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ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, supported the Lebanese Ministry of State for Women’s Affairs to develop a national strategy on violence against women. This consultative national strategy, included interviews and focus group discussions with line ministries; several national and sub national validation workshops; and a high-level meeting to discuss the draft strategy.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, UN Women, OHCHR and UNDP in Lebanon, is providing technical support to the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) to develop a National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, supported the Lebanese Ministry of State for Women’s Affairs to develop a project on costing violence against women. This included developing a project proposal, conducting field work, holding national consultations, developing an operational model for Lebanon, holding a second national consultation, developing a national survey to measure the prevalence of violence against women, analysing the government budget, and developing a national survey for services.
ESCWA conducted three field visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a national consultation to discuss elements of an operational model on estimating the cost of marital violence. This involved engaging with the National Family Affairs Council, in addition to other stakeholders such as governmental entities and civil society members providing services for survivors of family violence.
ESCWA conducted a field mission to Iraq to prepare for the implementation of a project on costing violence against women in Iraq.
ESCWA participated in a consultation with the Egyptian National Council for Women and the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) to discuss practical steps towards carrying out a national study on violence against women with disabilities. This meeting was the second such consultation facilitated by ESCWA to determine the parameters and methodology of the study.
ESCWA facilitated a Regional Workshop on the Measurement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Violence against Women and Time Use Statistics Indicators with senior gender experts/statisticians from national statistical offices, ministries of gender equality and women’s affairs. The workshop addressed selected SDG indicators, focusing on the following gender concerns: physical, sexual, psychological violence against women perpetrated by an intimate partner and sexual violence against women perpetrated by a person other than an intimate partner.
ESCWA supported the Ministry of Women, Family, Childhood and Elderly in Tunisia to better understand the availability and quality of data needed to carry out an estimation of the cost of violence in Tunisia.
ESCWA, the League of Arab States and UN Women, in partnership with the Swedish Institute in Alexandria and UNDP held a workshop on the different pillars of reporting when preparing National Voluntary Reports (VNR). Discussion included the tools available at the regional level to report on SDG 5, and the role of national stakeholders in preparing the VNR.
ESCWA and UNFPA Regional Office in Beirut organized a workshop on monitoring, control and protection of human rights including sexual and reproductive health and rights. This workshop targeted national human rights institutions and National Women’s Machineries in the Arab region, as well as in some countries of the Horn of Africa. The workshop sought to strengthen collaboration between National Women’s Machineries and national human rights institutions, especially in documenting the status of women and women’s sexual and reproductive health within the framework of international conventions.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, become an International Gender Champion and as such, committed to raise global awareness about the gendered impact of weapons, from small arms and light weapons to weapons of mass destruction.
The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, published an op-ed on the relationship between gender equality and gun violence against women and girls
The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) also presented at a regional workshop on Enhancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Northeast Asia, which aimed to address global linkages and synergies between disarmament and Women, Peace and Security efforts, as well as gender aspects and approaches in regional disarmament initiatives.
UNODC promotes the Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking. In the framework of the UNODC Education for Justice Initiative, the Office raised awareness on trafficking in persons through 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. This includes dedicated modules and resources on gender and organized crime, including trafficking in persons. UNODC published an article on gender-responsive approaches in evaluation and programming to better address trafficking in persons (p. 22 ff.)
In Mexico, UNODC supported the development of a videogame called Chuka, which aims to teach children to recognize the most common types of violence against women and girls, and act assertively when facing different representations of such violence.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, organized a youth arts competition for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2018. The competition attracted a record number of submissions – almost 200 – from young people from 10 Arab States, who submitted paintings, photos, videos, songs and poems on the theme ‘#HearMeToo’: Speak up against violence against women and girls.” The best submissions were showcased at an event, which also featured a roundtable discussion on arts and activism.
ESCWA engaged with students enrolled in the Fashion Design Programme at the Lebanese American University School of Architecture and Design to create designs for a tote-bag to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism campaign. This activity engaged students and solicited their artistic abilities to produce a bag with a powerful message. As part of the partnership, ESCWA staff also led a discussion on gender-based violence with the students to inspire their work.
