Search
UN Women continued to actively participate in the UN system-wide SEA Working Group PSEA WG, which is being coordinated by the Office of the Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to SEA. Using its technical expertise and experience, UN Women provided input to all WG deliverables, which inter-alia include the Fact sheet on the Secretary-General's initiatives to prevent and respond to SEA, the Secretary-General's Report on Special measures for PSEA, the annual PSEA action plan, and the annual PSEA survey.
Together with UNFPA, IOM, and UNICEF, UN Women co-lead the inter-agency PSEA focal point training, held in March 2021 for the Senegal inter-agency PSEA network.
UN Women actively engaged in the development of the key performance indicators for the prevention of sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse for the monitoring framework of the 2020 QCPR.
With UN partners including OHCHR, DPPA, UNDP and DCO, UN Women advocated for UN key messages about Violence against Women in politics for the UN system, endorsed by the Executive Committee in 2020 and available to inform UN Leaders' advocacy efforts on this issue.
Almost all the countries in the ESA region have functional GBV Working Groups led by UNFPA and the PSEA Task Forces led by UN Women and the UNRCO.
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 (PSEA)" 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 Burundi, UN Women supported the development of UNCT gender strategy which serves as a frame of reference for in planning process within UNS in Burundi.
To support Secretary-General's Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, UN Women (ROAP) organised and supported multiple regional events including Regional Curated Dialogue (link) organised in the form a TV style talk show, multi country study on Online Violence against Women in Asia (link), study on the linkages between violence against women and violence against children jointly produced with UNICEF and UNFPA (link) , Guidelines on Responsible Representation and Reporting of Violence Against Women and Children also jointly produced with UNICEF and UNFPA (link), 16 stories from frontline service providers, and social media campaigns (link) and a virtual event with the World Design Organization showcasing innovation and youth-focused approaches to prevent VAWG. The estimated reach of the 16 days of campaign events and messaging was around 94,250 with 65,273 direct engagement through likes, comments, and shares.
Generation Equality and 2020 Information Note
The year 2020 is a pivotal year for advancing gender equality worldwide, as the global community takes stock of progress made for women's rights since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. This information note explores UN Women's upcoming actions throughout 2020 including its multigenerational campaign: “Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”, Generation Equality Forums and Action Coalitions.
Trough GTG (Gender Thematic Group), UN Women Moldova CO a) lead the joint UN effort in supporting the government to implement the existing normative commitments (implementation of CEDAW CO, UPR, Beijing +25 national report); b) strengthen joint advocacy for improved normative framework and ratification of the Istanbul Convention on VAW as per CEDAW Committee Recommendations and of ILO Convention no. 190 on Violence and sexual harassment at the workplace; d) use corporate tools such as SWAP Gender Scorecard recommendations and CCA updates to strengthen GEWE as well as UN Women Moldova is co-chairing the PSEA (Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) Task Force.
In 2020, UN Women Kosovo collaborated with UNFPA and UNDP to conduct two Rapid Socio-Economic Impact Assessments (SEIAs) of the impact of the pandemic on health, financial and emotional well-being of people, including the impact on women. Findings showed that 59% of the respondents felt that domestic violence had increased since the begin of the pandemic and that gender progress may be stalling. The Security and Gender Group chaired by UN Women Kosovo allowed quick mobilization of UN family and International Community to respond to COVID's differentiated as impact on women and this was well recognized by international community in Kosovo Several joint statements and activities including more than 100 activities during 16 days were coordinated and organized aiming to call on government to adopt measures to address the economics effect of the COVID19 pandemic on women and girls and on ending violence against women. Efforts continued also in 2021, through regular meetings of the SGG and GTG.In Tajikistan, UN Women chairs GTG and coordinates work of UNCT, partners (government, national and international) in implementation of the UNiTE campaign since its launch. UN Women oversights implementation of UN TF projects and serves as the technical advisor to the PSEA interagency team. UN Women is a member of REACT Humanitarian Response team and internal UNCT Humanitarian Team. UN Women is the technical coherence lead at the Spotlight Programme Tajikistan. In Albania UN Women CO:
1- Conducted a Gender Responsive mapping of the linkages between social inclusion and vulnerabilities at local level, in the framework of the Global SDG Fund-supported UNJP on Improving Municipal Social Protection, implemented jointly with UNDP, UNICEF, and WHO. This sets the foundation for identifying and piloting social services for vulnerable women in existing municipalities through existing social care plants and in coordination with the Social Fund administered by the MoHSP.
2- Within the framework of Leave No One Behind UNJP with UNDP, UNICEF, and UNFPA, gender responsive budgeting processes were strengthened at the local level, prioritising interventions that combat violence against women and girls, in conjunction with the EVAW JP. As a result, main municipalities in Albania are increasing their capacities in: (i) applying gender responsive budgeting (GRB) within Medium Term Budget Programme (MTBP 2021-2023) ensuring that needs of vulnerable women and girls, including survivors of violence are incorporated in policies and related budgets associated with municipal social care services; and (ii) developing socio-economic schemes/plans for reintegration of women survivors of violence.
3- Led and coordinated with other UN agencies in Albania towards a successful 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, which saw engagement and direct contribution of the private sector towards women survivors, as well as increased visibility through awareness raising efforts.
4- On International Day of the Girl (11 October) UN Women partnered with UNFPA and UNICEF under the global theme "My voice, our equal future" and invited everyone to write a short inspirational letter to a GIRL under 18 years old. 13 letters were received, and later snapshots of main message and quotes were shared through infographics on social media. An activity around the initiative was organized in 'Mersin Duqi' high school in Ibe village. Students shared the letters they had prepared and discussed gender equality and girl's rights.
5- Advocated for a standalone gender outcome in the new UNSDCF. UN Women's leadership on the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) System-Wide Action Plan (SWAP) Gender Equality Scorecard conducted in 2019 and the Country Gender Equality Brief supported solid gender analysis in the new Common Country Analysis (CCA) and resulted in positioning a stand-alone gender equality outcome level result in the development of the new UNSDCF. UN Women ensured knowledge sharing among Gender Theme Results Group (GTRG) members about best approaches to strengthen gender mainstreaming in the programming cycle and actively engaged in UNCT discussions on strategic priorities and comparative advantages.
UN Women ROAP is supporting several offices that are engaged in legislative review, by contracting and making available experts on VAW legislation. This expert support has provided analysis and suggestions for legislation in the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam in this time period. The legislative review process is ongoing in all three countries.
In Colombia within the framework of the electoral reform UN Women supported the National Electoral Council and the Congress to define measures to address violence against women in politics. For the first time, a definition of Violence Against Women in Politics and its manifestations was established, in line with the provisions of the CIM-MESECVI Model Law, allocating functions to the National Electoral Council to investigate and monitor cases of Violence Against Women in Politics.
