Measures

The United Nations Statistical Commission, at its thirty-ninth session held in February 2008 in New York, approved the formation of a “Friends of the Chair” group to conduct an in-depth technical review of proposed indicators to measure violence against women, and requested the group to report back to the Commission at its fortieth session. The work of the group is based on the proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on Indicators to Measure Violence against Women, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 2007. The group consists of representatives from eight Member States (Botswana, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Ghana, Italy, Mexico and Thailand), and is chaired by Mexico. Observers include representatives from United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the World Health Organization. The Statistical Division is providing substantive and technical support to the Group. Hide

A World Bank report on Bangladesh dated March 2008 on gender and social transformation entitled “Whispers to Voices” (2008) examined among other aspects, attitudes towards and extent of gender based violence (GBV). As a follow up, the Nordic Trust Fund (NTF) is supporting work in Bangladesh that addresses GBV by exploring the social and economic impacts of women’s employment and its possible linkages to violence against women. Hide

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported initiatives for better data collection and national statistical monitoring on gender-based violence, including in Afghanistan, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, and Venezuela. In Afghanistan, UNIFEM supported the development of a database to collect and track service-based data to monitor the ‘Strategic Framework for Eliminating Violence against Women’. Hide

In partnership with Gender Links, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, in its capacity as Chair of the Southern African Gender and Human Rights Advisory Group, promoted the development of score-cards to measure progress in ending violence against women in the context of the SADCC Gender and Development Protocol. Hide

In Bolivia (Municipality of Cochabamba) and Ecuador, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, supported advocacy for increased allocations for services for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, resulting in the Government of Ecuador committing $2 million for implementation of the national plan of action. Hide

In China, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, support to the Xuzhou Domestic Violence Shelter is being considered for nation-wide scale-up by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Hide

The UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, Goodwill Ambassador launched a global internet-based campaign (www.sayNOtoviolence.org) in consultation with UN sister agencies, NGOs and private sector. UNIFEM is a founding member of and hosts the Secretariat for the UN Action to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, compiled information about recent activities of the entities of the United Nations system in follow-up to General Assembly resolutions 61/143 and 62/133, to complement the Inventory of United Nations system activities on violence against women, which was uploaded on the DAW website in July 2007. Hide

An awareness-raising pamphlet for women prisoners in Afghanistan using drawings and cartoons is being published in cooperation with UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, . The pamphlet aims to inform women in prison about their rights and takes into account newly approved regulations of penitentiary law. Hide

In 2007, UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, launched a six-country programme designed to build community capacity to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and to build peace in post-conflict countries in Afghanistan, Haiti, Liberia, Rwanda, Timor Leste and Uganda. In Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as elsewhere, UNIFEM, as part of joint UN efforts, supported campaign efforts on ending violence against women. Hide