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Building on previous work, UNRWA has developed GBV Roadmaps which are a tool to operationalize its GBV Prevention Framework through concrete activities and accompanying monitoring tools.
In line with commitments to the global Call to Action and in accordance with the GBV Guidelines, IOM continues to work to improve GBV prevention and risk mitigation in emergency response operations worldwide. Efforts are geared towards the needs of front-line field staff and, to this end, experts from global support teams in Headquarters deploy experts to provide technical and coordination support to field offices to strengthen GBV prevention. The deployments generate several results, ranging from infrastructural site improvements and establishment of women friendly spaces, to integration of GBV prevention in emergency strategies, creation and dissemination of GBV referral pathways and other information, education and communication materials.
At field level, in South Sudan, IOM is working to strengthen social norms, values and existing capacities that support positive health outcomes, violence prevention and gender quality, and to transform harmful social norms which perpetuate high rates of morbidity and mortality, perpetuate violence against women and girls, and undermine gender quality in the POCs and host communities. In Nigeria, under a joint CCCM, MHPSS and Shelter action plan, IOM carried out awareness raising sessions on GBV targeting IDPs.
Moreover, a second edition of the Site Planning and GBV guidelines has been published, which will be used for training and capacity building purposes, Shelter/NFI Distribution Guidelines completed, and a site planning and GBV video created. IOM also advocates the inclusion of sexual crimes committed against women and girls during conflicts into large-scale victims’ reparations programmes and policies.
The ILO-GIP Project aims to reduce poverty and contribute to the empowerment of Myanmar women working in the garment industry by improving labour relations, social dialogue and gender equality. A report containing a gender equality assessment in several garment factories is expected to be released in September 2018.
View MoreThe ILO-GIP Project aims to reduce poverty and contribute to the empowerment of Myanmar women working in the garment industry by improving labour relations, social dialogue and gender equality. A report containing a gender equality assessment in several garment factories is expected to be released in September 2018.
UNODC promotes the Blue Hearth campaign, a global awareness raising initiative to fight human trafficking and its impact on society.
UNODC is implementing the Education for Justice Initiative and the Doha Declaration. In this framework, UNODC works to raise awareness on trafficking in persons though education, working closely with youth and academics to look into key concepts of trafficking and how this affects in particular women and girls, and how education can contribute to crime prevention and promotion of legality and justice.
Further, under the Global eLearning Programme, UNODC supports Member States through the delivery of courses across the world designed to address crime prevention challenges; on human rights, gender issues in cases of child sexual exploitation, alternatives to imprisonment for women offenders and the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence; in line with international standards and norms.
In Viet Nam, UNODC supports awareness-raising campaigns on gender-based violence, documenting gender-based violence cases, providing aid services to victims and developing evidence-based data for policy advocacy purposes.
UNHCR requires all staff to undertake specific actions in their own sector to mitigate risk of SGBV. In 2017, UNHCR issued a Briefing Paper; WASH, Protection and Accountability http://wash.unhcr.org/download/wash-protection-and-accountability/. It includes case studies and a checklist on WASH and safety and security considerations which impact on SGBV.
Under the US Bureau for Population and Refugee Migration funded Safe from the Start project, staff who provide specialised technical support on addressing SGBV prevention, mitigation and response at the onset of emergencies have been deployed to emergency situations in 22 countries (for 197months as of March 2018), to ensure that appropriate assessment, actions and strategies are implemented early. An evaluative assessment in 2016 found that UNHCR operations receiving technical support achieved significant progress in mitigating the risk of SGBV and in improving access and quality of vital services. Results from end of deployment assessments showed that UNHCR operations increased the efficiency of SGBV programming from 31% to 75%, and increased coverage of SGBV programming from 30% to 61%. Further, 56% of operations receiving a deployment have sustained that expertise and carried on the work.
Egypt CO
UN Women Egypt in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Solidarity developed the capacities of over 1500 women community workers across Egypt, capitalizing on their facility to reach women and men in rural and remote areas, to raise the public’s awareness, through conducting house calls, awareness raising meetings, and other means, on the various forms of violence against women and their social and legal ramifications. The community workers also serve as a vital tool for disseminating information on the support services provided by credible organizations for women victims/survivors of violence. In addition, UN Women Egypt in collaboration with Care International Egypt supported the formation of a network of over 400 young volunteers (both women and men) and developed their capacities to engage community members; over 2600 members reached, utilizing innovative context sensitive approaches, such as interactive community theater, shadow theater, graffiti art in addition to conventional methods, such as door-to-door campaigns, to raise societal awareness of various forms of violence against women, change negative attitudes and beliefs of men towards violence against women, and the gender norms that normalize and justify gender inequality and violence.
