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ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, UNHCR, OCHA, and the International Committee for the Red Cross, participated in a Consultation Meeting for the Committee on Protection of Arab Women during Armed Conflicts organized by the League of Arab States and UN Women. During the meeting, participants agreed on establishing an Arab Emergency Committee. ESCWA discussed the role of institutions working for women’s rights in times of stability and conflict and advocated for a wider adoption of a National Action Plan on women, peace and security in the Arab region.
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.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, are assisting the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Lebanon to develop a national strategy to combat violence against women.
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 conducted a field visit and a national consultation on estimating the cost of marital violence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This involved engaging with the National Family Affairs Council, in addition to other stakeholders such a government entities and civil society members providing services for survivors of family violence.
ESCWA is developing “Training Guide: The Economic Cost of Violence” that will be used as part of a larger future training and capacity building exercise on how to cost violence against women in the Arab region. The guide provides an overview of what is involved in conducting a costing study, including how to design a survey.
ESCWA facilitated a workshop for the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security in the Republic of Sudan on the women, peace and security agenda, and shared positive experiences from the region and elsewhere. National priorities and possible partnerships were discussed and recommendations shared.
ESCWA supported the General Women’s Union in the United Arab Emirates on developing a national strategy on women, peace and security.
ESCWA, in partnership with UNFPA, facilitated a workshop entitled to “International Mechanisms for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women between the Text and the Judicial Application” that aimed to enhance the capacity of the government of Lebanon and the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) to develop a national strategy to combat violence against women.
ESCWA, in partnership with the Free Sight Association, the Geneva Institute for Human Rights (GIHR), the International Institute for Nonviolence (NOVACT), the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), and the Tunisian Association “TIGAR” for Equitable Citizenship, participated in a workshop that was part a project on “Tunisian Women, Peace and Security.” The workshop brought together 25 participants from local NGOs in the Governorate of Kasserine to discuss their role in the implementation and monitoring of the national action plan on women, peace and security in Tunisia.
ESCWA facilitated a workshop on “The Role of Media and Academia in Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Lebanon,” to facilitate the development of the women, peace and security agenda in Lebanon.
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.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, is currently conducting a full fledged project on estimating the cost of VAW in the Arab region. This project consists of two phases: the first one includes two studies (namely, “Status of Arab Women Report: Violence against Women: What is At Stake” and "Model for costing domestic violence against women in the Arab region"). The former, produced in partnership with UN Women and the Lebanese American University, provides a contextualized understanding of VAW and its importance, examines the existing reporting mechanisms, explores the linkages between VAW and social, economic and health factors, and reviews the relevant methodologies with a view to identify the most suitable one for the Arab region. This first study paves the way for the development of the regional economic model to estimate the cost of VAW in the region, which is addressed in the second study in partnership with UN Women. The second phase of the project focuses on building the capacity of member States on the importance of costing violence against women, as well as piloting the economic model in two Arab countries.
ESCWA is currently developing a study entitled "Women, Peace and Security: The role of institutions at times of peace and war". This study builds on previous work on the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security, which has protection as one of its main pillars. Within this framework, ESCWA organised in partnership with the Lebanese American University a conference on "Prioritizing Women, Peace and Security on the Arab Agenda" (8-10 August 2016), where the "Beirut Call for Action" was endorsed by experts from academia, UN agencies and Civil Societies Organizations.
ESCWA, in partnership with UN Women, ABAAD Resource Centre for Gender Equality and the Lebanese American University, has commemorated the 16 days of activism against Gender Based Violence campaign (25th November-10th December 2016) and organised a series of awareness raising activities. These include a video competition among the youth in the Arab region to send a message on 'how to stop violence against women', a panel discussion with experts and CSOs on estimating the cost of VAW, and a public event to promote civil engagement on the topic.
In terms of protection, support and services, ESCWA developed in 2015 a toolkit for service and protection provision to address Gender-Based Violence in the Arab region. This toolkit, developed in partnership with CAWTAR, targeted Government representatives, religious leaders and media professionals with a view to change gender-related behaviours and perspectives in public policy and the public sphere.
In 2015, ESCWA produced a background paper on the socioeconomic impact of wars on women and girls in the Arab region. The paper shows that Gender-Based Violence is one of the most relevant repercussions of wars on women and girls and proposes recommendations at the institutional and legal levels.
Throughout the period 2014 to 2016, ESCWA has delivered relevant advisory services on VAW legislation to three Member States. In June 2014, ESCWA provided support to the adoption of new legislation on violence against women in Egypt. ESCWA supported national efforts to enact legislation on VAW in Egypt by co-organizing a workshop to present the UN Model Law on Violence against Women and related international instruments. This workshop targeted senior officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and members of the National Council for Women, as well as service providers and practitioners. The workshop allowed participants to share experiences and lessons learned. In December 2014, ESCWA provided advisory services to Tunisia to discuss the draft law to combat Violence against Women and Girls.