Prevention, Including Awareness Raising and Advocacy

UNIFEM, now part of UN Women, facilitates the creation and/or strengthening of strategic partnerships among governmental and civil society stakeholders and provides support to build the capacity of women’s organizations to spearhead innovative responses to violence against women at the country level.UNIFEM supports advocacy and communication strategies to stimulate awareness and commitment to end violence against women, including support to coordinated efforts by a wide range of stakeholders during the annual campaign of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. In a number of countries, UNIFEM has also cooperated with partners in the White Ribbon Campaign. Hide

DAW, now part of UN Women, made available information on violence against women through its website, especially in relation to the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on violence against women and its follow-up, provided briefings on the work of the United Nations in the field of violence against women, and organized panel discussions and other outreach activities. DAW widely disseminated the Secretary-General’s study, including at the national level to national machineries for the advancement of women and to United Nations resident coordinators/ representatives. DAW had organized several panels on violence against women, including a panel to launch the study in October 2006; a panel discussion on “Galvanizing action towards ending violence against women” to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 2006; and an interactive panel on "Elimination of all forms of violence against women: follow up to the Secretary-General’s in-depth study at national and international levels", during the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women, March 2007. Hide

The Special Adviser on Gender Issues raises the question of violence against women in various forums, meetings and during missions, and brings serious and massive violations of women’s human rights to the attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. OSAGI , now part of UN Women, developed a Leaders’ Advocacy Kit to combat gender-based violence, in collaboration with several entities of the United Nations system. Hide

A network of gender focal points in regional and country offices work with UNICEF’s Gender Equality and Human Rights Unit in promoting gender issues and awareness, including on violence against women and girls, through television and radio campaigns. In line with the Secretary-General’s study on violence against children, several country offices have led campaigns on violence against children, with an emphasis on violence against girls. Hide

UNICEF has developed a new manual for football coaches to encourage them to talk to boys about violence against women and girls, in order to promote a culture of non-violence and non-discrimination. Hide

In 2004, UNFPA supported a campaign on honour killings in Turkey. UNFPA is working jointly with UNICEF on the prevention and treatment of sexual and gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Hide

Awareness-raising activities, including on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination, addressing violence against women are a key feature of OHCHR strategic management plan. Hide

The One-Stop Centres for victims of domestic violence, supported through UNODC’s technical assistance projects, also carry out outreach programmes and awareness-raising. Similarly, national projects contain elements of raising awareness and advocacy. Hide

WHO, with other partners, is developing a framework of interventions for prevention of intimate partner violence and sexual violence that can be integrated into HIV prevention activities. A consultation on addressing violence against women in HIV testing and counselling took place in January 2006 and a meeting report with recommendations and good practices is available.WHO convenes the working group on violence against women of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS to promote advocacy and communication activities on the intersections of violence against women and HIV/AIDS. WHO has undertaken advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives on violence against women, including sensitization of multidisciplinary groups. Hide

In May 2007 WHO convened an international Expert Meeting on Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence to inform WHO's future work in this area. The purpose of the meeting was to review the effectiveness of current approaches for preventing new occurrences of intimate partner and sexual violence; to identify WHO's role on primary prevention; and to identify potential activities and products for WHO. Participants discussed strategies, implementation in resource-constrained settings, and obstacles and opportunities for scaling up. The group agreed that WHO should issue guidance on how to implement primary prevention strategies and monitor their impact, process and guiding principles. Hide