Measures

The Joint Human Rights Office of MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC) issued special reports on sexual violence notably in the DRC. It is also implementing a program to increase access to justice for victims and witnesses, including through technical and financial assistance to local non-governmental organizations to enable them to provide free legal advice to victims of sexual violence, as well as support to prosecutors and judicial investigators. Hide

In Sudan, the Human Rights Section of UNAMID organized workshops addressing sexual gender-based violence in West Darfur; it has developed and install billboards related to sexual gender-based violence around South Darfur; it has produced leaflets on the mandate, role and services of the Family and Child Protection Units; and it has trained State actors on human rights and criminal investigation procedures. Hide

In October 2011, in collaboration with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and the Togolese Ministry of Women Affairs, the ECA organized a Regional Stakeholders’ Meeting in Togo on “Women’s Access to Legal and Judicial Services”, which focused on access to justice for women victims of violence including in conflict settings, and on the need for a multisectoral response to victims through the provision of legal, medical and psychosocial support services. Hide

The ECA Series of Meetings on Gender Statistics held in Ghana in November 2011 followed the workshop and included a session on the role of statistical data and indicators to inform policy and actions to prevent, sanction and eradicate violence against women. Hide

As part of the African Gender and Development Index, Phase II, the ECA is supporting 17 countries (Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Cote d’ Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Zambia) to collect data on domestic violence, harmful practices, rape, sexual harassment and trafficking in women. Countries are also tracking government progress in ratifying relevant international conventions; designing and implementing policies and strategies; and in meeting reporting obligations on violence against women. Hide

The African Women’s Rights Observatory (AWRO), launched by the ECA in 2007, was presented at the 7th session of the Committee on Women and Development (CWD), held in May, 2011. The 44 member states present during the session commended the initiative and moreover, have committed to appoint focal persons in order to provide data on a timely basis. Hide

ECA produced a synthesis report of studies conducted in Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia which provides an overview of violence against women (VAW) in each country, the scale and prevalence of different forms of VAW, its causes and consequences. It also identifies gaps in knowledge and data collection and gives particular attention to good practices in addressing VAW. Hide

The ECA, through its African Center for Gender and Social Development (ACGSD), has developed the Follow-up Strategy of the Beijing +15 Regional Review, which defines an approach to operationalise the Banjul Declaration as well as those outcomes of the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women that relate specifically to Africa. The strategy identifies seven strategic focus areas, one of which is violence against women. Key recommendations include the need to adopt and implement a multi-sectoral plan to address gender-based violence, within the framework of the United Nations Secretary-General’s “UNiTE to End Violence against Women and Girls” campaign; as well as ensuring the enactment and strengthening of laws to address it. Hide

As a member of the “Gender is my agenda campaign” (GIMAC), the ECA co-hosted the 19th Pre-Summit Consultative Meeting, in partnership with Femmes Afrique Solidarité and The Mary Robinson Foundation–Climate Justice, in January 2012. Participants recognized the need to intensify measures to end violence against women and girls, especially in the areas of sexual violence in conflict. Hide

ECLAC also, in coordination with the other Regional Commissions such as ECA, finalized in December 2011 the implementation of the interregional project “Enhancing capacities to eradicate violence against women through networking of local knowledge communities” and undertook the following activities:a) The development and testing of an international questionnaire on violence against women to be applied as a stand-alone or to be integrated as a module in population-based surveys, which contributed to the development of indicators proposed by the Friends of the Chair of the President and approved by the UN Statistical Commission at is 40th session;b) The organization of an international seminar in Peru in May 2011 on Gender Violence administrative registers;c) An international seminar in Ethiopia in October 2011 which resulted in recommendations including the establishment, through the UNiTE Campaign, of a platform to support the creation of national working groups on VAW and the identification of national focal points to link national initiatives on VAW with the ECA; andd) The organization of a meeting on measuring violence against women in the context of the XII International Meeting on Gender Statistics in Mexico in October 2011. Hide