Inter-Agency Mechanisms and Activities

Through the UN system, coordinated efforts were accelerated to combat intersecting forms of violence, through joint global, regional and country programmes, the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence, and UN multi- partner trust funds. For example, in 2023, across 57 countries, more than $109.6 million was disbursed to civil society organizations working towards the achievement of women’s rights, including through the Spotlight Initiative, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women (UN Trust Fund), and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). Over 12,300 civil society organisations or mechanisms, across 84 countries, enhanced leadership capacity and enabled meaningful and safe engagement in decision-making. In 25 countries, 75 initiatives were developed and implemented to prevent, monitor and mitigate violence against women in politics and public life. 

UN Women strengthened coordination within the UN system and across sectors to enhance global EVAWG efforts:

• As the Secretariat of the UN Inter-agency Working Group on EVAWG, UN Women facilitated collaboration among 14 UN agencies, leading to 538 new measures to strengthen survivor services in response to COVID-19.
• As the technical lead of Spotlight Initiative during Spotlight 1.0, UN Women played a leadership role representing the Recipient UN Organizations in the highest governing body and holding technical coherence role in 23 out of 32 programmes, reflecting UN Women’s expertise and experience.
  • UN Women was an implementing agency in 30 of the 32 programmes, responsible for the management of 38% (USD 192 M) of the global investment and worked across all outcome areas (laws and policies, institution strengthening, prevention, response, and women’s movement). UN Women’s programming through key partnerships led to impactful results, including:
  • Strengthening laws and policies: Contributed directly to strengthening 477 laws and policies that promote gender equality while supporting 35,000 women’s rights advocated to more effectively feed into laws and policies
  • Strengthening institutions: Supported capacity development of 6,637 government officials on gender responsive budgeting supporting 1,201 government officials to draft and cost action plans to end VAWG.
  • Enhancing prevention: establishing 83 men and boys networks to challenge tolerance of VAWG and supporting 234 awareness raising campaigns reaching over 172 million people.
  • Enhancing Response services: Supported efforts that contributed to 124,035 VAWG cases reported to the police
  • Strengthening women’s movement: UN Women directed USD 86 Million to women’s rights organisations and other civil society organisations[RR1]
• Essential Services Programme standardized multi-sectoral services in 90+ countries, improving access to quality health, legal, and social support.
• UN Women coordinates the Secretary General UNiTE by 2030 Campaign on behalf of the UN System. The campaign mobilized millions globally, with a record 34 million social media impressions in 2023. In 2024, UN Women supported the Office of the President of the General Assembly for a historic high-level meeting on the review of progress towards ending violence against women and girls.
• As co-lead of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, UN Women created significant momentum by providing a shared vision and accountability framework, resulting in over $5 billion in financial pledges on gender-based violence and the implementation of over 600 programmes supporting 389 new policies. 
• UN Women's Engagement in UN Action: UN Women is a leading entity in the UN Action Network. In coordination with the other 25 member entities, UN Women actively engages in high-level Steering Committee meetings and monthly technical-level discussions on situations of concern, advocacy, and knowledge building. UN Women leads the workstream on understanding the application of a survivor-centered approach, as enshrined in Security Council resolution 2467 (2019), and is engaged in workstreams on technology-facilitated conflict-related sexual violence, the MARA, the nexus of terrorism/violent extremism and CRSV, advocacy, and preventing CRSV. UN Women played a vital role in the development and implementation of the Framework for the Prevention of CRSV (2022), including its pilot roll-out in Ukraine in July 2024. Since 2022, UN Women has chaired the Resource Management Committee for a two-year term. UN Women currently benefits from the Conflict-related Sexual Violence - Multi-Partner Trust Fund as one of six implementing agencies of a joint catalytic project in Ukraine.
• The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), a policy forum mandated by the UN General Assembly to improve coordination among UN agencies and other relevant international organizations to facilitate a holistic and comprehensive approach to preventing and combating trafficking in persons. UN Women attends as an active participant.
• Inter-Agency Gender Group (Grupo Interagencial de Género, GIG, in Spanish), a regional coordination mechanism in Latin America and the Caribbean, led by UN Women, that brings together United Nations agencies and sometimes other international organizations to promote gender equality and women’s rights. GIGs operate at both national and regional levels across Latin America and the Caribbean, and their agendas often reflect local gender priorities, such as: Ending violence against women and girls; Promoting political participation of women; Ensuring economic empowerment; Addressing the gender dimensions of climate change, migration, and health.
• UN Women supported the establishment of GBV inter-agency task forces in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines under the Build Back Equal Programme. 
• UN Women Regional Office for Asia - Pacific co-led implementation of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative in the ASEAN region through the "Safe and Fair" programme focused on violence against migrant women. This included developing regional frameworks and supporting service delivery protocols and data systems in 9 countries. The programme reached over 427,000 women migrant workers with services and trained nearly 22,000 stakeholders. UN Women co-chairs and sustains the UNiTE Asia-Pacific Working Group with UNFPA, coordinating regional, joint UN action.

