Oct 2009 - Feb 2010

ECLAC prepared an updated version of the regional interagency report on violence against women on the basis of the information available in recent demographic and health surveys. The report was presented as part of the launching of the regional chapter of the Secretary General’s Campaign to end violence against women in Guatemala City, in November 2009).

ECLAC prepared a study analyzing the sources of information available in Latin America and the Caribbean in relation to the set of interim indicators on violence against women, approved by the Statistical Commission at its 40th session (2009).

A meeting of the Friends of the Chair group, organized by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía of Mexico and UNSD, took place in Mexico, in December 2009, on statistical indicators on violence against women. The meeting focused on the content of the recommended set of indicators, irrespective of the source of statistics; the list of indicators for statistical surveys on violence against women; and the future development of international statistical guidelines to conduct statistical surveys on violence against women.

IOM published a study on Gender and Labour Migration in Asia which addresses the impact of labour migration on gender roles and the gendered division of labour in the household in six countries, namely Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The study covers different migration scenarios (women “independent” migration, men outmigration and parental couples’s migration) and highlights how violence, whether of a physical, psychological, sexual or economic nature, can mark women’s migratory experience.

A WHO intervention study to identify and respond to women suffering violence during antenatal care has started in 2 countries in sub Saharan Africa.

With the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, WHO is supporting capacity building of health services to respond to the consequences of sexual violence in sub-Saharan Africa.

UNRWA carried out a number of activities to build referral systems to improve victims’ access to services. The Lebanon Field Office began the implementation of their referral system in the Tyr Area and the Gaza Field Office drafted a referral system based on the services offered by the different programs. The West Bank Field Office is developing a family protection referral system and held several workshops to discuss principles and standards, also in 4 refugees camps (Dheisheh, Fawwar, Jalazon and Qalandia) in order to establish the referral system.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, contributed to government funds for Tajikistan’s Girls’ Support Centre and supported advocacy and survivor support networks in Algeria, Argentina, Morocco and Uruguay.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, continued to provide technical and other support, in the context of joint United Nations efforts, to service provision initiatives.

In Somalia, UNDP continued to support the project “Access to Justice Project in Somalia” and the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in Hargeisa, Somaliland, now operates as a ‘one-stop’ location, where victims of GBV can receive medical care and counselling. In Democratic Republic of Congo, the project “Support Community Development for Women Associated with and Affected by Armed Conflicts” supports leadership development and economic empowerment of women associated with or affected by armed conflict.