Measures

During the 5th session of the Committee on Women held from 19 to 21 December 2011 at the UN house in Lebanon, a session was dedicated to discussing the issue of violence against women (VAW), and the main findings and recommendations of ESCWA’s Regional Study on Violence against women included: 1) the enactment of special laws to criminalize the acts of VAW ; 2) provision of services for the protection of victims of VAW and their psychological, social and physical rehabilitation; and 3) initiation of nation-wide campaigns to raise awareness about the negative effects of VAW and sensitize the public at large. Hide

In June 2011, the International Labour Conference adopted the Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. The new standards are a strong recognition of the economic and social value of domestic work and a call for action to address the existing exclusions of domestic workers from labour and social protection. Article 5 of Convention No. 189 calls for measures to ensure that domestic workers enjoy effective protection against all forms of abuse, harassment and violence. Hide

Following the Pilot/Pre-testing survey on violence against women, carried out within the work programme of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) during 2011, UNICRI, in partnership with IPSOS and HEUNI, is currenlty working on the FRA Violence Against Women Survey, involving 27 EU countries and 1 accessing country, Croatia. The survey will consist of 1,500 standardised interviews in each country concerning experiences of violence against women. This is the first survey carried out in the 28 countries. The data provided by the survey will be crucial for comparative analysis, for scientifically based information on the extension of violence against women and for developing and evaluating legislation and policies to fight violence against women. The project will end in November 2012. Hide

DPI’s UN Radio produced a variety of programmes in the six UN official languages plus Kiswahili and Portuguese on violence against women, including features on abuses suffered by women in conflict and post-conflict situations. Hide

The Joint Human Rights Office of MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC) issued special reports on sexual violence notably in the DRC. It is also implementing a program to increase access to justice for victims and witnesses, including through technical and financial assistance to local non-governmental organizations to enable them to provide free legal advice to victims of sexual violence, as well as support to prosecutors and judicial investigators. Hide

In Sudan, the Human Rights Section of UNAMID organized workshops addressing sexual gender-based violence in West Darfur; it has developed and install billboards related to sexual gender-based violence around South Darfur; it has produced leaflets on the mandate, role and services of the Family and Child Protection Units; and it has trained State actors on human rights and criminal investigation procedures. Hide

In October 2011, in collaboration with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and the Togolese Ministry of Women Affairs, the ECA organized a Regional Stakeholders’ Meeting in Togo on “Women’s Access to Legal and Judicial Services”, which focused on access to justice for women victims of violence including in conflict settings, and on the need for a multisectoral response to victims through the provision of legal, medical and psychosocial support services. Hide

The ECA, through its African Center for Gender and Social Development (ACGSD), has developed the Follow-up Strategy of the Beijing +15 Regional Review, which defines an approach to operationalise the Banjul Declaration as well as those outcomes of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women that relate specifically to Africa. The strategy identifies seven strategic focus areas, one of which is violence against women. Key recommendations include the need to adopt and implement a multi-sectoral plan to address gender-based violence, within the framework of the United Nations Secretary-General’s “UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls” campaign; as well as ensuring the enactment and strengthening of laws to address it. Hide

The African Women’s Rights Observatory (AWRO), launched by the ECA in 2007, was presented at the 7th session of the Committee on Women and Development (CWD), held in May, 2011. The 44 member states present during the session commended the initiative and moreover, have committed to appoint focal persons in order to provide data on a timely basis. Hide

ECA produced a synthesis report of studies conducted in Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia which provides an overview of violence against women (VAW) in each country, the scale and prevalence of different forms of VAW, its causes and consequences. It also identifies gaps in knowledge and data collection and gives particular attention to good practices in addressing VAW. Hide