Under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator (RC) and in line with the UN Reform, Spotlight Initiative leveraged UN agencies’ complementary expertise and streamlined backend processes to drive progress in efforts to end violence against women and girls. 

Across Spotlight programmes, UN Country Teams enhanced alignment, improved cost-effectiveness, and streamlined coordination by institutionalizing standing meetings, engaging in joint procurement, adopting the UN-wide Business Operations Strategy, and co-locating operations. These measures fostered more integrated programming and implementation, minimized duplication, and increased efficiency. 

The following examples highlight strengthened inter-agency collaboration across Spotlight programmes:

• In Samoa, the Resident Coordinator’s leadership fostered improved coordination among UN agencies, leveraging the agencies’ comparative advantages for strengthened programming to end violence against women and girls. As a result, the Initiative expanded its scope to better reach vulnerable populations, including the LGBTIQ+ community and persons living with disabilities. 
• Similarly, in Mozambique, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator, the Initiative was able to successfully advocate for expanded reach to the conflict-affected province of Cabo Delgado. With improved coordination, Spotlight Initiative provided joint support to local government in Gaza and Manica. 
• In Mexico, the Resident Coordinator’s Office and Spotlight Initiative’s technical team streamlined inter-agency collaboration (to ensure more efficient delivery) and fostered constructive collaboration with key counterparts at the highest level of the Government, the EU Delegation, and the Civil Society Reference Group. Efficient inter-agency collaboration allowed the programme to more quickly identify risks, respond to challenges and deepen joint planning and joint interventions, improving coherence in programming. Through the complementary work of UN agencies under the Initiative, the programme was able to produce the “Statistical Framework for Measuring the Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls (also referred to as ‘femicide/ feminicide’)”, which was approved in 2022 by the United Nations Statistical Commission. 
• In Haiti, challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, an earthquake in August 2021, and a deteriorating security situation required multiple changes to the programme’s work plan and budget. With robust coordination among UN agencies, the Spotlight programme in Haiti effectively adjusted its risk management arrangements to ensure the continuity of interventions. Leveraging partnerships allowed for swift collective action by the UN, government, and civil society partners, helping to prevent (and better respond to) a potential increase in cases of violence against women and girls in the context of multiple crises.
• In Trinidad and Tobago, the Initiative promoted strong collaboration between the programme management unit and UN Women (the technical coherence lead of the programme). A Technical Coherence Matrix was collectively developed to support all UN agencies implementing the programme in performing a pre-evaluation of nearly 60 deliverables to ensure alignment with Spotlight Initiative objectives and guidelines, and UN Principles, standards, and global human rights conventions. This included establishing criteria for joint assessments of Terms of Reference, consultancies, and procurement, enhancing coordination among agencies. As a result, the initiative improved programme coherence, streamlined delivery, and accelerated the ability of the UN agencies implementing the Spotlight programme in Trinidad and Tobago to collectively deliver in a more coordinated, efficient, and effective manner.
• In El Salvador, by capitalizing on various RUNO’s existing operational tools and mechanisms (including the Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers (HACT)), the Initiative was better able to streamline operational and backend processes, including fund transfers to the Government and other partners (by using tools like the business operations strategy, long-term agreements and requests for quotation). This fostered stronger coordination with national counterparts, and as such, the Initiative was better positioned to ensure a whole-of-society approach across diverse implementing partners in El Salvador, better preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. Implementing Spotlight Initiative’s comprehensive model, and “Working as One UN” was particularly helpful in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Initiative was able to more seamlessly collaborate across stakeholders to revise acceleration plans and ensure targeted support to women and girls in a rapidly changing context.

