Jul 2007

UN-Habitat emphasizes programmes and strategies aimed at preventing violence against women and, to that end, promotes partnerships between all concerned stakeholders. It encourages the consultation and participation of women at each phase of a project or activity.Through the Safer Cities Programme, women safety audits and exploratory walks aim at an urban environment safer for all its inhabitants. Participants, mainly women, identify areas where the potential for crime is high or where women or other persons may feel unsafe.

In collaboration with FAO, WFP prepared action sheets for the food security sector of the IASC Guidelines for the prevention of sexual violence.

In Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, WFP has taken an active role in promoting the rights of women and girl victims of FGM/C through awareness-raising campaigns and information sharing at all levels, including regional initiatives. WFP also contributed to the policy dialogue with government counterparts and key stakeholders during the sub-regional conference on FGM/C held in Djibouti.

In 2004, UNFPA supported a campaign on honour killings in Turkey. UNFPA is working jointly with UNICEF on the prevention and treatment of sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

A network of gender focal points in regional and country offices work with UNICEF’s Gender Equality and Human Rights Unit in promoting gender issues and awareness, including on violence against women and girls, through television and radio campaigns. In line with the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children, several country offices have led campaigns on violence against children, with an emphasis on violence against girls.

UNHCR focuses its awareness and outreach programmes on people of concern, UNHCR staff and partners. UNHCR operations participate in the annual campaign “16 days of activism against gender violence” and use several community-based mechanisms to increase awareness about sexual and gender-based violence. Specific programmes have also mobilized men and boys on preventing and responding to SGBV.

UNICEF has developed a new manual for football coaches to encourage them to talk to boys about violence against women and girls, in order to promote a culture of non-violence and non-discrimination.

Specific attention is paid in UNHCR’s work to involving more male staff and refugees, including youth, in understanding, preventing and addressing sexual and gender-based violence.

The Liberia National Youth Volunteer Service has 67 national volunteers working in health centres, hospitals and schools to promote reconciliation, peace education, gender equity in schools and awareness-raising of it in the health sectors. In one district, the local women’s organization has found major supporters in male national UNV Volunteers (NUNVs); in another, the NUNVs have supported a local programme (“men and women as partners to end violence against women”), and community members report that the occurrence of gender-based violence and rape has significantly decreased.

Through the joint project, Partners for Prevention: Working with Boys and Men to Prevent Gender-Based Violence in Asia-Pacific, UNV and UNFPA, together with their partners, are mobilizing boys and men as allies for ending violence and discrimination against women and girls as well as advancing gender equality. Women’s advocates and women empowerment groups are further strengthened in their participatory capacities and leadership skills to enhance the effectiveness of their efforts.