United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

UN Women in Vietnam commissioned, jointly with UNODC, a research on the gender responsiveness of the criminal justice system aimed at strengthening the government response to VAW and contributed to the preparation of the "UN GBV Issues paper kit" that brings together five issue papers on GBV, based on research undertaken in 2012 and 2013 in Viet Nam by UN agencies. Hide

UN Women supported the Government of Bangladesh to implement CEDAW, including through the training of judicial officers, a review of laws carried out in the light of CEDAW, and the development of a CEDAW Benchbook as reference material for Judicial Officers and the Police. Hide

UN Women together with ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNODC, OHCHR and WHO supported the preparations for and successful conclusion of CSW 57. This included the convening of a high level side event with the Secretary General and the Heads of 11 UN agencies to discuss ending violence against women which resulted in a joint statement, available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/3/joint-statement-by-heads-of-un-agencies-on-ending-violence Hide

The Asia-Pacific Regional Coordination Mechanism Thematic Working Group on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (TWG-GEEW), co-chaired by ESCAP and UN WOMEN, continued its engagement in support of the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda. The Thematic Working Group convened the “Second Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Regional Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security” on 1-2 August 2013. The meeting provided a forum for the Regional Advisors to share experiences and good practices, as well as identify common concerns and strategies for accelerating progress in effective implementation of UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions. The meeting addressed the particular vulnerabilities of conflict-affected populations and concluded with recommendations on policies and strategies to strengthen implementation of the WPS agenda in Asia and the Pacific, including through national action plans to effectively protect women and girls in conflict situations. Hide

The Regional UN Women Campaign ‘El valiente no es violento’ was launched in Quito, Ecuador, aimed at raising awareness among especially young men on ending VAW, and has been further launched at the national level in Cuba, Argentina, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Hide

The largest-ever cross-country study on men and violence in Asia and the Pacific11 was launched by P4P, in September 2013, providing critical new evidence on men’s use of violence in the region. A UN Women, UK Aid and UNFPA-supported study on individual, institutional, legal and policy responses to VAWG in Nepal, was launched on 10 December. Hide

In 38 countries, UN Women contributed to implementation of laws and policies, building capacity and improving coordination to expand access to health, justice, police and shelter services – fundamental responses to hold perpetrators accountable and provide better outcomes for survivors. For example, in the State of Palestine, UN Women contributed to 10 fully functioning Family Protection Units across the West Bank, resulting in a near four-fold increase in the number of women reporting abuse in 2013 over the previous year. In addition, UN Women supported two shelters and one multi-purpose centre for survivors. Hide

ESCAP and UN Women organized an advocacy event on “Ending Violence against Women and Girls” at the Sixth Asian and Pacific Population Conference on 18 September 2013 which focused on coordinated and multi-sectoral actions to prevent and end violence against women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. Hide

The publication of a new methodology and a regional UN Women publication on VAW costing cemented UN Women’s technical leadership in this emerging area of research in the Asia Pacific region and have contributed to the decision by seven governments in the region to undertake new or additional VAW costing studies. Hide

In 2013, twenty-one countries, with the support of UN Women, took the critical step in adopting laws, policies and plans that provide the authorizing environment for concrete action to be taken to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. For example, in Bolivia, after 10 years of advocacy by the women’s movement and with the support of UN Women, the Comprehensive Law to Guarantee Women a Life Free of Violence was enacted, recognizing 16 forms of abuse, establishing new criminal offenses and making provision for comprehensive prevention and response measures. Hide