Data Collection and Research

FAO encouraged the disaggregation of data by sex and age in the agricultural and rural sectors.

As part of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network (PNI), UNICRI published the proceedings of a PNI workshop on "Eliminating violence against women: forms, strategies and tools" on the occasion of the seventeenth session of the United Nations Commission On Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Vienna, 14 April 2008). The publication is available at the following link:http://www.unicri.it/wwk/publications/books/docs/eliminating_violence.pdf

In May 2008, UN-INSTRAW, now part of UN Women, undertook an assessment of gender-based violence in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Noel in the Dominican Republic. The study revealed that there was very little attention to, or provision in post-disaster reconstruction efforts to address gender-based violence, particularly among residents of temporary shelters.

A technical consultation was undertaken by the inter-agency team (UNFPA, the IRC and UNHCR) to pilot test the Gender-based Violence Information Management System (GBVIMS)in Uganda in May 2008.

Through the UNFPA and UNICEF Trust Fund and Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) a quarterly monitoring tool was developed to capture achievements of each output under the Joint Programme, the lessons learned and challenges; the contribution of each output towards achievement of the outcomes in the Joint Programme was developed; a baseline matrix was drafted to guide the collection of baseline information and was circulated to all countries for adaptation.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported the issuance of two publications to raise awareness about the linkages between violence against women and HIV, namely “The Multiple Faces of the Intersections Between HIV and Violence Against Women” and “Women, Violence and HIV&AIDS: Exploring Interfaces”.

UNAIDS undertook two reviews focusing on violence against women and AIDS: (1) a review of the gender policies of the three major AIDS financing institutions – the World Bank, the US President’s Emergency Planfor AIDS relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) – with a view towards strengthening harmonization and coordination of approaches; and (2) a review of over 50 national strategic plans on AIDS to ascertain the degree to which gender issues were integrated.

The West and Central Africa UNICEF Regional Office produced an analysis on gender-based violence and its effects on HIV. The report provides strong evidence that chronic violence can lead to HIV risk behaviours which are not necessarily chosen in a conscious way.

UNICEF’s MICS 3 (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey) collected in 2007 for the first time information on attitudes towards domestic violence and child disciplining. MICS also includes modules on female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage (information is available at www.childinfo.org). UNICEF Swaziland, in partnership with the Centres for Disease Control, published a study on sexual abuse of girls, which will be replicated in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

UNODC continued to support, and conducted research related to trafficking in persons, including on the nature of trafficking and national and regional responses to trafficking.