthened through a validated action plan that clearly defines the intervention strategy and results by 2020.
CAMEROON
UNW Cameroon training police officers. The capacity and the level of ownership of police forces as a primary protection actor on violence against women issues has significantly increased in 2017. Ministry of gender staff working in the call center/GBV mobile Units had also been trained while magistrate of the ministry of justice had also been trained on GBV principles.
LIBERIA
Liberia: Capacity building for national institutions with training conducted for 83 Women and Children Protection Officers, 65 prosecutors, city solicitors and court officials and 81 health workers.
NIGER
Representatives of sectoral ministries, state institutions, men and women in the media (even a declaration of commitment for the promotion of women's rights in Niger), local authorities have benefited from capacity building of the UN WOMEN office on GBV, gender and the promotion of women's rights.
In Viet Nam, UN Women supported capacity building to better respond to violence against women by assisting the Judicial Academy, the national judicial training institution. With UN Women’s support, the Judicial Academy now has a training modules which will be used to train prospective judges, prosecutors and lawyers on international standards to address VAW. To accompany the training module, a casebook containing 100 cases of domestic and sexual violence and video clips were finalized after being piloted with lecturers, trainers and practitioners from multiple institutions.