UN Women’s office in Ecuador provided targeted advocacy and technical support to national partners directly contributing to the regulations on VAWP included in the reform to the electoral legal framework (Code of Democracy 2020).
In Mexico, UN Women provided technical assistance to the Federal Legislative bodies during the legal reform process of eight electoral legal frameworks to address and respond to VAWP.
UN Women ESARO in partnership with the country offices, UN partner agencies and the African Union is engaging traditional authorities across Africa by working with AU to launch Council of Traditional Leaders of Africa (COTLA), /Conseil des Autorites Traditionnelles D’Afrique (CONATA), so that it effectively drives a pan-African movement of Traditional Leaders to end child marriage, FGM/C and other harmful practices. Throughout the year the African Union engaged COTLA/CONATA as an advocacy institution following the AU statutory meeting of ministers in charge of Social Development, Labor and Employment who took a decision calling for an extension of the campaign to end child marriage for a five-year period from 2019 to 2023. In the year, COTLA/CONATA convened an annual steering committee meeting in Lusaka through the support of the Republic of the Government of Zambia, and with financial and technical support of UN WOMEN.
UN Women is also supporting the framing of bye-laws to harmonize the national laws with the customary laws in line with the international conventions. At least in 5 countries such initiatives are ongoing, these include, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Liberia.
In Burundi, The new law No. 1/11 of 20 May 2019 on electoral code reform, improves the level of positioning women on the electoral roll and offers more opportunities to women to stand as candidates in legislative elections. In addition, the code allows women to be elected in their husbands’ origin regions contrary to the provisions of the reformed law which limited the candidacies of women to their origin regions.
In Ethiopia: During the reporting period, UN Women supported the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to undertake a gender analysis of Ethiopia’s draft electoral law. When the law was adopted not including all the proposed changes, UN Women ensured that the legislative committee that was working on directives based on the Electoral Law was provided with a technical support about gender sensitive stipulations to make the derivative legislations gender responsive. The gender analysis identified issues that need to be addressed in terms of affirmative action stipulations, media use during elections, security of voters and candidates, voters that may need assistance during registration and voting and representation of women in different election management bodies etc.
Moreover, UN Women conducted a National Comprehensive Mapping and Analysis of National Laws in Ethiopia as a step towards the elimination of discriminatory laws. The assessment is a comprehensive legislative analysis from a gender perspective to provide an in-depth understanding of the current legal framework and the existence of gaps and discriminatory provisions, with the long-term vision of advocating for law reform to enact new laws or repeal or revise discriminatory legislation. The first draft of the assessment first draft was submitted for review. The gender analysis will explore the vast spectrum of laws to assess their gender responsiveness and will highlight discriminatory provisions and gaps that would require to be repeal, amended or enactment through a law reform process.
Another initiative led by UN Women was the different advocacy sessions towards the adoption of the family law in the Somali region. To this end, an assessment on the general socioeconomic status of women and girls in Somali and Afar regions and barriers hindering the adoption of the family law was conducted. The key findings of the study revealed that in almost all measures of socio-economic indicators including access to education, health, water, electricity, and sanitation, women and girls in both regions have significant challenges compared to other regions of Ethiopia. With regards to the prevalence of VAWG in the two regions, findings of the study show a much higher percentage of sexual violence against women with 14.7 percent in Somali and 13 percent in Afar regions when compared with that of the EDHS, 1% in Somali followed by 4% in Afar.
Most importantly, the study identified the factors hindering the adoption of family laws in Afar and Somali regions to be lack of political commitment, structural and institutional factors (competing priorities and inadequate financing) and social and cultural factors which are highly influenced by religion. The controversy on marriageable age, bigamy, period of widowhood, irregular union, child adoption, and Paternity issues were also among the causes for the resistance towards adopting Family law. UN women will continue popularizing the findings and recommendations of the study and undertaking policy advocacy at different level with the aim of harmonizing the regional family laws with that is the international standards.
The legal adjustment in the main electoral law has been finalized with the legislative drafting team taking some of the recommendations provided. However, the legislative process for matters that will be guided by directives from the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, it is still an ongoing process that will also continue in 2020 which is the election year and beyond.
In regard to the preliminary work on the “Assessment of the discriminatory law” conducted for legal adjustments that will support and recommend the repeal or revision of all formal laws that directly or indirectly discriminate against women and girls, UN Women will continue supporting the Federal Attorney General and other relevant institutions on the legal adjustment based on the recommendations provided.
The draft Somali and Afar assessment on the barriers for adoption of the federal revised family law, which was conducted in 2019, identified key areas that needs better advocacy coupled with continuous dialogues to bring the expected changes. Some of these areas include; enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the grass root community on the benefit of putting in place an alternative family dispute resolution in addition to the customary and religious systems, enhancing capacity of women and men parliamentarians to advocate for the adoption of family law, and facilitate a knowledge exchange with other Muslim dominated countries who have adopted family law that is in line with international standards. Using the existing partnership with the regional government and faith actors, UN Women will work towards the repeal of the existing regional law in 2020.
In Mozambique, the government of Mozambique continued to demonstrate strong commitment on advancing GEWE including fulfilment of regional and international obligations, which are evidenced by the following achievements: approval of the “Lei contra os casamentos Prematuros[1]” (Law against early marriage) (The Law was approved by the Parliament on 18th July 2019 and with its approval early unions in Mozambique are considered a crime. The law condemns until 8 years of imprisonment to adults who consent or obliged a child to accept a union and 12years for an adult who live in a forced union with a child girl); approval of the revised “Lei fa Familia (Family Law) e “Lei das Sucessões” (Inheritance Law). Additionally, 4 other Laws were reviewed to better respond to the issues included in the approved laws, namely: “Lei da Familia”- Family Law (Lei 22. 2019); “Lei da Revisão do codigo Penal”- Law of criminal code (Lei 24 de 2019); “Lei da revisão do Código do Processo Penal”- Law of review of the Criminal process code (Lei 25 de 2019) and the “Lei da revisao do Codigo de execução das Penas” –Law of review of the criminal process code- (Lei 26 de 2019).
In Rwanda, Under the equality in law by 2030 initiative, UN Women provided technical and financial support to the Legal Aid Forum, a network of 38 national and international NGOs, universities, lawyers’ associations, faith-based organizations and trade unions to conduct an assessment aimed at determining whether there are any discriminatory provisions in Rwandan laws. The implementation of this initiative involves different actors from government and civil society organizations through a steering committee put in place for quality assurance. The Legal Aid Forum has submitted a draft report waiting for final validation by stakeholders. The report recognizes tremendous achievements for gender mainstreaming in Rwanda’s legal framework. However, there are still few provisions that need to be worked out through legislative reforms.