ESCWA launched a social media campaign for the 16 Days of Activism campaign. ESCWA created a set of 16 cards presenting key facts about gender-based violence in the Arab region, as well as concrete steps that can be taken by youth and the general public to address it. The cards were shared on ESCWA social media channels in English and Arabic on each of the 16 Days of Activism, as part of a broader social media campaign that also featured videos, polls and other multimedia content.
ESCWA facilitates gender discussion series, open to all members of the community. The following topics have recently been addressed: How cinema and theatre can advance women’s rights; and Protection orders in the Arab region.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN DESA and Simon Fraser University in Canada, hosted the Symposium on Women and Water Security for Peacebuilding in the Arab Region. The objective of the Symposium was to review and advance the emerging water security gender nexus in the Arab region, through the lens of the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
ESCWA partnered with the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University (LAU) to utilize ESCWA publications in the curriculum for an M.A. program in “Interdisciplinary Gender Studies” at LAU. This included ESCWA staff leading interactive discussions with students on subjects such as women’s political participation, violence against women, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and the regional state of gender justice in the Arab region.
In 2017 and 2018, two key training workshops were held for FAO staff and partners in Somalia (Mogadishu and Hargeissa) and north east Nigeria (Maiduguri). The scope of the trainings was to support the integration of gender, gender-based violence and accountability to affected populations (AAP) in FAO’s programming and planning. They were articulated around participatory, practical and interactive sessions and participants were oriented on relevant global frameworks such as the World Humanitarian Summit, Grand Bargain commitments and the Secretary-General’s Bulletin on PSEA as well as have the opportunity to apply tools for gender and GBV analysis and assessment, amongst others.
In Nigeria, the importance of energy access for affected populations in the context of acute emergencies and protracted crises cannot be overstated. Vulnerable populations – including refugees, IDPs and the communities hosting them – often have very limited access to cooking fuel and other forms of energy. Women and children primarily shoulder the burden of collecting fuelwood and preparing meals for the family. This gender-differentiated role has major consequences in terms of productive time lost and exposure to protection risks and health risks. Against this background, the participatory, practical and context-specific training was delivered on challenges relating to energy access, environment and displacement, with a focus on resilience programming and gender mainstreaming in the three Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.
1. The International Training Centre of the ILO collaborated with the Fair Wear Foundation to organize the Gender Forum on October 2017, a practical training and knowledge-sharing event. 2. The Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme is an ILO global programme that improves productivity and working conditions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Several SCORE Trainings in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia focused on gender inclusion and violence in the workplace have taken place in 2017 or are scheduled for 2018. 1. In 2017, the project TRIANGLE in ASEAN conducted trainings on women’s empowerment and gender equality for all TRIANGLE staff and implementing partners in each of its six target countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam –. These were attended by 173 people and included sessions on gender awareness, gender biases and stereotypes, different dimensions of discrimination and gender responsiveness.2. A series of information sessions took place in early 2018 in selected Arab States to prepare ILO constituents to participate in the International Labour Conference discussions on a possible international instrument on violence and harassment in the world of work.3. The ILO country Office in Dakar organized a round table discussion entitled “A world of work without violence and harassment”, which led to the constitution of a working group on the issue and the creation of a questionnaire to identify situations of violence and harassment. 4. The ILO organized a workshop entitled “Equality of opportunity and treatment in the workplace” on the occasion of the fourth meeting of the Economic and Social Commission of the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA). 5. From January 2017 to March 2018, Better Work has provided five training activities on sexual harassment prevention in Bangladesh, involving a total of 547 participants.
View More1. The International Training Centre of the ILO collaborated with the Fair Wear Foundation to organize the Gender Forum on October 2017, a practical training and knowledge-sharing event.
2. The Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme is an ILO global programme that improves productivity and working conditions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Several SCORE Trainings in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia focused on gender inclusion and violence in the workplace have taken place in 2017 or are scheduled for 2018.
1. In 2017, the project TRIANGLE in ASEAN conducted trainings on women’s empowerment and gender equality for all TRIANGLE staff and implementing partners in each of its six target countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam –. These were attended by 173 people and included sessions on gender awareness, gender biases and stereotypes, different dimensions of discrimination and gender responsiveness.
2. A series of information sessions took place in early 2018 in selected Arab States to prepare ILO constituents to participate in the International Labour Conference discussions on a possible international instrument on violence and harassment in the world of work.
