Measures

Since the establishment of a window in the UNAIDS Programme Acceleration Fund (PAF), 8 countries have received funding to undertake programming on violence and HIV. Hide

UNSD commenced a trial compilation of national statistics on violence against women, pursuant to the Statistical Commission’s request in its decision 40/110 on gender statistics (2009). Hide

In Egypt, UNV is working with the UN system and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) to delineate the role of volunteerism in the FGM-Free Village initiative. National UNV volunteers are involved as youth leaders at the village level to raise awareness about the health related consequences of female genital mutilation (FGM), and to advocate against the social pressure on young girls and women. Several villages have made public declarations renouncing FGM.In Sudan, UNV works closely with UNFPA, the Ahfad University for Women and other stakeholders, engaging local volunteers to tackle FGM. By involving males and youths in peer education, engaging midwives and mothers in sexual education, and working with schools to raise the awareness of children, UNV and community volunteers were able to challenge practicing FGM from a community perspective. A combination of innovative information materials, entry into the community through schools, and reaching the families of pupils through public events has led to engaging a greater number of people. To ensure sustainability, UNV and partners supported the creation of a new non-governmental organization comprising the community volunteers it mobilized.In Honduras, the joint programme for the Support of Human Security contributes to gender equality and youth development through volunteerism for peace and development. UNV promotes a “culture of peace” at the community level in a context where incidences of sexual and domestic violence are high. So far, the programme has encouraged over 500 youth, chosen from at risk areas/contexts, to voluntarily participate in activities. Hide

In Darfur, UNV volunteers mobilized a paralegal aid network comprised of attorneys, professors and speakers to volunteer their services. They provide seminars and training to internally displaced persons (IDPs), community members, women and men, youth, and traditional community leaders on gender-based violence, and how to best provide support to survivors and families. Volunteer attorneys also accompany UNDP on field missions with the Mobile Legal Aid Clinics to provide legal assistance to survivors. Hide

In Sri Lanka, the UNV Volunteer Information and Coordination Centre (VOICE) has been extended into 2008-2010 to include a Legal Empowerment Volunteers Scheme. This pilot project mobilizes university volunteers to support legal empowerment activities. Legal aid is provided to migrant women workers by 30 volunteers in seven locations. Through the empowerment scheme, the legal volunteers learn about marginalisation and vulnerability in their own society. The legal aid pilot project also concentrates on those affected by gender-based violence to help them attain equal access to justice. The VOICE project is supported by one national and five international UNV volunteers. Hide

A UNV-supported initiative was underway in Guatemala to enhance national capacity to address gender-based violence in all its forms. The Presidential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM) has been at the forefront of the initiative, which seeks to a) design a comprehensive action strategy, b) ensure implementation of the strategy, focusing on government and civil society efforts, and c)increase the political and operational strength of the SEPREM. UNV supports the three pillars of this strategy jointly with UN agencies such as FAO, UNDP, FAO, WFP, UNFPA and UNIFEM. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported or co-organized a number of meetings, workshops and conferences in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including: on Security Council resolution 1820 and Peacekeeping (September 2008); on Security Council resolutions 1325 and 1820 with respect to the EU’s Security and Defense Policy missions (October 2008); on cross-border female genital mutilation, with West African First Ladies (October 2008); on trafficking in South Asia for media, lawyers and police; and provided technical support for an Economic Community of West African States summit on trafficking and other trans-border issues (December 2008).UNIFEM supported awareness-raising efforts, including: radio education on violence against indigenous women in the Andean Region; gender-based violence community sensitization in Rwanda, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam; and the 16 Days of activism against gender violence campaign in many countries. Hide

From its Say NO to Violence against Women Campaign, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, delivered over 5 million signatures, including from Heads of State and Ministers from 60 governments and more than 600 Parliamentarians from over 70 countries to the UN Secretary-General, on 25 November 2008, in support of his Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women. Hide

OSAGI, now part of UN Women, participates in the work of the task force responsible for preparation of the Secretary-General’s report on Security Council resolution 1820 (2008). Hide

OSAGI, now part of UN Women, continued to work on developing a common set of indicators for monitoring the implementation of resolution 1325 at the international and national levels, and participated in consultations with key United Nations system entities on the development of indicators on gender-based and sexual violence. Hide