In South Sudan, the Reconstituted National Constitution Amendment Committee (R-NCAC) has been working on reviewing the various laws including the security sector laws. UN Women provided technical support in review of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Act 2009, the National Security Services Act 2014, the Police Service Act 2009 and the Prisons Service Act 2011.
In Sudan, UN Women has supported the women’s movement to voice their concerns and claim the repeal and reform of laws violating women’s human rights such as the public Order Law which was then repealed in December 2019.
In Somalia, UN Women in close collaboration with UNFPA, UNDP and UNSOM is actively engaged in passage of the Sexual Offence Bill and FGM Bill. The Sexual Offence Bill has already been approved by the cabinet of ministers and awaits endorsement at the parliament. The FGM bill is in the final stages of drafting and soon will be presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Sexual Offences Bill (SOB) seeks to serve the purpose of combating sexual violence and consolidating laws of sexual offences, providing for punishment of perpetrators of sexual offenses, providing for procedural and evidential requirements during trial of sexual offenses and other related matters.
In Tanzania, UN Women provided technical and financial support to the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal affairs (MoCLA), Tanzania Women Parliamentary Group (TWPG), Women Fund Tanzania and the Women's Coalition on the Constitution Review and Leadership for advocacy to repeal the following laws that discriminate against women and girls: The Law of Marriage Act (LMA) of 1971 sanctions the marriage of girls as young as 14 years, while requiring boys to be adults. During 2019, the Tanzania Court of Appeal upheld a previous High Court judgment declaring the minimum age of marriage for girls, as set out in the Law of Marriage Act, unconstitutional. As a result, the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania will need to pass legislation bringing this law in line with international standards. UN Women is currently strategizing with and supporting the Tanzania Women Parliamentary Group (TWPG) and the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal affairs (MoCLA) for advocacy to pass the required legislation.
In Uganda, UN Women provided technical support to the government in the legislative developments. Some of these include:
- The Sexual Offences Bill that seeks to consolidate all laws relating to sexual offences and provide procedural and evidential requirements during trial of sexual offences in addition to measures to check sexual harassment in public places.
- Employment Bill 2019 that seeks to amend the Employment Act 2006 to operationalize the provisions of Art.40 of the Uganda Constitution and align it to the ILO convention No.190.
- The Marriage and Divorce bill which brings together all laws governing a Marriage and its dissolution;
- The legal aid bill that seeks to ensure indignant citizens access free legal aid services; and
- The Domestic Violence Act (DVA) which provides protection of women from violence committed to them in a domestic setting
- In Zimbabwe, UN Women supported work on the Marriages Bill by conducting a gender analysis of the bill and supported development of an alternative marriages bill as a reference document to inform parliamentary debates. The Bill seeks to consolidate the laws relating to marriages in Zimbabwe into one Act of Parliament and as such repeal the Marriages Act [Chapter 5:11] and the Customary Marriages Act [Chapter 5:07]. The Bill also criminalizes child marriage and decriminalizes HIV transmission (repealing Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act), both of which were key advocacy issues for UN Women in the reporting year.
Supported the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in preparing the new National Strategy on Gender Equality 2021-2030, which was approved in June 2021.
Supported the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to revise the Council of Ministers Decision (CoMD) No. 334, 2011 on functioning of coordinated referral mechanisms against gender-based violence. The new CoMD 327/2021 was approved on 2 June 2021
Supported the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to revise the Law on Measures Against Violence in Family Relations in 2020 which brings the law closer to Istanbul Convention principles and standards.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, UN Women supported the Safe network (network of CSOs running shelters and other specialist services) to advocate for changing the Law on protection from domestic violence in one part of the country (Federation BiH) and harmonize it with the Istanbul Convention. In July 2021, the law was adopted in one house of the Parliament and placed in procedure for full adoption. The new law will render wider protection to survivors and be a step towards sustainability of specialist services.
In North Macedonia, UN Women supported the Centre for Research and Policy Making to advocate for the adoption of a new Law on Prevention and Protection from VAW and DV and the amendment of the Criminal Code in compliance with the Istanbul Convention. The EVAW Law was adopted by Parliament in January 2021, while the CC amendment was adopted by Government in July 2021 and is currently pending Parliamentary approval.
In Moldova, UN Women CO supported the development and advocacy efforts for the approval of Law no. 113, which defines for the first time violence against women, so that it covers all forms of violence, it introduces the obligation to specialists of assessing the risks of committing/repeating acts of violence, it provides state-guaranteed legal assistance from the moment the complaint is filled by the survivor, it introduces better monitoring tools of the temporary restraining orders and deliberates on the creation of specialized EVAW units at local level in line with Istanbul Convention and international standards.
In Kosovo, UN Women supported advocacy efforts of the Kosovo Women Parliamentarian Caucus initiative to amend the Constitution by aligning local legislation with international standards. As a result, on 25 September 2020, the Kosovo Assembly voted in favour of amendment of the Constitution to include the Istanbul Convention in the list of its directly applicable international documents. This, combined with the comprehensive inclusion of DV in the Criminal Code as a separate criminal offense, and a specific Law on Domestic Violence, regulating the civil aspects, makes the legal framework in Kosovo on VAW aligned with international and regional standards enshrined in CEDAW, the Istanbul Convention and the European Union (EU) "Acquis".
UN Women, Kosovo is part of the working group on drafting of the Law against Domestic Violence, which is currently in drafting process under the auspices of Kosovo Parliamentary Commission for Committee on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Victims of Sexual Violence During the Conflict, Missing Persons and Petitions.
State bodies in Kazakhstan have enhanced capacity to revise legal and policy framework to strengthen response and prevention of VAW through active participation in working and expert groups in cooperation with the Parliament of Kazakhstan. UN Women provided technical support for expert community and Civil Society organizations. In 2020 UN Women continued supporting the development and adoption of the new draft harmonized national legislation in the field of prevention and combating domestic violence through the review of international best practices and legislation in the field of prevention of domestic violence and on issues of family and gender equality. A member of UN Women Kazakhstan Civil Society Advisory Group, national experts, as well as representatives of the National Women's Machinery worked closely with the Parliamentarians and CSOs to synthesize the best practices and integrate international standards.
In Tajikistan UN Women was instrumental in developing the National Strategy of Activitization of Role of Women in the Society (March, 2021) developed; UN Women substantially contributed to the draft Anti-Discrimination Law, which is being developed.