3. The ILO country Office in Dakar organized a round table discussion entitled “A world of work without violence and harassment”, which led to the constitution of a working group on the issue and the creation of a questionnaire to identify situations of violence and harassment.
4. The ILO organized a workshop entitled “Equality of opportunity and treatment in the workplace” on the occasion of the fourth meeting of the Economic and Social Commission of the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA).
5. From January 2017 to March 2018, Better Work has provided five training activities on sexual harassment prevention in Bangladesh, involving a total of 547 participants.
Gender Unit: A new DPKO and DFS gender policy- Gender Responsive United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (2018.01) - developed and endorsed in February 2018. The new policy incorporates a targeted focus on ensuring accountability to SGBV prevention and response across the UN Peacekeeping functions
UNMAS: IACG-MA is currently undertaking a review and update to the United Nations Gender Guidelines for Mine Action Programmes (2010) to ensure that the different needs of girls, women, boys and men are incorporated into the full project management cycle of mine action programming.
SSR: In Mali, MINUSMA has supported the inclusion of gender in strategies developed by the SSR National Committee, as well as the implementation of the 2015 peace agreement, which includes a 30% female quota in security institutions. 2. In Somalia, UNSOM has promoted increased recruitment of women to the security sector. It has also provided advocacy and technical guidance for the Security Pact signed between the government and the international community in May 2017, which contains a specific milestone stating that all security sector institutions must adopt and implement a gender strategy.
JCS: Recognising the relevance of women representation as An important element that enables women’s access to justice and response, in coordination with OMA and PD, JCS has drafted a gender parity strategy for its uniformed corrections personnel which lays out clear measures and timelines for the achievement and sustainable maintenance of at least 30% female uniformed corrections officers deployed to UN peace operations.
ESCWA hosted the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia Committee on Women, eighth session, in October 2017 in Beirut, Lebanon. During this gathering of member states, there was a roundtable discussion on the economic cost of violence against women, which addressed the importance of estimating the economic cost of violence against women, the implications of marital violence on women, children, communities and society, and the efforts exerted by Arab countries in designing strategies and adopting laws aimed at combatting violence against women. A second roundtable discussion addressed the role of institutions in times of peace and war in the Arab region, including the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda.
ESCWA drafted a series of briefs to better inform policy in member states, including: “Institutional Mechanisms for Gender Accountability in the Arab Region,” which argues for greater accountability of institutions to achieve gender justice, including efforts to combat violence against women; “Estimating Costs of Marital Violence in the Arab Region: Operational Model,” which outlines the ways in which costing violence against women can be applied to the Arab region; “The Role of Women in Peacebuilding Processes,” which argues for women’s greater participation in formal and informal peace processes, which may impact the perpetration conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence; and, “Enhancing the Role of Institutions in Achieving Gender Equality in the Arab Region: The Economic Cost of Violence against Women,” which advocates for Member States, academia and research institutions to conduct costings of intimate partner violence in the Arab region.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Swedish Institute of Alexandria and UN Women, coordinated a Regional Consultation on the Economic Costing of Violence Against Women. The consultation aimed to assist Member States in their efforts to eliminate violence against women and to implement their international obligations. The Regional Consultation built upon the results of the first phase of a regional project implemented by ESCWA in cooperation with UN Women on the economic cost of violence against women.
ESCWA hosted a panel discussion on “The Role of Women, Youth and Civil Society in Post-Conflict Peace and Reconstruction Processes” as part of a larger discussion on State-building and Institutional Development in Post-Conflict Settings: Opportunities and Challenges in Libya and Yemen. The panel considered the role of women, youth and civil society in post-conflict peace and reconstruction processes. Case studies from Tunisia, Libya and Yemen provided examples of women, youth and other stakeholders, who have successfully challenged restrictive norms and overcame social barriers to actively participate in the reconstruction of their communities and states.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at the Lebanese American University, hosted a Regional Consultation on Current Political Developments and Their Impact on Arab Women. Engaging with human rights and women’s rights experts from the Arab region and beyond, the consultation sought to achieve a better understanding of the current political situation in the region and assess the impact it might have on women and their recent legal and socio-economic achievements, including violence against women legal reform.