United Nations Development Programme

In December 2010, UNDP and UN Women organized a workshop in Kampala, attended by several experts on transitional justice issues and reparation, focusing also on gender, with the objective to initiate a more integrated UN approach to reparations. Hide

In Asia-Pacific, the work of the inter-agency initiative “Partners for Prevention” (P4P) was ongoing. Engagingmen.net (www.engagingmen.net) is a website where practitioners can share resources and learn about training opportunities. “Partners for Prevention” (P4P) organized several training sessions to support national social media campaigns in China, India, and Indonesia. Demand Media, a leading online media company and expert in developing social media platforms, provides pro bono support for the national campaigns. In December 2010, P4P organized a meeting with various stakeholders from Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Fiji, the Philippines and Vietnam, who work to engage boys and men for ending violence against women. The participants agreed to work together to develop regional curricula and a collective approach for knowledge creation and sharing across the region.In December 2010, the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) “Standing Committee of Male Parliamentarians for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Children” met in Port Macquarie, Australia, where male parliamentarians from 13 countries signed a pledge to take action in their own countries and to stand together as a collective group to advocate for more actions for violence prevention among their peers. “Partners for Prevention” is supporting the Standing Committee of Male Parliamentarians as a collaborative partner with AFPPD and UNFPA. “Partners for Prevention” and AFPPD are conducting research on the challenges that parliamentarians face in moving prevention policy forward, and on ways to support them in their role in preventing violence. Hide

UNDP and UNESCO supported the Gender Studies Institute (GSI) based at the Kabul University in Afghanistan to conduct a multi-province research on the nature and forms of gender-based violence within educational institutions in Afghanistan. The research was conducted in 2009 in three Afghan Universities (Kabul, Mazar, and Herat): (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001899/189969e.pdf).The findings and recommendations of the research were presented in October 2010 during an advocacy workshop with the Gender Studies Institute, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. The objective of the workshop was to raise awareness on gender-based violence among stakeholders and to adopt a Declaration with concrete recommendations to address gender-based violence. 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

In October 2010, UNDP Myanmar organized a discussion forum on the advancement of women, drawing on the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (APHDR) on Gender, including topics on gender-based violence and trafficking. The panel stressed that cultures and traditions can retain customs that are unfair to women and they need to be addressed. Hide

In Papua New Guinea, UNDP continued to work with faith-based organizations to strengthen the protection and support services for survivors of gender-based violence. UNDP supported the National Council of Women to maintain their protection and support services for survivors at the local level. 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

UNDP Argentina, with a view towards guaranteeing access to justice for women, including victims of violence, implemented a joint programme (with UNIFEM, UNICEF, PAHO/WHO, UNFPA, and UNIC) to develop a training protocol on gender and gender-based violence in the judiciary. 120 civil servants were trained and will continue by training others in the 24 provinces, including all judicial staff, during 2011. Hide

UNDP-Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) has recruited an expert to contribute to the Team of Experts who will be in post as of February 2011. The Expert will undertake the technical work and deployments of the Team of Experts, whilst BCPR Rule of Law, Justice and Security team and senior management will continue to be closely engaged with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Team of Experts Team Leader regarding the overall strategy and direction of the Team. Hide

In Nepal, UNDP and UN Women public awareness materials on gender-based violence and the Anti-Domestic Violence Act were distributed. UNDP also partnered with the Office of Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers to organize a public awareness event in support of the “16-days of Activism Campaign” against gender-based violence. Hide