United Nations Population Fund

UNFPA leads the GBV Area of responsibility under the global protection cluster which is part of the IASC established coordination mechanism/architecture in humanitarian settings. As of 2021, UNFPA coordinates GBV response and prevention programmes in 35 humanitarian settings.

UNFPA contributed to Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation (IAHE) Steering Group Review of Progress on Mainstreaming Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls into the Humanitarian, Development, and Peace Nexus Agenda and in the work going forward to promote strengthened mainstreaming in the triple nexus process.

UNFPA actively engages with the 16 Days of Activism with concerted efforts to move from activism to accountability. To reinforce accountability frameworks, we support training for health workers, police and judges to help them respond sensitively and appropriately to GBV survivors; and support the creation of laws and protocols that ensure the protection of survivors.

Since 2008 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 17 countries.

Since 2016 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, has been implementing the Global Programme to End Child Marriage across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia in 12 of the highest-prevalence and/or high-burden countries.

UNFPA is implementing with the The European Union and other UN Agencies the Spotlight initiative, focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls in 26 countries. UNFPA leads or co-leads a number of programmes related to prevention, strengthened provision of comprehensive GBV and SRHR services,collection and use of data, as well as contributing to interventions across all pillars of the initiative.

On 12 March 2021, as part of the 65th session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), UNFPA, in collaboration with the European Commission and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), held a virtual inter-ministerial dialogue that resulted in countries committing to 10 points to action towards ending GBSS. 

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As the IASC-mandated agency for coordinating GBV prevention and response in emergencies, UNFPA leads the GBV AoR and coordinates GBV sub-clusters in 32 humanitarian contexts.  UNFPA is also a core member of the IASC GBV Guidelines Reference Group strengthening the integration of measures to mitigate risks of GBV across all sectors in humanitarian action. 

UNFPA leads the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS) at global level as well as national coordination mechanisms to strengthen case management and protect confidential and ethical management of GBV incident data. 

 

UNFPA is a partner in the UN Action Network Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action), strengthening system-wide responses to conflict-related sexual violence.  

 

It also collaborates in the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) Task Force on VAW. 

Through the Spotlight Initiative, UNFPA works to eliminate VAW globally by addressing structural barriers, strengthening institutions, and promoting survivor-centred responses.  

 

UNFPA is also a key player in the RESPECT framework, a comprehensive approach to prevent GBV, and in the Essential Services Package (ESP), ensuring accessible, quality services for survivors of GBV. 

 

Additionally, UNFPA is at the forefront of addressing TFGBV, including its role in co-leading a coalition to integrate gender in the Global Digital Compact.  

 

UNFPA actively engages with the 16 Days of Activism with concerted efforts to move from activism to accountability.  

 

Since 2008 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest Global Programme to Accelerate the Elimination of FGM in 18 countries. 

 

Since 2016 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, has been implementing the Global Programme to End Child Marriage in 12 of the highest-prevalence and/or high-burden countries. 

 

At the regional and national levels, UNFPA participates in UN country teams and humanitarian clusters to integrate GBV prevention, response, and risk mitigation across sectors, ensuring a survivor-centred and rights-based approach. 

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UNFPA is a member of IASC and in contexts where the IASC Cluster Approach has been activated, UNFPA and UNICEF are mandated to co-lead the GBV Area of Responsibility. As co-lead, UNFPA is accountable for working closely with national authorities, partners and communities, to ensure that minimum standards are in place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergencies.

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In November 2010, UNFPA held in New York the global consultation on “Delivering as One on Addressing Violence Against Women: From Intent to Action” with the objective of presenting lessons and share experiences from multi-stakeholder joint programming in the 10 select pilot countries under the Inter-agency Task Force on Violence against Women (of which UNFPA is lead implementing agency at the pilot country levels). The draft of the manual on lessons learned on joint programming from implementation of activities under the Inter-agency Task Force on Violence Against Women has been developed and key lessons were presented at the global consultations. Hide

Baseline assessments were completed in Rwanda, and first drafts were completed in Fiji, Paraguay, and Kyrgyzstan. National multi-stakeholder workshops to develop joint programming frameworks were held in Jordan, Philippines, Rwanda, Fiji, and Kyrgyzstan, and joint national committees consisting of a wide range of stakeholders, responsible for coordinating and providing technical support, were formed. These workshops are instrumental in developing a multi-sectoral joint programming framework that brings together United Nations system actions in support of national efforts to address violence against women, including the development or the implementation of national action plans on violence against women.Baseline assessments, as well as national workshops to develop multi-sectoral joint programming frameworks, had been initiated or completed in all 10 countries and joint national committees had been formed. Implementation of joint programming activities, led by UNFPA, had commenced in the Philippines and Rwanda. Activities of the joint programming initiative were increasingly linked to the Secretary-General’s Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” at the national level.UNFPA is leading the implementation of the joint programming activities at the country level in the identified pilot countries under the Inter-agency Task Force on Violence against Women. Hide