Mar 2013 - Feb 2014

The publication of a new methodology and a regional UN Women publication on VAW costing cemented UN Women’s technical leadership in this emerging area of research in the Asia Pacific region and have contributed to the decision by seven governments in the region to undertake new or additional VAW costing studies.

Between August and December 2013, UNHCR carried out a comprehensive review of the 2012 Participatory Assessments (PAs) in 42 different countries. This review looked at the process used in different locations to carry out PAs, the content of the assessments, and their outcomes in terms of strategic planning.

UNHCR, as part of the Global Team responsible for the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS) provided technical support in data collection and analysis to 10 countries including missions to Jordan and Lebanon.

UN Women continues to lead a global knowledge management initiative to address violence against women and girls, reaching 1,428,563 visitors from 232 countries and territories in four years.

UNDP supported the establishment of national databases on VAW and domestic violence in Iraq to ensure unified and consistent reporting as well as effective monitoring of reporting and prosecution of VAW/Domestic Violence cases, as well as on femicide, in Guatemala.

OHCHR has initiated a study on sorcery- related violence with a focus on PNG, the findings of which will be available in 2014.

UNRWA continued working on its GBV referral system as well as its associated database and tracking system across its five fields of operation. A computerized database was piloted in Lebanon, while Jordan continues to explore the development of a module for GBV survivors in the Palestine Refugees Registration Information System. In the West Bank and Gaza, there was a significant improvement in data collection during the reporting period, with the majority of the referral system’s frontline staff accessing and updating the database.

ESCWA’s Centre for Women (ECW) developed a comprehensive Database on National Legislations on VAW in the Arab Region drawing on close consultations with fourteen Member States. The Database is accessible to all Member States through ESCWA’s web portal, to be used and updated as a monitoring and reporting tool on any legislative developments relevant to VAW in the region. Participating countries received training on the usage of the Database supported with an analytical regional report that summarizes the findings of all collected data and proposes a framework for action oriented measures.

UNICEF published a data-driven report ‘Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Statistical Overview and Exploration of the Dynamics of Change’, the most comprehensive and up-to-date publication on trends in FGM/C practice in the 29 countries where the practice is concentrated. The publication also includes, for the first time, estimates of data for daughters aged 0-15.

In March 2013, ECLAC published the third report of the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, which focuses on indicators of physical, economic and decision-making autonomy as seen against the backdrop of the regional agenda shaped by the consensuses reached at the Regional Conferences on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Observatory’s indicators of physical autonomy highlight the obstacles that women in the region face in seeking to take their own decisions about their sexuality and reproduction and to exercise their right to a life free of violence.