Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Background
The mandate of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy.
Areas of Focus
FAO seeks to promote gender equality and reduce discrimination against women through various activities that also support the elimination of violence against women. Activities focus on the reinforcement of food security and the economic rights of women, mainly by promoting their access to and management of economic resources, the reduction of women’s workload, access to healthcare, education, training and information, and the promotion of women’s participation in decision-making processes. In agriculture and rural settings where FAO operates, GBV is a pervasive and persistent reality.
Resources
- Understanding the gender-related impact of the crisis in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for an inclusive response Briefing note on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2024)
- The status of women in agrifood systems. (2023)
- Eliminating gender-based violence and protecting rural communities through food security and agricultural interventions – Brief (2023)
- Complementary Information Note - Gender-related impacts of the Ukraine Conflict (2022)
- Practical guide on how to eliminate gender-based violence and protect rural communities through food security and agriculture interventions - Guidance for FAO staff and partners (2022)
- Paving the way to build the resilience of men and women. How to conduct a gender analysis of resilience. Rome. (2019)
- Protection from gender-based violence in food and nutrition security interventions (2018)
- How can food security interventions contribute to reducing gender-based violence? (2016)
- GUIDANCE NOTE Gender, food security and nutrition in protracted crises Women and girls as agents of resilience (2016)
- A gender-responsive approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning in the agriculture sector. Guidance for supporting rural women and men to build resilience in the face of disasters
FAO has enhanced its efforts to prevent and mitigate GBV through community-driven initiatives, including Dimitra Clubs,
View MoreFAO has enhanced its efforts to prevent and mitigate GBV through community-driven initiatives, including Dimitra Clubs, Farmer Field Schools (FFS), Youth and Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (YJFFLS), Women’s Empowerment Farmer Business School (WE-FBS), and the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) approach. These programmes empower individuals and foster collective action, effectively addressing gender inequalities and enhancing safety. By engaging both women and men, they create platforms for dialogue, social norms shift education, and shared responsibility, driving positive change in communities and contributing to the reduction of GBV risks.
FAO has enhanced its efforts to prevent and mitigate GBV through community-driven initiatives, including Dimitra Clubs,
View MoreFAO has enhanced its efforts to prevent and mitigate GBV through community-driven initiatives, including Dimitra Clubs, Farmer Field Schools (FFS), Youth and Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (YJFFLS), Women’s Empowerment Farmer Business School (WE-FBS), and the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) approach. These programmes empower individuals and foster collective action, effectively addressing gender inequalities and enhancing safety. By engaging both women and men, they create platforms for dialogue, social norms shift education, and shared responsibility, driving positive change in communities and contributing to the reduction of GBV risks.
A network of field ethics focal points has been created to receive and escalate complaints related to sexual exploitation and abuse. Trainings have been conducted for focal points on ethics procedures and the handling of these complaints, as well as on Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) and FAO's PSEA procedures.
At the field level FAO is working on the prevention and mitigation of GBV through specific programmes and approaches such as the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools in Uganda and Kenya, the Dimitra Clubs in several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Burundi and Senegal, and the Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) approach in South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, and Kenya, among others. The JFFLS and Dimitra Clubs use empowerment approaches to bring men and women together to proactively work on issues they face in their daily lives, including GBV. Today there are approximately 1,500 FAO-Dimitra Clubs in sub-Saharan Africa (Burundi, DRC, Ghana, Niger and Senegal), with over 35,000 direct beneficiaries and 350,000 indirect beneficiaries, two thirds being women. Programmes implemented as part of the SAFE initiative reduce the risk of exposure to violence that predominantly women and girls face whilst collecting firewood in some of the contexts FAO works.