Ending Child Marriage and Rescue and Second Chance Education for Girls in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania: UN Women through engagement of traditional leaders, CSOs and government departments advocated for ending child marriage, FGM and other harmful practices. Thousands of potential efforts for child marriage were prevented and many marriages that took place were annulled in these countries. For example, in Malawi 41% of the 2871 girls engaged under child marriage interventions in Salima, Dedza and Karonga are now able to claim their right to make vital decisions about their sexual health and well-being, re-enroll into primary and secondary education and reignite prospects of living a life without increased risk of violence, abuse, child marriages, ill health or early death. This was achieved through interventions in school clubs, awareness campaigns, capacity building sessions on GBV/SRHR and business management/entrepreneurship skills. This follows an extensive HeForShe campaign implemented by the Malawi Country Office in collaborations with UNFPA, Ministry of Gender, District Councils, Traditional leaders and HeForShe champions. A total of 4249 early child marriages have been annulled and 2871 number of girls re-enrolled into primary and secondary schools between 2017-2019.
In Mozambique, Rapariga Biz is a joint program, implemented in Nampula and Zambezia provinces by UNFPA, UN Women, UNICEF and UNESCO. It aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of 1,085,447 girls and young women in Mozambique who live in the provinces of Nampula or Zambezia. These provinces are amongst the ones in the country with highest poverty levels in Mozambique, where women and young girls are burdened with a high level of discrimination and are at high risk of child marriage, early pregnancy, maternal mortality, obstetric fistula, violence and HIV. After training, the girls individually or organized in groups benefited from support (startup kits, tips on their business, etc.) to start their business. Silvia Daniel (22)[2], Albertina Martinho (20), Argentina Arnaldo (21), Telma Mauricio (18) and Neusa Joaquim (18) are some of the beneficiaries which who besides different trainings, that benefitted, they were also selected for poultry farming.
In Uganda, The establishment of Nakapiripiriti Satellite Legal Aid Clinic in Karamoja by ULS, supported by UN Women brought happiness to number of widows in accessing legal aid and protection services.
The value of intersectionality in understanding violence against women and girls
This policy brief explores the concept of intersectionality as a tool to analyze and understand the intersection of gender with other inequalities/oppressions (e.g., sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, indigeneity, immigration status, disability) in the context of violence against women and girls (VAWG). The report examines the impact of intersecting oppressions on the ability of survivors of VAWG to access services and obtain justice, as well as the importance of ‘by and for’ organizations in addressing the needs of marginalized women who face violence. It is available here.
Mapping of Sexual Violence Services in the Western Balkans and Turkey
The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence - also known as the Istanbul Convention - calls for adequate and accessible specialized support services for victims of sexual violence. However, in the Western Balkans and Turkey, despite the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, these standards have yet to be met. Services for victims of sexual violence are often missing, and where they do exist, they tend to be poorly implemented due to a lack of government funding and support. This mapping report identifies the existing services in the region, examines their implementation, and highlights the gaps in service provision. This publication was produced under the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme on ending violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey, "Implementing Norms, Changing Minds," funded by the European Union. the report is available here.
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.
UN-Women organized an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Data & Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) December 4-5, 2019 in New York. More than 40 experts attended the meeting, including academics, gender equality advocates, Members of Parliament (MPs), representatives of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and International Organizations (IOs), as well as UN agencies. The EGM complemented ongoing efforts to address VAWP. It was a follow-up activity of the Violence against women in politics: Expert Group Meeting organized by UN Women, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences in collaboration with partners in March 2018. Although VAWP has captured global attention, comparative data on VAWP remains unavailable. Globally accepted indicators and data collection methods to measure the incidents or prevalence of VAWP do not yet exist. This EGM helped map existing knowledge tools, databases, and surveys as sources of data on VAWP. Academics and practitioners also exchanged on lessons learned, experiences and good practices in VAWP data collection.
UN-Women and UNDP co-published a programming guide, “Preventing violence against women in elections” in December 2017. The guide seeks to identify the specific components of violence against women in elections, including types, tactics, victims and perpetrators, and presents options for policy and programming responses based on current good practices. It also provides examples of definitions and methods from all regions that may prompt ideas for actions according to each country’s national context. This guide is intended for those best positioned to prevent and mitigate violence against women in elections, including national electoral stakeholders, international organizations such as UNDP, UN Women and other UN agencies, as well as those providing programming support on electoral assistance, women’s political participation, human rights monitoring and ending violence against women. It will also be a resource for members and especially leaders of political parties, electoral management bodies, civil society organizations, women’s groups and gender equality activists.
In 2019, the Guide was translated and made available in additional languages, including Georgian, Albanian -- the guide is available here.
UN Women ESARO in partnership with UNW HQ organized a training on “VAW Prevalence Data” was organized for UN Women, Government Ministries of Gender and Statistics, UNFPA and WHO participants in Mombasa, Kenya. A total of 38 participants attended from 11 countries in the region. Following the training at least 4 country offices initiated the “VAW Prevalence Data” program in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. Having focused data on VAW will help the policy makers and development partners in having targeted interventions in creating a safe VAW free environment for women and girls.
In Tanzania, UN Women played a key role in conducting the Social Institution and Gender Index (SIGI) Tanzania survey by providing technical support on sampling, budgeting, conducting the main survey and reporting writing. The survey will produce the gender data related to discriminatory laws through the collection of consistent, high quality data. One such study is a gender analysis of customary justice systems to ensure that evidence is generated for advocacy at national level to support advocacy calling for the review of customary laws. The findings of the survey will be available in 2020.
In Kenya, UN Women supported in the establishment of the county-based network of S/GBV survivors and through the launch of the S/GBV case data collection mobile application. KCO piloted the use of the mobile application to test its efficacy as a response to the challenges of S/GBV data collection at community level.
2018 Public Perceptions of Gender Equality and Violence Against Women in the Western Balkans and Turkey
The infosheets present the key findings of a baseline survey conducted in selected communities of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (Under UNSCR 1244), North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. The infosheets provide insight of current and dominant attitudes and perceptions (and the factors that influence them) toward gender equality and violence against women at community level. The inforsheet is available here.
Sexual Harassment and other Forms of Gender based Violence in Urban Spaces in Albania
This study looks at the different dimensions of sexual harassment and other forms of gender based violence against Albanian women and girls in urban public spaces particularly in the cities of Shkodra and Korça. It focuses primarily on women and girls’ perceptions of safety and the impact this issue has on their lives, as well as the forms of violence they experience and what strategies they have at their disposal to cope with the violence. The report also contains general and specific recommendations for each of the municipalities involved in the study in order to improve the conditions and take the necessary measures and actions to turn the studied areas into safe areas for women, girls, boys and men. All findings presented in this report are a result of: 500 survey interviews in the two municipalities (Shkodra and Korça), two Focus Group Discussions with 16 participants and two Structured Observations. The study is available here.
