United Nations Development Programme

In Papua New Guinea, UNDP conducted numerous training sessions on awareness-raising and advocacy on violence against women; a Training of Trainers for staff of the Office for the Development of Women (ODW), National Council of Women (NCW), and the Gender and Development Branch of the Department of Community Development, to support strengthening coordination and communication between the three organizations to address and effectively respond to violence against women at the provincial and local levels. Hide

In Argentina, UNDP collaborates with national women’s organizations to help the effective implementation of the new law on the prevention and elimination of violence against women, the launching of a VAW Observatory, the development of local centres, and the training of local women on issues related to violence against women.In Papua New Guinea, UNDP was engaged with three national women’s organizations to conduct capacity assessments of the organizations themselves, using the Capacity Assessment Framework for Gender Mainstreaming. For the “Office for the Development of Women”, the engagement looked at its capacity in developing and monitoring the implementation of national policies to protect women from domestic violence. The engagement also included capacity development to support the development and implementation of strategies and action plans on violence against women of the three women’s organizations.Via the UN Gender Theme Group, UNDP Myanmar provided inputs into the National Action Plan on the Advancement of Women being prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare, which may be submitted for cabinet approval in the beginning of 2011. Hide

Several initiatives in countries in the ECIS region were supported by UNDP to raise awareness and support advocacy work related to sexual gender-based violence. In Kosovo, documentaries were produced and a series of debates were held, including one on the possession of firearms and its potential impact on households and communities in Kosovo. In Kyrgyzstan, multi-stakeholder fora were organized. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, civil society organisations were supported to implement advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns. Several countries organized events and activities around the “16 days of activism” campaign to end violence against women. Kosovo held an SMS campaign and debates with students, Kyrgyzstan hosted a forum promoting the role of women in peace-building, and Croatia organised, in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and Croatian police, a nationwide awareness-raising campaign, where influential Croatian men participated, including the president. Hide

A joint mission by UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre/Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery made recommendations to the Justice and Human Rights project in Afghanistan to enhance the involvement of women in shuras/jirgas, to raise awareness on rights and entitlements under the law, and to continue engagement with religious leaders on issues related to women in Islam. Hide

In Nepal, informal legal aid desks, operating in police stations, were supported by UNDP. Mobile legal aid clinics in three districts provided free legal services and information to 1524 people (80% were women). The paralegal programme, at the community level, was expanded in 2010 and the paralegal committees received training on gender-based vioelnce and justice, helping to mainstream a national awareness initiative on sexual gender-absed violence. Hide

UNDP, through Capacity Assessement Framework for Gender Mainstreaming, has engaged gender focal points in Indonesia to strengthen their knowledge and skills to raise awareness on violence against women. In Papua New Guinea, UNDP has worked with the National Council of Women, an umbrella non-governmental organisation, to strengthen their awareness-raising and advocacy capacities on violence against women at the provincial and local levels. Hide

In the ECIS region, legislative development support was provided by UNDP in Kosovo, where the Law on Domestic Violence was adopted. In Serbia, UNDP assisted with drafting recommendations for legislative changes related to sexual gender-based violence. In Nepal, UNDP, in cooperation with UN Women, facilitated the establishment of a witness protection task force which will work on the elaboration of witness protection legislation.In Argentina, UNDP worked with national women´s organizations to plan workshops and create a toolkit to guide stakeholders,on the adoption of laws that ensure a woman’s right to a life free of violence. In El Salvador, UNDP, UNIFEM, and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) supported the Women’s Parliamentary Group (GPM), consisted of parliamentarians from all political parties, to incorporate a gender perspective in the parliamentary agenda. UNDP, UNIFEM, AECID, and the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women (ISDEMU) provided technical assistance to the Family, Women, and Childhood Committee of the Legislative Assembly in relation to a law entitled “Special and Integrated Law for a Life for Women Free of Violence”, which was approved in November 2010.In the Pacific, UNDP continued its support to the Government of the Cook Islands to draft its first comprehensive civil family law, also with provisions on domestic violence, including consultations with national stakeholders. Hide

In Serbia, UNDP supported the development of strategies to address sexual gender-based violence and a draft document on this topic was finalized. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, strategies to address sexual gender-based violence were also developed as a part of the transitional justice strategy, which includes a focus on survivors of sexual gender-based violence from the 1992-95 armed conflict. Hide

The UNDP project “Access to Justice” in Nepal supports training and the establishment of community-based paralegals to provide information, awareness, and support for women seeking redress in cases of gender-based violence. Hide

In Somalia (Somaliland), a referral system, facilitated by UNDP, was established in 2010 through which clan elders refer cases involving serious violations of gender violence to the formal courts. As a result of the new referral system, and the work of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Hargeisa (SARC), there has been a 44% increase of sexual violence cases referred to the formal courts, compared to 2009. Hide