National Policies

Almost all of the 142 country offices of UNFPA have a country programme on addressing gender-based violence or on violence against girls. UNFPA is leading the efforts of the Gender-based Violence cluster to address gender-based violence in Haiti.

Based on the recommendations of The UNAIDS Action for Results: Outcomes Framework 2009-2011, a multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Nairobi aimed at aligning and linking the efforts of different stakeholders to address the linkages between gender-based violence and HIV and AIDS in National Strategic Plans; building 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 capacity to engage men and boys for promoting and addressing gender equality.

Former UNIFEM now part of UN Women provided advisory services for the development of the National Action Plan to Implement Measures for the Elimination of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence (2011-2012) in Georgia; the Multi-Sectoral National Action Plan on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in St.

Under the project “Violence against women and HIV/AIDS: what works?” WHO, with UNAIDS, is reviewing the evidence base for interventions to address violence against women and HIV/AIDS. WHO organized a meeting of programmatic interventions to address these intersections, with a focus on intimate partner and sexual violence and violence against sex workers.

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, contributed to policy development on gender-based violence in Cambodia, Egypt, Moldova, Morocco, Tanzania and Tunisia. Efforts by UNIFEM on gender-responsive budgeting led to national and municipal budget allocations for violence against women programmes in Bulgaria and Brazil. In October 2009, UNAIDS held a technical consultation of leading experts, practitioners, and researchers to review evidence on programme interventions to address violence against women through HIV-related entry points.

In every sub-region, UNDP, in partnership with national partners and United Nations Country Teams, provided support to the development of a strategy and national action plan on domestic violence. UNDP also assisted efforts to develop and implement strategies and action plans to combat trafficking in persons in Serbia and Kosovo.

In 2008, on the basis of the Coordinated Strategy to Abandon FGM/C in One Generation, UNICEF in collaboration with local partners supported programmes in 21 countries, including through data collection, public awareness-raising, training of community members, health workers, traditional leaders and decision makers.

UNFPA country offices in Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Dominican Republic and Peru developed national policies in 2008 to support efforts to end gender-based violence.

UNDP held policy dialogues with senior bureaucrats on gender-based violence in Kuwait.

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.