Mar 2013 - Feb 2014

Numerous UN entities, as key member of the Secretary-General’s Campaign Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls, launched various campaigns and events to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in 2013. For example, OHCHR created a dedicated web page, organised an online panel discussion on the role of small arms on gender-based violence. UNDP organized a meeting in Namimbia aimed at mobilizing men in EVAW.

In Cambodia, with the support of UN Women, the 2nd National Action Plan to Prevent VAW has been drafted, with advocacy, capacity development, VAW costing and prevention being established as government priorities. A participatory mechanism for EVAW coordination in Cambodia has been also established, setting the ground for an integrated multi-sectoral approach.

The joint UNDP-UN Women regional study "The States’commitment: Plans and policies to end violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean" analyzes in depth the national plans of action of 32 countries in the region, their links to the existing legislative framework and lessons learned.

UNDP, often in partnership with other UN agencies, supported the development or revision and implementation of national action plans and strategies to address VAW in general (Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Nepal, OPT, and Zimbambwe), or specific forms such as trafficking (Albania), domestic violence (Albania, Serbia), or electoral VAW (Nepal). It also contributed to the integration of gender-based violence and the engagement of men and boys in National Strategic Plans on HIV in Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.

The Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has designed an analysis matrix for identifying fair gender equality policies which proposes an assessment of the capacity of public policies to tackle: (a) socioeconomic injustice, (b) legal and cultural injustice, and (c) representation injustice. This initiative aims to highlight fair policies from a gender perspective as well as their assessment and implementation.

UNODC conducted a situational assessment on gender-based violence to support national strategic planning efforts of Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland.

Under the UNAIDS Action for Results: Outcomes Framework 2009-2011, UNFPA, UNDP, UN WOMEN, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, in collaboration with the Men Engage Alliance (Sonke Gender Justice and the Athena Network), as well as the Interagency Working Group on Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV – supported select pilot countries in addressing the linkages between GBV and HIV and AIDS in national strategic plans; building effective partnerships at the national level in order to integrate a comprehensive response to violence against women and girls into national AIDS strategies and plans; and strengthening

In 2013, twenty-one countries, with the support of UN Women, took the critical step in adopting laws, policies and plans that provide the authorizing environment for concrete action to be taken to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. For example, in Bolivia, after 10 years of advocacy by the women’s movement and with the support of UN Women, the Comprehensive Law to Guarantee Women a Life Free of Violence was enacted, recognizing 16 forms of abuse, establishing new criminal offenses and making provision for comprehensive prevention and response measures.

UNDP supported Governments to ratify (republic of Serbia) or implement, through national legal reforms (Albania) the Istanbul Convention (The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence).UNDP supported the development or revision of laws and constitutions, including the new Constitution in Tunisia with ground-breaking provisions to ensure women’s equality, while explicitly committing to eliminate violence against women; the Constitution of Zimbambwe which removed clauses allowing the application of gender discriminatory customary laws;

In partnership with UN-WOMEN and the Norwegian Embassy in Beirut, the ESCWA Centre for Women (ECW) has jointly published a flagship publication entitled “Combating Domestic violence: Policies to Empower Women in the Arab Region”, in addition to a policy brief building on the main findings of this study.