Prevention and Advocacy

At the conclusion of the recent ESCWA’s 6th Session of the Committee on Women, Member States unanimously adopted the “Kuwait Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women”, collectively condemning all forms of VAW and declaring their commitment to enhance joint and individual efforts to monitor, address and combat GBV.

The UN Trust Fund organized a number of events in order to raise its visibility, build new partnerships and expand its outreach to the corporate sector. On 25 November, the UN Trust Fund announced its 18th call for proposals and launched its 2014 fundraising drive with the message “They count on us, we count on you”.

61 countries and the European Union joined UN Women’s COMMIT to End Violence against Women initiative, a call for action for Governments to make new and concrete national commitments to end violence against women and girls. The commitments ranged from passing or improving laws, ratifying international conventions, to launching public awareness campaigns, providing safe houses or free hotline services and free legal aid to survivors, supporting education programmes that address gender stereotypes and violence, and increasing women in law enforcement, peacekeeping forces and frontline services.

UNRWA has continued its advocacy work by participating in the International Women Day (IWD) and the International 16 Days Campaign through various events, including the launch of a short-film “Ana Ahlam4”, highlighting forms of GBV within the family, in cooperation with ABAAD5. In November 2013, UNRWA focused on strengthening community response to GBV by including men and youth within the programme. In addition, the Gaza Field Office conducted a signature campaign with over 6,500 handprints stamped on posters - and organising awareness-raising sessions and activities for over 2,450 persons.

The UN Department of Public Information (DPI) supported and facilitated activities carried across the System for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), as well as for the V-Day “One Billion Rising for Justice” initiative in February 2013. On the occasion of the International Day, a partnership was established with Google to include on their homepage a special “doodle” linking to DPI’s International Day website.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, ESCAP and UN Women organized an event on “Ending Violence against Women - Our Shared Responsibility” during which new research findings on men’s use of violence against women and girls in Asia and the Pacific were presented. The ILO Director General along government, workers' and employers' representatives participated in a panel debate with the theme “STOP Violence at work” (http://www.ilo.org/gender/Events/international-women-day/lang--en/index.htm).

Numerous UN entities, as key member of the Secretary-General’s Campaign Unite to End Violence Against Women and Girls, launched various campaigns and events to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in 2013. For example, OHCHR created a dedicated web page, organised an online panel discussion on the role of small arms on gender-based violence. UNDP organized a meeting in Namimbia aimed at mobilizing men in EVAW.

DPI continues to raise awareness globally on the UN’s efforts to address violence against women through various information dissemination mechanisms, including: articles published in the delegate; activities undertaken through the United Nations Information Centres across the globe (e.g. Azerbaijan, Ghana and Panama); the Messengers for Peace programme and Chelize Theron’s advocacy on the issue; publications (e.g. “The Future We Want"; "Involving the Forgotten: Widows and Global Sustainable Development," and "Delivering Justice"); the intra/internet (i.e.

OHCHR raised awareness amongst women human rights defenders In North Africa and the Middle East (Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen) on the UN framework on the protection of human rights defenders, including gender dimensions. OHCHR also organised a workshop in Beirut on the role of the UN in supporting the work of women human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The World Bank has approved two initiatives in 2012 to address prevention in urban contexts: the “Honduras Safer Municipalities” initiative focused on citizen security through integrated approaches (including through school-based GBV prevention programmes) and the “Urban Infrastructure Project (II) – Barrios de Verdad (Bolivia) upgrading 22 neighborhoods, benefitting 15,280 people through infrastructural improvements and the provision of technical assistance to municipalities in the planning, expansion and sustainability of urban service delivery.