Analysis of the Cost of Domestic Violence: Estimating the Cost of Multi-sectoral Response at the Local Level in Bosnia and Herzegovina
With the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), Bosnia and Herzegovina committed to establishing, developing or enhancing a wide range of general and specialist services for survivors of domestic violence. While the country has a satisfactory legislative framework, which prescribes the obligation to prevent and protect women from different forms of violence, survivors are still faced with various obstacles to accessing a number of services including health, social, and legal support.
With this analysis, UN Women seeks to support national efforts in informed planning and decision-making by providing an estimate of current allocations of existing services that are rendered in response to domestic violence at the local level. Furthermore, the analysis defines recommendations for enhanced financing of basic and specialized services and multi-sectoral approach in line with the requirements of the Istanbul Convention. The significance of the first such analysis in the country is the estimated value of survivors' direct and opportunity costs of domestic violence. The study employed qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, and included data collected from questionnaires targeting relevant institutions and beneficiaries. The analysis is available here.
Review of the Multi-sector Approach to Domestic Violence at the Local Level in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordination is a central element of the response to domestic violence and violence against women and is crucial both to the victims or survivors and the institutions that respond. This report reviews the viability of applying this approach to the establishment and functioning of multi-sector referral mechanisms at the local level in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the central element of the multi-sector response. The review includes the analysis of the most relevant international and domestic legislation, guidelines and standards on applying a multi-sector response to domestic violence and violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, in-depth information on the multi-sector referral mechanisms was collected in six selected locations through semi-structured interviews conducted with the relevant representatives of the multi-sector teams, gender mechanisms and non-governmental organizations. The gathered information highlighted the three main aspects of an effective and coordinated multi-sector response: 1) the capacities of the multi-sector referral mechanisms, 2) the quality of the service provided by the multi-sector referral mechanisms and 3) their sustainability beyond the duration of the projects through which they were established. The review is available here.
Data collection ‘by and for’ minoritized women
Collecting data and conducting research on all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) is critical in order to design relevant policies and measures needed to protect and support women and to eliminate VAWG. This policy brief examines the lack of data on violence against minoritized women and highlights the importance of utilizing an intersectional approach to data collection and engaging ‘by and for’ in the data collection process. The policy brief is available here.
Regional report on discrimination of Roma women in the area of healthcare, child marriages and support and protection in cases of domestic violence
The Regional Report examines the violence and discrimination faced by Roma women in the areas of health care, child marriage, and institutional protection and support in cases of domestic violence. Based on survey findings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The report reveals shocking levels of violence against Roma women, as well as the prevalence of discrimination that prevents Roma women from accessing services and institutional protection in cases of violence. These patterns of violence and discrimination are examined vis-à-vis states' obligations to comply with anti-discrimination and anti-violence frameworks, such as national legislation, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention). This report was developed under the EU-UN Women regional programme 'Ending violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Implementing Norms, Changing Minds'. The report is available here.
A number of initiatives were undertaken by UN Women country offices through the support of RO and other partner agencies in undertaking advocacy and awareness on addressing sexual violence in conflict situations.
Through the ICGLR Program support and as part of the Domestication of the Protocol on the Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Violence Against Women and Children in the ICGLR member states, a total of 9 countries out of the 12 ICGLR Member States that have established the special court, special sessions and special procedures as mechanisms to fast track SGBV cases within the region. For example, in 2018 Uganda established a special session as a strategy to clear SGBV case back log and they were able to clear a total of 788 cases surpassing the target of 650 set for one month. Countries that do not have any mechanisms to fast track SGBV cases are Tanzania, Central African Republic and Angola. Sudan however implemented special procedures for cases involving children for the period between 2014- 2016.
UN Women also participated and provided briefing to the HQ DPA high level missions and advocacy initiatives towards developing strategies for addressing PVE, CVE with focus on prevention of sexual violence in conflict situations.
The Strategy for Prevention of and Response to the Conflict Related Sexual Violence in Ukraine
The present strategy provides guidance and recommendations on how governmental institutions of Ukraine, civil society organizations, international organizations and UN system can join efforts to effectively prevent and respond to CRSV. The document has a narrative part, which sets out the general context, mandate and scope of the strategy, implementation mechanism, coordination mechanism and tools. Second part of the document is a roadmap matrix that suggests specific objectives, actions for specific actors to carry out to accomplish those objectives, leading to a more targeted approach. The strategy is currently being developed at the initiative of government of Ukraine, applicable to whole of Ukraine. It is available here.
UN Women ESARO in partnership with the country offices, UN partner agencies and the African Union is engaging traditional authorities across Africa by working with AU to launch Council of Traditional Leaders of Africa (COTLA) / Conseil des Autorites Traditionnelles D’Afrique (CONATA), so that it effectively drives a pan-African movement of Traditional Leaders to end child marriage, FGM/C and other harmful practices. Throughout the year the African Union engaged COTLA/CONATA as an advocacy institution following the AU statutory meeting of ministers in charge of Social Development, Labor and Employment who took a decision calling for an extension of the campaign to end child marriage for a five-year period from 2019 to 2023. In the year, COTLA/CONATA convened an annual steering committee meeting in Lusaka through the support of the Republic of the Government of Zambia, and with financial and technical support of UN WOMEN.
UN Women is also supporting the framing of by-laws to harmonize the national laws with the customary laws in line with the international conventions. At least in 5 countries such initiatives are ongoing, these include, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Liberia.
In Burundi, The new law No. 1/11 of 20 May 2019 on electoral code reform, improves the level of positioning women on the electoral roll and offers more opportunities to women to stand as candidates in legislative elections. In addition, the code allows women to be elected in their husbands’ origin regions contrary to the provisions of the reformed law which limited the candidacies of women to their origin regions.
In Ethiopia: During the reporting period, UN Women supported the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to undertake a gender analysis of Ethiopia’s draft electoral law. When the law was adopted not including all the proposed changes, UN Women ensured that the legislative committee that was working on directives based on the Electoral Law was provided with a technical support about gender sensitive stipulations to make the derivative legislations gender responsive. The gender analysis identified issues that need to be addressed in terms of affirmative action stipulations, media use during elections, security of voters and candidates, voters that may need assistance during registration and voting and representation of women in different election management bodies etc.
