Measures

UNHCR organized training courses using the WHO/UNHCR Clinical Management of Rape Guidelines in East Africa and Asia. Hide

UNHCR’s Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls (March 2008) describes the protection challenges faced by displaced women and girls and explains how UNHCR and partners work together to promote gender equality, in particular, to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence through a rights and community-based approach. Hide

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include capacity building workshops for women in Panama; psychological counselling in Venezuela and Turkey; distribution of sanitary materials in India and Thailand; improved access to health facilities and income-generation activities in India; allocation of subsistence allowances to unaccompanied children in Egypt; language classes in Malta, vocational training in Bosnia; and the establishment of safe houses in Yemen and Turkey. UNHCR expanded the provision of Post Exposure Phropyhlaxis (PEP) following rape to prevent transmission of HIV. Hide

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include: creating a manager post on sexual and gender-based violence and community outreach teams in the Central African Republic; hiring an expert in Chad; signing agreements with implementing partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hide

In 2008, UNHCR allocated an additional USD 1.5 million for prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence. Projects include raising awareness through home visits in Bangladesh; sports and cultural activities in Uganda, Panama and Venezuela. In relation to the safe school initiative, UNHCR has conducted assessment missions with Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS) to Malawi, Namibia and Rwanda, to ensure safe learning environments and addressing sexual and gender-based violence in schools. A training module was prepared for testing.In May 2008, UNHCR and Sonke Gender Justice launched the project, “Embracing Men and Boys as Partners in Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence”. The key objectives are to integrate men and boys, and to train staff, partners and people of concern in addressing sexual and gender-based violence. Training workshops have been held in refugee camps in Burundi, Uganda and Kenya, with the goal of further roll-out in the region. Hide

Grant applications for the 2008 Call for Proposals were invited from governments, civil society organizations, and, for the first time, for UN Country Teams (UNCTs). Technical review teams and global and sub-regional inter-agency Programme Appraisal Committees (PACs), reviewed the received concept notes.As part of its’ ongoing effort to enhance grantees’ capacity in programming and monitoring and evaluation, the UN Trust Fund convened a second workshop on Program Design and Evaluation for grantees working on violence against women and HIV/AIDS, in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson and with technical assistance from PATH. Hide

UNESCO’s Culture Sector compiles and maintains a trafficking statistics database focusing on Asia and other regions, available on-line at:http://203.146.233.12/culture/WebTraffickingV2/. It has linked databases with information related to trafficking, rates of HIV/AIDS incidence, interventions and their coverage, and the distribution of at-risk populations (migration, population in sex work) to discover, record and map related trends. Hide

UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector implemented a project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, entitled “Training of female radio reporters to prevent violence” in association with the local NGO “Casa de la Mujer.” Two workshops were conducted with women and men on existing legislation against domestic violence, and forty 30-minute radio programmes (in various broadcasting formats) are being produced and will be broadcast by participating radio stations. Hide

UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector has undertaken a programme of research on women's rights for peace and security in post conflict democracies in Africa. Researchers from 11 countries of the Great Lake Region, Sierra Leone and South Africa submitted papers on violence against women and the relationship between women’s human rights, peace and security in post conflict context, as well as recommendations for the way forward to be addressed to policy- and decision-makers. Hide

In May 2008, UNESCO’s Division for Gender Equality chaired a side event on female genital mutilation, organized by the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC), in the context of the WHO World Health Assembly. Hide