United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
United Nations Headquarters. DC1 Building. Room 613. One United Nations Plaza. New York, NY 10017. USA
Background
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is mandated to assist Member States In their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development draws together the strands of peace, the rule of law, human rights, development and equality into a comprehensive and forward-looking framework. Reducing conflict, crime, violence, discrimination, and ensuring inclusion and good governance, are key elements of people’s well-being and essential for securing sustainable development. UNODC helps Member States to strengthen legislative, judicial and health systems to better safeguard their populations, especially the most vulnerable groups. Its work on preventing and addressing violence against women and promoting access to justice is part of its mandate to strengthen the rule of law through the prevention of crime and the promotion of effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal justice systems in line with the UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice.
Policy framework
UNODC’s policy framework for addressing violence against women is contained in the following documents: (i) General Assembly resolution “Crime prevention and criminal justice measures to eliminate violence against women” (52/86); (ii) General Assembly resolution 48/104 (adopting the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women); (iii) General Assembly resolution 65/228 (adopting the Updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice;(iv) General Assembly resolution 65/229 (adopting United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)); (v) Economic and Social Council resolution “Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime” (2005/20), which is pertinent to girls; (vi) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; and General Assembly resolutions on taking action against gender-related killing of women and girls (A/Res/68/191 and A/Res/70/176).
Areas of Focus
UNODC works to prevent and address violence against women and human trafficking , as well as to develop policies in support of women victims of violence, and women in prisons. UNODC integrates gender dimensions and the question of violence against women into its efforts to build the capacity of criminal justice systems. UNODC also assists Member States in addressing specific vulnerabilities of women and children who fall into the hands of smugglers.
UNODC offers assistance in strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice system responses to violence against women. Such responses include more efficient laws and policies and enhanced capacity of criminal justice systems to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish related crimes, to provide access to justice and legal aid and to assist and protect victims and witnesses. UNODC provides legal and policy advice, training and capacity building to Member States upon request.
The Office supports and undertakes research related to trafficking in persons, including on the nature of trafficking and national and regional responses to trafficking. UNODC implements technical assistance projects, produces and disseminates public service announcements to counter trafficking in persons, and conducts outreach activities.
Further, UNODC manages the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, that enables the provision of protection, humanitarian and legal assistance to victims of this crime, in particular women and girls who have been sexually exploited. Assistance is provided through a careful selection of projects implemented by specialized, grassroots NGOs worldwide.
Resources
- Gender in the Criminal Justice System Assessment Tool (2010). The tool forms part of the Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit and it addresses inter alia the treatment of survivors of violence against women by the criminal justice system.
- Strengthening Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Responses to Violence against Women (2014). This tool contains an implementation plan for criminal justice systems to prevent and respond to violence against women.
- Handbook on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women (2010).
- Training Curriculum on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women (2010).
- Handbook on Effective Prosecution Responses to Violence against Women and Girls (2014).
- Resource Book for Trainers on Effective Prosecution Responses to Violence against Women and Girls (2017).
- Toolkit on Strengthening the Medico-Legal Response to Sexual Violence (2017).
- Gender-Related killing of Women and Girls Brochure (2015).
- Essential services package for women and girls subject to violence (2015).
- A Practitioner's Toolkit on Women's Access to Justice Programming (2018).
- The Bangkok Rules-United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders with their Commentary (2015).
- Handbook on Women and Imprisonment (2014).
- Training curriculum on Women and Imprisonment Version 1.0 (2015).
- Information note for criminal justice practitioners on non-custodial measures for women offenders (2015).
- E-learning course on Alternatives to Imprisonment for Women Offenders.
UNODC supported countries in awareness-raising and advocacy for ending violence against women, including:
UNODC established the GLO.ACT Women's Network of Regional Champions against Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling, composed of female and male gender champions from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.
UNODC supported ICAT events to promote CEDAW General Recommendation 38 and advocate for survivor-centered approaches to address human trafficking and the non-punishment of trafficking victims.
UNODC promotes the Blue Heart Campaign.UNODC is developing a Human Rights and Gender mainstreaming tool to contribute towards gender transformative programming and assist policy makers, practitioners and UN staff when implementing activities to counter migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons
View MoreUNODC promotes the Blue Heart Campaign.
UNODC is developing a Human Rights and Gender mainstreaming tool to contribute towards gender transformative programming and assist policy makers, practitioners and UN staff when implementing activities to counter migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.
In the framework of the Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT), UNODC is preparing to launch a women’s network among partner countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq and Pakistan) to promote and foster the participation of women professionals (government and civil society) in combating trafficking and smuggling. It was publicly announced on 10 December 2019 at an awareness-raising event held for the 2019 campaign '16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence' and International Human Rights Day.
Additionally, UNODC developed a 3 hour university module, accompanied by an educational video, on the Gender Dimensions of Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling tailored for academic teachers.
In the MENA region, UNODC continued improving prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women and girls through a regional project and the Joint UN Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls subject to Violence, with Egypt and Tunisia serving as pilot countries.
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.
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.
In Vietnam, the Domestic Violence Minimum Intervention Package was implemented in two provinces, and 12 Domestic Violence Rapid Response Teams were established.
In Peru, UNODC started implementing a new project on crime prevention and victim assistance, which is aimed at reducing small-arms violence and promoting dialogue for peaceful coexistence, addressing the needs of vulnerable groups and reducing the vulnerability of adolescents to gender-based violence by promoting education and health programmes.
In Vietnam, UNODC implemented the Domestic Violence Minimum Intervention Package and supported establishing 18 Domestic Violence Rapid Response Teams and continued to provide support to national authorities in awareness raising activities. It also continued producing successful television programmes to raise public awareness on domestic violence.