Moreover, UN Women conducted a National Comprehensive Mapping and Analysis of National Laws in Ethiopia as a step towards the elimination of discriminatory laws. The assessment is a comprehensive legislative analysis from a gender perspective to provide an in-depth understanding of the current legal framework and the existence of gaps and discriminatory provisions, with the long-term vision of advocating for law reform to enact new laws or repeal or revise discriminatory legislation. The first draft of the assessment first draft was submitted for review. The gender analysis will explore the vast spectrum of laws to assess their gender responsiveness and will highlight discriminatory provisions and gaps that would require to be repeal, amended or enactment through a law reform process.
Another initiative led by UN Women was the different advocacy sessions towards the adoption of the family law in the Somali region. To this end, an assessment on the general socioeconomic status of women and girls in Somali and Afar regions and barriers hindering the adoption of the family law was conducted. The key findings of the study revealed that in almost all measures of socio-economic indicators including access to education, health, water, electricity, and sanitation, women and girls in both regions have significant challenges compared to other regions of Ethiopia. With regards to the prevalence of VAWG in the two regions, findings of the study show a much higher percentage of sexual violence against women with 14.7 percent in Somali and 13 percent in Afar regions when compared with that of the EDHS, 1% in Somali followed by 4% in Afar.
Most importantly, the study identified the factors hindering the adoption of family laws in Afar and Somali regions to be lack of political commitment, structural and institutional factors (competing priorities and inadequate financing) and social and cultural factors which are highly influenced by religion. The controversy on marriageable age, bigamy, period of widowhood, irregular union, child adoption, and Paternity issues were also among the causes for the resistance towards adopting Family law. UN women will continue popularizing the findings and recommendations of the study and undertaking policy advocacy at different level with the aim of harmonizing the regional family laws with that is the international standards.
The legal adjustment in the main electoral law has been finalized with the legislative drafting team taking some of the recommendations provided. However, the legislative process for matters that will be guided by directives from the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, it is still an ongoing process that will also continue in 2020 which is the election year and beyond.
In regard to the preliminary work on the “Assessment of the discriminatory law” conducted for legal adjustments that will support and recommend the repeal or revision of all formal laws that directly or indirectly discriminate against women and girls, UN Women will continue supporting the Federal Attorney General and other relevant institutions on the legal adjustment based on the recommendations provided.
The draft Somali and Afar assessment on the barriers for adoption of the federal revised family law, which was conducted in 2019, identified key areas that needs better advocacy coupled with continuous dialogues to bring the expected changes. Some of these areas include; enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the grass root community on the benefit of putting in place an alternative family dispute resolution in addition to the customary and religious systems, enhancing capacity of women and men parliamentarians to advocate for the adoption of family law, and facilitate a knowledge exchange with other Muslim dominated countries who have adopted family law that is in line with international standards. Using the existing partnership with the regional government and faith actors, UN Women will work towards the repeal of the existing regional law in 2020.
In Mozambique, the government of Mozambique continued to demonstrate strong commitment on advancing GEWE including fulfilment of regional and international obligations, which are evidenced by the following achievements: approval of the “Lei contra os casamentos Prematuros[1]” (Law against early marriage) (The Law was approved by the Parliament on 18th July 2019 and with its approval early unions in Mozambique are considered a crime. The law condemns until 8 years of imprisonment to adults who consent or obliged a child to accept a union and 12years for an adult who live in a forced union with a child girl); approval of the revised “Lei fa Familia (Family Law) e “Lei das Sucessões” (Inheritance Law). Additionally, 4 other Laws were reviewed to better respond to the issues included in the approved laws, namely: “Lei da Familia”- Family Law (Lei 22. 2019); “Lei da Revisão do codigo Penal”- Law of criminal code (Lei 24 de 2019); “Lei da revisão do Código do Processo Penal”- Law of review of the Criminal process code (Lei 25 de 2019) and the “Lei da revisao do Codigo de execução das Penas” –Law of review of the criminal process code- (Lei 26 de 2019).
In Rwanda, Under the equality in law by 2030 initiative, UN Women provided technical and financial support to the Legal Aid Forum, a network of 38 national and international NGOs, universities, lawyers’ associations, faith-based organizations and trade unions to conduct an assessment aimed at determining whether there are any discriminatory provisions in Rwandan laws. The implementation of this initiative involves different actors from government and civil society organizations through a steering committee put in place for quality assurance. The Legal Aid Forum has submitted a draft report waiting for final validation by stakeholders. The report recognizes tremendous achievements for gender mainstreaming in Rwanda’s legal framework. However, there are still few provisions that need to be worked out through legislative reforms.
In South Sudan, the Reconstituted National Constitution Amendment Committee (R-NCAC) has been working on reviewing the various laws including the security sector laws. UN Women provided technical support in review of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army Act 2009, the National Security Services Act 2014, the Police Service Act 2009 and the Prisons Service Act 2011.
In Sudan, UN Women has supported the women’s movement to voice their concerns and claim the repeal and reform of laws violating women’s human rights such as the public Order Law which was then repealed in December 2019.
In Somalia, UN Women in close collaboration with UNFPA, UNDP and UNSOM is actively engaged in passage of the Sexual Offence Bill and FGM Bill. The Sexual Offence Bill has already been approved by the cabinet of ministers and awaits endorsement at the parliament. The FGM bill is in the final stages of drafting and soon will be presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Sexual Offences Bill (SOB) seeks to serve the purpose of combating sexual violence and consolidating laws of sexual offences, providing for punishment of perpetrators of sexual offenses, providing for procedural and evidential requirements during trial of sexual offenses and other related matters.
In Tanzania, UN Women provided technical and financial support to the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal affairs (MoCLA), Tanzania Women Parliamentary Group (TWPG), Women Fund Tanzania and the Women’s Coalition on the Constitution Review and Leadership For advocacy to repeal the following laws that discriminate against women and girls: The Law of Marriage Act (LMA) of 1971 sanctions the marriage of girls as young as 14 years, while requiring boys to be adults. During 2019, the Tanzania Court of Appeal upheld a previous High Court judgment declaring the minimum age of marriage for girls, as set out in the Law of Marriage Act, unconstitutional. As a result, the National Assembly of the United Republic of Tanzania will need to pass legislation bringing this law in line with international standards. UN Women is currently strategizing with and supporting the Tanzania Women Parliamentary Group (TWPG) and the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal affairs (MoCLA) for advocacy to pass the required legislation.
In Uganda, UN Women provided technical support to the government in the legislative developments. Some of these include:
- The Sexual Offences Bill that seeks to consolidate all laws relating to sexual offences and provide procedural and evidential requirements during trial of sexual offences in addition to measures to check sexual harassment in public places.
