Data Collection and Research

Analysis and publications have been completed on the basis of the WHO Multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence, such as on risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence across 15 settings, partner violence and reproductive health (associations with abortion, miscarriage and unintended pregnancy). Local teams in Kiribati and Solomon Islands, supported by AUSAID and others, completed surveys, using WHO methods and support, and they are using the results for policy and programmatic responses.

The research study supported by UNFPA and conducted by the International Center for Research on Women on “Costing Intimate Partner Violence in 3 identified countries” was finalized and a colloquium was organised in Washington DC, in May 2009, at the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) to make the findings of the study public.

In Ethiopia and Djibouti, HIV/AIDS vulnerability assessments by UNHCR were conducted for high risk groups in refugee camps. The assessments substantiated that survival sex takes place in the refugee camps. The recommendations included immediate protection measures for children who have been sexually exploited and abused, as well as setting up peer led systems, HIV/AIDS and health education to targeted groups.

UNICEF undertook in-depth research into the social dynamics of abandonment of harmful practices and social norms, in collaboration with partners. This research provided new insights and increased the understanding of social norms in perpetuating different forms of harmful traditional practices, including Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), child marriage, household violence and other forms of violence, such as sexual exploitation and trafficking.

ESCAP issued a publication on commercial sexual exploitation in the Pacific region, entitled “Pacific Perspectives on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of Children and Youth”, providing an analysis of the cultural, political, economic and social aspects of the commercial sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, as well as its root causes and consequences in the Pacific.

The Secretary-General’s database on violence against women was launched by the Deputy Secretary-General at an event convened by DAW, now part of UN Women, on 5 March 2009. The database provides the first “one-stop site” for information on measures undertaken by Member States to address violence against women, including their: legal frameworks; plans, strategies and policies; institutional mechanisms; preventative measures, including awareness-raising, and training; and services for victims/survivors.

In partnership with Gender Links, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in its capacity as Chair of the Southern African Gender and Human Rights Advisory Group, promoted the development of score-cards to measure progress in ending violence against women in the context of the SADCC Gender and Development Protocol.

The World Bank “The Measuring Empowerment in Four Countries” programme is piloting a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to measuring empowerment in different contexts. The study is being implemented in Ghana, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Bangladesh. The study focuses on the empowerment of women, and the questionnaire that is administered to women only includes questions on domestic violence and violence against women outside of the home. In Bangladesh, the partner for the implementation of the programme was the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

WHO is continuing the analysis from the database of the WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Results of research on the obstetric complications of female genital mutilation from 6 African countries were published.. WHO has continued to provide technical support to Member States on request, including on data collection and violence against women surveys, health sector response, and primary prevention.

In 2007, UNFPA, in collaboration with the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), developed a model for costing violence against women, to be used for Bangladesh, Uganda, and Morocco. Data collection has commenced.