Feb 2008 - Sept 2008

ECLAC initiated the development of a Gender Observatory, as a tool to support governments in analysing regional realities, monitoring gender equality policies and international agreements, and providing technical support and training to national mechanisms for the advancement of women, as well as to national statistical agencies in countries that request such support. Violence against women is one of four main issues of concern of the Observatory.

ECA’s African Center for Gender and Social Development (ACGSD/UNECA), in collaboration with UNDP regional gender programme for Africa, developed the African Women’s Rights Observatory (AWRO) website. Violence against women is one of the three thematic areas covered by the AWRO. The AWRO was officially launched on 28 August 2008, at the Conference of Ministers of Gender and Women’s Affairs in Addis Abba.

ECA, in partnership with the African Union (AU) and development partners, has set up the Network on Gender-Based Violence/Violence against Women (GBV/VAW), in Addis Ababa. Its members include Regional Economic Communities, the Swedish, Finnish, Danish and South African Embassies, United Nations agencies and civil society organizations.

DAW, now part of UN Women, co-sponsored, together with the Permanent Missions of Canada and of Finland to the United Nations, the presentation of the book "Violence against Women: An International Perspective" which presents comparative results for nine of the countries which have implemented the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS).

In September 2008, DAW, now part of UN Women, sent a questionnaire to Member States on measures undertaken to address violence against women, for the purpose of obtaining information for the Secretary-General’s database on violence against women (A/RES/61/143, para. 19).

UNRWA has developed guidelines, a referral system and a training course for health staff on handling cases of violence against women and children in UNRWA clinics. The UNRWA West Bank field office produced a draft brochure on domestic violence for health clinics.

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include capacity building workshops for women in Panama; psychological counselling in Venezuela and Turkey; distribution of sanitary materials in India and Thailand; improved access to health facilities and income-generation activities in India; allocation of subsistence allowances to unaccompanied children in Egypt; language classes in Malta, vocational training in Bosnia; and the establishment of safe houses in Yemen and Turkey.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, through its gender-responsive budgeting programme in South East Europe, supported civil society, which led to increased regional and municipal budget allocations in 2008 for domestic violence shelters in Bosnia and Herzegovina and amendments to the domestic violence law to ensure co-financing for shelter operations.

As part of its celebration of International Women’s Day 2008, UNESCO‘s Division for Gender Equality, in collaboration with WHO, hosted the première of the documentary “Mutilation, Women’s Cries”, by the French-Gabonese association Kerciné. A UNESCO video spot to raise awareness and combat violence against women entitled “Being Fed Up” was posted online in April 2008 and is available at:http://www.unesco-ci.org/cgi-bin/media/page.cgi?g=Detailed/128.html;d=1

FAO is participating in the implementation of joint programmes in Guatemala and Morocco, under the One-UN initiative. The multisectorial joint Programme in Morocco aims at protecting women and girls against all forms of violence (economic, physical, verbal, psychological, sexual and trafficking) and addresses the linkages with poverty and vulnerability.