- Employment Bill 2019 that seeks to amend the Employment Act 2006 to operationalise the provisions of Art.40 of the Uganda Constitution and align it to the ILO convention No.190.
- The Marriage and Divorce bill which brings together all laws governing a Marriage and its dissolution;
- The legal aid bill that seeks to ensure indignant citizens access free legal aid services; and
- The Domestic Violence Act (DVA) which provides protection of women from violence committed to them in a domestic setting
In Zimbabwe, UN Women supported work on the Marriages Bill by conducting a gender analysis of the bill and supported development of an alternative marriages bill as a reference document to inform parliamentary debates. The Bill seeks to consolidate the laws relating to marriages in Zimbabwe into one Act of Parliament and as such repeal the Marriages Act [Chapter 5:11] and the Customary Marriages Act [Chapter 5:07]. The Bill also criminalises child marriage and decriminalises HIV transmission (repealing Section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act), both of which were key advocacy issues for UN Women in the reporting year.
The study on “Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa: Implications on Legislation, Policy, Culture & Interventions” undertook mapping of the legislative frameworks in 10 countries in Africa, which is also guiding the countries in strengthening the EVAW and Child Marriage legislations. Another important area the ESARO is supporting is the framing of bye-laws to harmonize the national laws with the customary laws in line with the international conventions. At least in 5 countries such initiatives are ongoing, these include, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Liberia.
A study on “Mapping of Discrimination Faced by Women with Disabilities in ESAR” also highlighted the various forms of discrimination and violence faced by women with disabilities and will help advocacy with member states on enactment of legislation and policy in the 6 study countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Report: Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
This report presents a summary of the discussions held during the first Regional Forum on Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe (CoE), in partnership with European Women’s Lobby, the regional forum reviewed progress in fulfillment of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, known as the Istanbul Convention. The forum took place within the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds". The report is available here.
Report: Second Reginal Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey
The report presents a summary of discussions and conclusions from the Second Regional Forum Promoting the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Convened by the Government of Albania, UN Women, the European Union, and the Council of Europe, the Second Regional Forum reviewed progress in ending violence against women and girls and implementing the Istanbul Convention in the region. The forum took place on 9-10 October 2019 under the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.” The report is available here.
The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics), a joint project of UN Women, UNDP, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and International IDEA, produced an awareness-raising video on violence against women in politics (VAWP) and published it on the knowledge platform in 4 languages (English, Spanish, French, Arabic). https://www.iknowpolitics.org/en/learn/video/violence-against-women-politics
UN-Women Lebanon, supported by the Government of Japan, also held national awareness-raising events on VAWP and produced a video communicating data, research and women’s experiences. The video is available here.
OHCHR, Physicians for Human Rights, and UN Women published a report in December 2019 that identified key gaps and concrete actions to prevent and respond to cycles of election-related sexual violence in Kenya, called “Breaking Cycles of Violence: Gaps in Prevention of and Response to Electoral-Related Sexual Violence in Kenya.” The video is available here.
UN Women East & Southern Africa Regional Office intensified the advocacy and awareness on the need for intense action against child marriage and other harmful practices across Africa as a result of the first East and Southern Africa regional multi-stakeholder knowledge seminars held in Kenya. During the seminars, the findings and recommendations from studies undertaken by ESARO thematic teams were presented. Studies covered:
- Technology Assisted Violence Against Women;
- Administrative Data for Monitoring and Reporting on SDGs;
- And Ending Child Marriage in Africa” was held in Kenya.
Seminar participants called for intensified review of country policies on child marriage and ending violence against women and girls and made commitments for action through their organizations as well as lobbying other stakeholders in localizing the recommendations of the studies.
During the year 70 student leaders from 30 universities in Kenya committed to taking responsibility in remedying and ending tech-assisted violence against women and girls. UN Women developed a research paper and facilitated a knowledge seminar on protection of girls from tech violence with participation of 70 student leaders from 30 Universities across Kenya. The seminar highlighted several manifestations of tech-assisted violence against women and girls including revenge porn, cyber enticement, solicitation, online grooming, cyber harassment, cyber bulling and exposure to harmful online content. The seminar culminated into the signing of a pledge by all with the student leaders from Maseno, Kenyatta, Jomo Kenyatta and Moi Universities initiating diverse related interventions including a HeforShe club to address the issues of technological violence against women and girls. Technology-Assisted Violence Against Women and Girls is emerging as a global problem with serious implications for societies and economies around the world. Reports indicate that an incredible 73 per cent of women have been exposed to some form of violence online[1]. While technology is helping the women specifically youth in a number of ways, it is also becoming a challenge with increased incidents of hate speech (publishing a blasphemous libel), hacking (intercepting private communications), identity theft, online stalking (criminal harassment) and uttering threats.
A number of countries in ESAR such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Burundi have strengthened the multi-sectoral response and referral pathway in GBV cases by working closely with the law enforcement, health and social services actors.
Advocacy and Awareness on Ending Child Marriage and FGM in Africa: UN Women East & Southern Africa Regional Office in partnership with the country offices, UNFPA, UNICEF, African Union, CSOs established partnerships with the Traditional and Cultural Leaders in the Region in accelerated advocacy and initiatives on ending child marriage, FGM and Harmful practices. To this end, UN Women adopted an innovative approach in engaging traditional and cultural leaders on ending harmful practices to bring a transformational change in the lives of women and girls. UN Women facilitated sub-regional and regional consultations of Traditional and Cultural Leaders, in Nairobi-Kenya, Blantyre-Malawi, Lagos-Nigeria and Cairo-Egypt wherein high level commitments and resolutions were adopted by the Traditional Leaders calling for immediate end to Child Marriage and FGM. UN Women through leadership of H.E. President of Zambia and the African Union, facilitated a Platform for the Traditional Leaders from Africa Region to convene in the sidelines of the AU Summit and launch of the Council of Traditional Leaders (COTLA) on 11 February 2019 in Addis Ababa. The Traditional Leaders made the Addis Ababa Declaration calling for immediate end to Child Marriage and FGM and their commitment to work towards this goal through establishing regional, national and district level councils of traditional leaders. UN Women will continue the work with traditional leaders for a lasting impact in 2020 and beyond.
UN Women HQ partnered with the Physicians for Human Rights in organizing a regional workshop on “Child Witnesses in SGBV Cases”, which was attended by around 24 experts from 8 countries mostly from the conflict and humanitarian context countries in Africa. ESARO represented UNW HQ in making a presentation on its work in EVAW focussing on harmful practices and protection of child witnesses. The training helped in sharing global practices including use of technology to assist child witnesses in SGBV cases, which have been adopted by some of the participant countries.
