Feb 2017 - Apr 2018

UNRWA’s Gender Equality Strategy (2016-2021), Integrating Gender, Improving Services, Impacting Lives serves to guide and frame all gender-related work by the Agency, including work on GBV.

Women with mental disabilities held in Serbia’s institutions often suffer multiple forms of violence. A recent study by Mental Disability Rights Initiative-Serbia (MDRI-S) uncovered multiple forms of violence, including forced medical treatment such as the administration of contraceptives without informed consent, and forced abortions and sterilization.

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

UNRWA does not generally work on legislation development but provides input as and when requested by host governments and partners.

ACDemocracia worked in Ecuador to promote access to justice for women and girl survivors of violence. The UN Trust Fund-supported project seeks to promote the application of normative frameworks and policies for the protection of women’s rights by influencing legislative reform and changing cultural norms. The project is working with the Decentralized Autonomous Governments to strengthen the institutional response to violence at the local level. 

IOM’s reparations programmes are supporting governments to identify and rehabilitate survivors through dedicated trainings for professionals and by promoting sensitive and non-stigmatizing services. These tools and services are embedded in a holistic mechanism that encompasses psychosocial, physical and social rehabilitation with transitional justice and memory preservation/validation.

Peace Operations regularly support national legal, judicial and correctional institutions in gender-sensitive reform processes, including legal and policy reform. Peacekeeping missions, in partnership with the UNCT and the women civil society actors have been supporting gender responsive legislative development, including addressing SGBV and VAW. Particular missions to mention – Haiti (MINUJUSTH), CAR (MINUSCA), DRC(MONUSCO), Mali(MINUSMA) and Sudan (with  UNAMID) 

UNRWA has continued the implementation of its multi-year programme titled 'Building Safety' aimed at enhancing the Agency's capacity to address GBV in emergencies. Work has progressed during this period focusing on the following areas: i) prevention of GBV among Palestine refugees; ii) mitigation of GBV risks in emergencies; iii) enhancing the capacity of Agency staff to respond to GBV. 

The UN Trust Fund as a UN system wide grant giving mechanism, specialized in ending violence against women, coordinates and collects inputs from 21 UN agencies present at the Program Advisory Committee of the UN Trust Fund’s governance body throughout the grants selection stage. 

During the implementation and monitoring stage, the UN Trust Fund provides training to UN Women field colleagues on the reporting requirements for the grantees, as well as on EVAW programmatic and technical aspects of the grantees’ project implementation. 

IOM is supporting the development of Interagency GBV Minimum Standards.