UN Women succeeded in establishing the Iraq National Steering Committee for the Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund with high level leadership and representation from the government in addition to the UNRC as co-chair and membership of women civil society, the donor community and the UNCT. UN Women, as WPHF Technical Management and Secretariat at global and national levels, convened the first Steering Committee meeting in March. The National Steering Committee, will be in charge of providing strategic direction, oversight and coordination of implementation of their portfolio, including: provide a platform for partnership, coordination, advocacy and resource mobilization at the national level; manage the WPHF allocation for Iraq; monitor progress and provide oversight on project performance. UN Women has succeeded in securing funding of $2 million for Iraq from the governments of Canada and the UK. A call for proposals is expected to be announced in the second quarter under the guidance of the NSC.
A total of 255 beneficiaries (Jordanians and Syrians) have been reached from different subjects related to GBV and women’s’ rights through 11 awareness-raising activities. Social cohesion have been evident as a result of Including Syrians and Jordanians both in the awareness sessions. Under LEAP, UN Women and IFH organized five awareness raising sessions on protection and all forms of violence targeting 72 Syrian and Jordanian women and men. In addition, awareness of 154 Jordanians and Syrians were raised on issues related to early marriage and gender-based violence through scheduled plays ( through the Hemayati project). A discussion following the play between the audience and the moderator helped to clarify issues related to early marriage. This approach promotes women's and girl's self-expression and self-awareness, while providing them with skills to articulate changes they would like to see in their reality. A consultative writing process (“writeshop”) was developed with key stakeholders to ensure ownership of the messages that feed into the development of a toolkit to disseminate specialized legal knowledge relating to violence against women and girls among non-specialized audiences. the toolkit was launched in November aiming at familiarizing and sensitizing readers with current gaps, challenges and realities of VAWG in Jordan in order to start a social dialogue that can foster positive changes in attitudes toward women and girls, as well as promote and inform legislative and policy changes.
In 2017, UN Women MCO continued to develop its own initiatives, strengthened and broadened its support to CSOs, national partners and the private sector’s initiatives to prevent VAW. As a result, a wide audience was reached (more than 3 million people, including through regular tv spots on the main national tv channel) and was mobilized during sensitization efforts and numerous events organized all year-long, and largely intensified during the 16 Days campaign, with a specific focus this year on engaging men and boys through innovative communication campaigns. The MCO succeeded in engaging partner agencies through UNCT and the Gender thematic group, national Ministries (Women’s machinery, Ministry of Justice and Liberties, Ministry of Interior), national institutions (City councils and Wilayas in Marrakech and Rabat, the Parliament), multilateral organizations (European Union Delegation), CSOs, Universities, with young boys and girls, the media and the private sector (telecommunications, public transports).
UN Women Palestine office supported MA’AN (an NGO based in the Negev which focus on legal awareness and protection of women from West Bank and Gaza and Bedouin women who live in the Negev and are subject to Israeli jurisdiction) to conduct raising awarness workshops for the West bankers and Gazan women living in the Negev. Those women face challenging issues related to their legal status with the Israeli authorities (they hold a palestinian ID, but they live in Israel with their spouses without any legal document) and many suffer from family and intimate partner violence. During the reporting period UN Women Palestine office supported MA'AN to organize 14 raising awareness workshops and targeted women from the West Bank and Gaza. The workshop covered the following issues: family status laws, residency, legal and citizenship rights and access to social and health services and VAW. Similarly, 4 workshops were organized in the Negev targeted social workers on different issues; such as: VAW, legal rights of women from the West Bank and Gaza who are married to men from the Negev. Additonally UNW Palestine office supported MA'AN in the publication of two legal newsletter discussing concerns related to the legal status and legal rights of West Bank and Gaza women who live in the Negev. 450 copies of the newsletter were printed and distributed. UNW Palestine supported Al- Muntada ( a coalition of 17 women's organizations that work on combatting VAW) to lead a national advocacy campaign on VAW, including legal discirmination against women and the need to adopt a responsive FPB. The campaign included radio episodes, TV programmes, and field awareness sessions in differnet districts , which aimed at raising awareness of public and participants on women's rights, VAW and rights' gaps existing within the applicable legislative framework in Palestine, and building allies to advocate for the adoption of a gender responsive Family Protection Bill.
