Measures

Implementation continued of the multi-country programme of UNIFEM now part of UN Women on community-based peacebuilding and prevention of sexual and gender-based violence in Timor Leste, Liberia, Uganda, and Haiti. The joint programming initiative under the Inter-agency Task Force on Violence against Women works to develop the capacities of national stakeholders to achieve specific international commitments. Hide

Issue # 9 of Words to Action, former DAW’s (now part of UN Women) now UN Women quarterly newsletter on violence against women, was issued, with a feature article on addressing violence against women and HIV/AIDS effectively. Hide

The former Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI, now part of UN Women) raised the question of violence against women and girls, including the crime of sexual violence in conflict situations, on various occasions; brought violations of women’s human rights to the attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations; and the Special Adviser in her advocacy efforts urged various stakeholders to join the UNiTE campaign to end violence against women and to end impunity for perpetrators. Hide

Former UNIFEM now part of UN Women launched the Global Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls Programme in Cairo, Kigali, New Delhi, Quito and Port Moresby. Potential measures may include stronger laws and policies against violence in public spaces; training for urban planners, grass-roots women's groups and police; special audits to identify unsafe areas; mass media campaigns on "zero tolerance" for violence against women; activities to engage local communities, men and adolescents of both sexes; and reviews of public sector budgets so that adequate resources are spent on making public areas safe for women and girls. Collecting reliable data will be an important aspect of the Safe Cities programme in order to highlight the problem and identify solutions. Other work to make cities safer for women and girls included support to establish the Social Watch Observatory on Violence against Women in El Salvador; and engagement with transportation unions to address violence against women and harassment in public transportation in Haiti. Community-level awareness raising initiatives were supported in Morocco and Yemen; and traditional, local and religious leaders were mobilized in Cameroon and Sudan to become advocates and champions in the fight against gender-based violence.In New Dehli (India) a project implemented in partnership between UN-HABITAT and former UNIFEM (part of UN Women) has supported the development of a strategic framework for Delhi on safety, entry point being women’s safety. A non-governmental organization, Jagori, has been developing a stakeholder interview template as part of the work on developing a strategic framework for the Delhi government on the seven pillars/institutions which are responsible for enhancing women’s safety in public spaces (urban planning and design of public spaces; provision and maintenance of public infrastructure and services; public transport; policing; legislation, justice and support to victims; education; civic awareness). Jagori and UN Habitat consultant have been holding a series of consultations with key stakeholders. Hide

With sponsorship from the Government of Norway, OSAGI, now part of UN Women, collaborated with INSTRAW and ECLAC, to develop an online training course entitled Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) in Latin America and the Caribbean to be distributed by the Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI). A second course on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) in Africa, is being finalised for distribution. The courses will provide students with an overview of the resolution as well as context-specific issues and challenges that impact effective implementation, and will outline the process of developing a National Action Plan on resolution 1325 (2000).As chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Women, Peace and Security former OSAGI and UNIFEM- now both part of UN Women, in consultations with Member States and UN entities, led and coordinated the development of both the framework and the set of indicators to track the implementation of resolution 1325 (2000). Hide