In Rwanda, UN Women, IOM, UNHCR, and UNICEF, supported the Government with capacity building and awareness raising activities, and facilitated the establishment of a Technical Committee which brought together representatives from relevant government institutions, increasing coordination and information sharing. Through UN agencies, a baseline study/research on trafficking in Rwanda has been conducted, several tools developed, including the legal framework guide for practitioners. The new law in combination with the increased capacity, awareness and coordination, has increased the attitude and the response towards trafficking in persons. It is envisioned to result in more identified cases, more prosecuted perpetrators and better support to victims.
In Somalia, UN Women worked closely with the Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development and other UN Agencies towards enactment of Human Rights Commission Law and National Disability Act. Both the laws aims at prevention of discrimination and promote gender equality as an instrument to achieve human rights.
UN Women in close collaboration with UNFPA, UNDP and UNSOM is actively engaged in passage of the Sexual Offence Bill and FGM Bill. The Sexual Offence Bill has already been approved by the cabinet of ministers and awaits endorsement at the parliament. The FGM bill is in the final stages of drafting and soon will be presented to the cabinet of ministers. The Sexual Offences Bill (SOB) seeks to serve the purpose of combating sexual violence and consolidating laws of sexual offences, providing for punishment of perpetrators of sexual offenses, providing for procedural and evidential requirements during trial of sexual offenses and other related matters.
In South Africa, UN Women worked closely with the women’s machinery, law enforcement and CSOs in organizing Trainings on essential services package and also a Pilot of Rapid Results Initiative to accelerate GBV services delivery in EC. UN Women SAMCO successfully implemented a joint programme on GBV in collaboration with other UN agencies buoyed by its role as chair of the Gender Theme Group. This contributed to significantly enhancing coordination of GBV Prevention and Response efforts in South Africa by all stakeholders. As a result there is improved integrated UN system, government and national multi-stakeholder capacity for responding to GBV in South Africa. UN Women SAMCO played a pivotal role in ensuring that there is better coordination of UN agencies work on gender-based violence. Through SAMCO's role as chair of the Gender Theme Group UN agencies managed to deliver as one in providing technical and financial support to the country through the Interim Steering Committee on GBV and Femicide that is chaired by the Presidency. There is better division of labour and sharing of information to avoid duplication but also ensure that gaps are minimized in terms of providing support to the government. A National Coordination Mechanism (National GBV Council) supported by draft legislation to mandate the establishment of this National Gender Based Violence Council are currently under consideration by the Cabinet to institutionalize the coordination mechanism of government, civil society, development partners, business sector, youth and other role players.
In Tanzania, UN Women supported the preparation of the strategic plan and implementation of the women’s land rights campaign, called Stand for Her Land, as well as high-level government participation in its November 21, 2019 launch event. This campaign is advocating for the removal of some provisions in the Customary Law Declaration Order of 1963 and the Land Policy of 1995 that continue to uphold property-right discrimination against women, despite the existence of progressive land laws in Tanzania. (The Local Customary Law (Declaration Order) of 1963 discriminates against women on property ownership, especially inheritance of land. Widows have no right of inheritance, nor rights of residence in the matrimonial home after death of their husbands. Sections in the Probate and Administration of Estates Act, Section 92(1) deny widows the right to inherit from their deceased husband’s estate and give daughters unequal share of the estate compared to sons).
In Uganda, Working with UN Women, Communication for Development Uganda (CDFU) started implementation of dialogue meetings to sensitize the communities against harmful practices and communications for behavioural change. Now that CDFU has a platform, they plan to continue sensitizing and testifying against Female Genital Mutilation because the dangers are known, and we should not keep quiet about them leading young girls into pain and suffering. CDFU condemns the practice of FGM and declare that we do not want young women to undergo this process that almost claimed Margaret’s life. CDFU is engaging media to educate and raise awareness around the ills of the practice of FGM. In collaboration with UN Women, CDFU also works has radio listening and action platforms (LAPS), whereby the organization buys radios for the community with pre-recorded messaging educating on these ills. Along with other UN Women partners who work in this area (such as Justice Centers and CEDOVIP), CDFU continue to sensitize against this harmful practice and amplify the voices of survivors.
In Kenya, Prevention of sexual harassment (SH) in the institutions of higher learning was strengthened through the partnership with Action Aid, University Student leaders, and Vunja Calabash and enhanced the demand for University leadership to address sexual harassment as a priority. An online campaign, petition and visibility in social media brought all actors together to advocate for SH prevention signed up by 11,000 students, which positioned some 5 key issues that the university leadership should address. Male engagement as a strategy for SGBV prevention led to partnership with boda boda and matatu welfare leaders where an agreed code of conduct was adopted, and the members consented to comply and abide by the bylaws. Community outreaches by men and cultural leaders has led to renouncement of harmful practices such as FGM and GBV through community declarations.
Advancing the Istanbul Convention implementation: The role of women's NGOs and networks in the Western Balkans and Turkey
This report provides an overview of the current situation regarding the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (also known as the Istanbul Convention) in the Western Balkans and Turkey. It examines the impact of networking on advocacy efforts to promote the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, including the role of organizations that represent minority or disadvantaged groups of women. The report provides examples of good practice in advocacy and a summary of lessons learnt and benefits and challenges of networking partnerships. This publication was produced under the framework of the EU-UN Women regional programme on ending violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey, "Implementing Norms, Changing Minds," funded by the European Union. The report is available here.
UN Women capacities at the regional and national level have enhanced through its triple mandate and technical leadership on EVAW in Africa region. This is evidenced through the leadership on Africa Spotlight Initiative at both regional and country levels, steep increase in the mobilization of resources, strengthening of partnerships with AUC, regional and national CSOs, government and other partners. UN Women in Africa also by leveraging on the Africa Strategy and harnessing the technical capacities of the team through establishment of a regional EVAW Community of Practice (COP) and sharing of innovation and technical knowledge through South-South learning. This helped immensely in initiating, strengthening and up-scaling programs on ‘safe markets and safe public spaces’ in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe; addressing tech violence against girls in education institutions through a research and advocacy document; partnerships with regional traditional leaders in establishing a movement of “Council of Traditional Leaders in Africa (COTLA)” and its launch in the sidelines of the African Union Summit in February 2019 through the President of Zambia in grassroot advocacy and prevention of child marriage, FGM and other harmful practices. Strengthened partnerships with the government and CSOs also helped in technical support in legislative reform, strengthening institutions, establishment of referral pathways and multisectoral responses in EVAW in the region.
UN-Women continued to support the mainstreaming of gender and development of training sessions on violence against women in politics, which were delivered in the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) 2019 courses on Political Approaches to Preventing and Responding to Election-Related Violence.