Within SAWASYA - UNDP / UN Women Joint Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law: Justice and Security for Palestinian People, the PCHR (The Palestinian Center for Human Rights) conducted 30 awareness raising sessions targeted both males and females with awareness sessions on femicide, the so- called honour killing and women’s legal rights in remote and marginalized areas all over the Gaza Strip. Most of the interventions carried out within the project’s duration focused on providing legal awareness, awareness sessions about the so-called " honor killing" and femicide as a mechanism to prevent violence against women and engage men and youth mainly to advocate for women's rights- as a result of these interventions, 511 women and 247 men were targeted.
In 2017, UN Volunteers hosted by UN Women supported communications and public advocacy of gender equality among communities.
In Togo, the UNV-implemented project Voices Against Violence provided interactive, youth-centred ways for people to talk and learn about relationships and gender equity in a safe and inclusive environment. A total of 500 national volunteer teachers were trained in the principles of respectful and non-violent behaviour. They then delivered the programme in their classes and their communities – multiplying the power of the project by spreading the curriculum to thousands of young Togolese.
Partners for Prevention (P4P) was a UNDP, UNFP, UNV and UN Women regional joint programme for the prevention of violence against women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. It focused on the prevention interventions, capacity development and policy advocacy by working on the ground with local volunteers. Volunteers acted as a bridge between the UN, governments and national and regional partners. In 2017, UN Volunteers served as project coordinators with P4P in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Viet Nam.
In Afghanistan, UNV supports the Youth-Mullah Gender Volunteer Caravans, through which young Afghan men and women are crafting campaigns and visiting communities in Herat and Balkh provinces to spread their messages of gender equality.
Based on the UN framework for the prevention of violence against women, WHO, with UN Women, developed and is finalising an 8-page policy-maker friendly, infographic brochure to package the evidence about risk and protective factors , what works for prevention categorised into 7 prevention strategies., and how to scale up proven interventions This brochure packages simple key messages about the evidence on prevention in a user friendly way.
Adoption of technology in the communication between WFP and its beneficiaries (mostly women) through the exchange of calls facilitated by the Complains and Feedback Mechanisms (CFMs) is changing the role that beneficiaries play in a given assistance.
Through Cash-Based-Transfers approach from one side and regular use of CFMs on the other, beneficiaries are turning from ‘passive recipients’ into ‘active stakeholders’: today, they have a choice and they have a voice. The combination of choice/voice is resulting in a powerful tool to empower vulnerable women and men. It is a win-win solution where thanks to first-hand information received by beneficiaries, WFP improves the effectiveness of its programmes and beneficiaries have a say in their assistance.
Today, Jordan CO has one call centre managed by a total of 15 operators, with an average of 500 calls per day out of which 80% calls are answered and closed the same day. If operators receive calls and are not able to solve them immediately, they assign them to focal points for actions. Out of 15 operators, 13 are women. This due to the sensitivity and great empathy that women can show when calls come in.
Lessons learnt on the improved communication between WFP and its beneficiaries are several:
- Challenges can be turned into opportunities ( ex.: Complains feedback mechanisms, ETC-Connect project, SCOPE Platform)
- Considering the beneficiaries as ‘direct stakeholders’ is a powerful boost to assistance effectiveness. Give them voice and hear them is a ‘must’
- Leave them the choice to decide how best use the entitlement is the best way to empower them
- Providing women an opportunity to find the right place in a given assistance does not only mean an increase in their income or a solution to their distress but also an honourable status in the household or community for being listened and respected.
In March 2018, a WFP-wide awareness campaign on PSEA was conducted. This was part of an annual awareness campaign, started in January 2018 and running monthly, on WFP’s values, principles and standards, as reflected in WFP’s Code of Conduct, including protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University and UNFPA, organized a youth arts competition for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2017. The competition received over 75 submissions of artwork from youth in the Arab region and the awards event involved a presentation on engaging with visual arts as a means to respond to gender sensitive legal reform.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, produced a brochure targeting policy makers on estimating the economic costs of violence against women and a created a series of eight infographics conveying key messages on the impact of violence against women in the Arab region and responses by ESCWA Member States.
ESCWA facilitates a quarterly gender discussion series, open to all members of the community. The following topics have been addressed: Child marriage in the Arab region; Prioritizing women, peace and security on the Arab agenda; Estimating the cost of violence against women in the Arab region; and the Arab position on gender equality.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, screened the film ‘Nour’ (2017) about a fifteen-year-old girl from a Lebanese village who is forced to marry a much older man. In response to the film, audience members remarked that activists, government official and NGOs must strategize how to confront child marriage once it happens, in addition to promoting legal reform.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Asfari Institute on Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut, launched the “Lazim Campaign” during the weeks leading up to International Women’s Day 2018. Through the Lazim Campaign, prominent women throughout the Arab region shared their hopes for change in 2018, including criminalizing violence against women and developing gender-sensitive legislation.