The campaign was successfully rolled out in the Caribbean in October 2010 and in Asia in November 2010, with a launch in the Pacific expected in early 2011. In the Middle East a number of activities are being implemented under the leadership of ESCWA. Regional Secretariats for UNiTE Latin America and Caribbean, UNiTE Africa and UNiTE Asia are implementing regional and national interagency work plans. At the national level, many Resident Coordinators are leading their country teams in the further development of the campaign’s activities at the national level. From Bridgetown to Addis, from Uruguay to Lebanon various campaigning activities focused on building partnerships, raising the visibility of the campaign’s concerns and solutions and social mobilization, including concerts, exhibitions, media outreach and expert discussions. In Mexico, UNiTE Latin America organized a concert with performances by Costa Rican singer Debi Nova, Palestinian Hip Hop group G-Town, and Mexican rock singer Pambo. In Uganda, the Department of Peace and Security, with other UN partners, mounted a photo exhibition on violence against women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations.At regional and national levels, the campaign has engaged in consultations with a large number of civil society organizations in order to develop strategies and campaigning activities. As a result, UNiTE is being used as an umbrella for activities of civil society and community organizations. For example, in Tajikistan twenty four world champions of the National Federation of Taekwondo and Kickboxing serve as a network of local advocates to prevent violence and discrimination against women and girls. The Federation has already talked to a military unit about violence in the family and the role of men in harmonizing family relations. The UNiTE Secretariat has developed strategic partnerships with:• An award winning media campaign Bell Bajao (Ring the Bell), developed by Breakthrough, an international organization, involving men and boys to transform public attitudes about violence against women and girls. The UNiTE Campaign aims to utilize this partnership to further engage members of the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders. The UN Secretary-General has recorded a public service announcement as the inaugural “champion” of the Bell Bajao Global campaign and this new partnership that was announced at the Clinton Global Initiative.• Together for Girls, an initiative to end sexual violence against adolescent girls that is comprised of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the US Department of State’s Office Global Women’s Issues, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM (part of UN Women), the Nduna Foundation, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), and Grupo ABC of Brazil. Partnership efforts focus on three pillars: conducting national surveys on the magnitude and impact of sexual violence, supporting a plan of action at the country level and launching communications and public awareness campaigns. The UNiTE Campaign will aim to link UNiTE’s relevant national activities with this global partnership.• Religions for Peace, the largest international coalition of representatives from the world’s great religions dedicated to promoting peace, which will focus on the engagement of religious leaders in the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders.The UNiTE campaign continues to work through the Secretary-General’s Network of Men Leaders.The Network currently has 15 members and the UNiTE Campaign aims to enlist up to 100 new members by the end of 2011. In August 2010 members of the Network issued a petition to call on the African Union, its regional bodies and Member States to take urgent action to end the endemic violence faced by women and girls across the continent, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author, also supports the campaign through several mediums. In an interview in December 2010 he said about the Network: "Men should be more aware of the problems women face…Unfortunately, in our world controlled by men, awareness is too low. Things have to change and what’s better for that than the UN, a global, non-profit organization that promotes peace and a better life for human beings. That’s why I’m part of this group and again, I’m proud to be part of it." On 23 November, 2010, during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the UNiTE Campaign organized two events - a Breakfast with Secretary-General and the corporate sector and the UN Official Observance ceremony, both attended by the Secretary-General. The preparations were led by the former Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, now UN Women, which is the Secretariat for the UNiTE Campaign, in close collaboration with DPI, UNFPA, UNiTE Latin America and Caribbean component, UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women and UN Women. The focus on the theme Leadership of the Corporate Sector in Ending Violence against Women and Girls has provided the UNiTE Campaign with an opportunity to establish a dialogue with corporate leaders about the engagement of the business sector with the campaign.In December 2011, the UN Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) joined the UNiTE Campaign in its fundraising efforts to achieve the $100M for the UN Trust Fund and raised a total of over 11,000 USD.The Say NO– UNiTE to End Violence against Women social mobilization platform has recorded more than 1.8 million actions in one year, having a network of nearly 29,000 people on social media and 382 civil society partners.Former UNIFEM (now part of UN Women) continued to play a key role in the coordination and roll out of the regional chapters of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE Campaign in Africa, East and South East Asia, Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean. UNFPA is a key supporter of the SG’s Campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women” and has provided technical and financial support to roll out the Campaign at the regional and country levels. Hide

In 2010, UNICEF in collaboration with Religious for Peace, published the guide “From Commitment to Action: What Religious Communities Can Do to Eliminate Violence against Children”, aimed at helping religious communities harness their spiritual, moral and social strengths to prevent, respond to and eliminate violence against children. This was followed up by a discussion, convened by Religious for Peace and UNICEF, in November on the role that religious communities can play in eliminating all forms of violence against children across the work. Hide

The newly constructed centre to treat and reintegrate survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a joint project of V-Day, a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls, UNICEF and Panzi Hospital. Hide

UNICEF has been leading a mapping exercise on the activities of different actors at the field level to increase the safety and security of women and children, girls especially, and to prevent gender-based violence related to conflict and disasters. This information will be used to inform an overall gender-based violence prevention framework. Through the initiative “Together for Girls” – a public/private sector partnership to address sexual violence against girls–UNICEF has supported the undertaking of two surveys on violence against children in Tanzania and Kenya, with a particular focus on sexual violence against girls. In January 2011, UNICEF officially joined, IRC, UNFPA and UNHCR in the Steering Committee of the Gender-Based Violence Information Management System (GBV IMS). UNICEF finalized an inter-agency training package “The Caring for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Emergencies”, that has been endorsed by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Sub-Working Group on Gender in Humanitarian Action with support from the Gender-based Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR). The training package provides information and skill development, for various stakeholders, in relation to treatment of sexual violence survivors in conflict-affected countries or complex emergencies, including medical treatment. Hide

UNICEF led the development of the Handbook for Coordinating Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings, which is a quick-reference tool that provides practical guidance on leadership roles, key responsibilities and specific actions to be taken when establishing and maintaining a gender-based violence coordination mechanism in a humanitarian setting. It is disseminated in English, French and Arabic.Trainings were conducted for coordination partners in Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Ethiopia on utilizing the Handbook. Hide