As the IASC-mandated agency for coordinating GBV prevention and response in emergencies, UNFPA leads the GBV AoR and coordinates GBV sub-clusters in 32 humanitarian contexts.  UNFPA is also a core member of the IASC GBV Guidelines Reference Group strengthening the integration of measures to mitigate risks of GBV across all sectors in humanitarian action. 

UNFPA leads the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS) at global level as well as national coordination mechanisms to strengthen case management and protect confidential and ethical management of GBV incident data. 

UNFPA is a partner in the UN Action Network Against Sexual Violence in Conflict (UN Action), strengthening system-wide responses to conflict-related sexual violence.  

It also collaborates in the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) Task Force on VAW. 

Through the Spotlight Initiative, UNFPA works to eliminate VAW globally by addressing structural barriers, strengthening institutions, and promoting survivor-centred responses.  

UNFPA is also a key player in the RESPECT framework, a comprehensive approach to prevent GBV, and in the Essential Services Package (ESP), ensuring accessible, quality services for survivors of GBV. 

Additionally, UNFPA is at the forefront of addressing TFGBV, including its role in co-leading a coalition to integrate gender in the Global Digital Compact.  

UNFPA actively engages with the 16 Days of Activism with concerted efforts to move from activism to accountability.  

Since 2008 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest Global Programme to Accelerate the Elimination of FGM in 18 countries. 

Since 2016 UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, has been implementing the Global Programme to End Child Marriage in 12 of the highest-prevalence and/or high-burden countries. 

At the regional and national levels, UNFPA participates in UN country teams and humanitarian clusters to integrate GBV prevention, response, and risk mitigation across sectors, ensuring a survivor-centred and rights-based approach. 

UN Action is an inter-agency mechanism that brings together 26 UN entities across the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding spectrum to coordinate a one-UN response to conflict-related sexual violence. UN Action’s activities on political advocacy, operational impact through catalytic projects, and knowledge building are implemented jointly by at least two, though often more, member entities.  

OHCHR contributed to the elaboration of a global support system for the monitoring and reporting arrangements on sexual violence in conflict (MARA) with UN ACTION. 

UNODC supports implementing the HAYA Joint Programme, dedicated to eradicating violence against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat), and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). 

UNODC continues to support the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. Under this initiative, UNODC developed a toolbox for Mexican universities to support institutional responses to violence against women within the academic community. 

UNODC launched the “#EmpowerHer: Advancing Women in/for Justice” initiative, in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Women and the Philippines.  

IOM participates in the IASC Gender Reference Group (GRG), including providing contributions for the development of the new IASC policy on gender equality and empowerment of women, and associated accountability framework during 2023 and 2024. 

IOM is a key and active Core member of the GBV AoR and an active member of the GBV Guidelines Reference Group, contributing to tool development, capacity building, and resource provision to strengthen collective efforts on GBV risk mitigation, prevention and response.  

As the co-chair of the Call-to-Action International Organization Working Group (IOWG) alongside UNHCR, IOM continued to advocate for GBV financing and contributed to initiatives engaging over 100 entities committed to strengthening accountability for GBV in emergencies. As a key commitment under the networks workplan, IOM co led the development of a mapping of existing GBV coordination mechanisms across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus. IOM also represents the network in the UN Trust Fund mechanism to ensure alinement between the complimentary work on mapping funding barriers for Women led organizations. 

As a member of the UN Transitional Justice Task Force, chaired by the OHCHR, IOM is contributing to promotion and strengthening of tools for redressing victims of grave human rights violations, including survivors of CRSV.    

As one of the 2023-2024 ICAT co-chairs, IOM has committed to leading the development of an Issue Brief on Trafficking in Persons and Gender-Based Violence. This effort will be carried out through 2025. 

On 28 November 2024, FAO hosted a session under the UNiTE Campaign during the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, organized in collaboration with UN Women and local feminist organizations in crisis-affected countries, titled "Global Crises and Gender-Based Violence". The event focused on how global crises, including conflicts, economic hardship and climate change, disproportionately affect women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to GBV and food insecurity. This session called for urgent humanitarian action to address gender inequalities and the root causes of GBV, highlighting the importance of rapid gender assessments (RGAs) in guiding interventions and empowering women in crisis settings.

On 28 November 2024, FAO hosted a session under the UNiTE Campaign during the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, organized in collaboration with UN Women and local feminist organizations in crisis-affected countries, titled "Global Crises and Gender-Based Violence". The event focused on how global crises, including conflicts, economic hardship and climate change, disproportionately affect women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to GBV and food insecurity. This session called for urgent humanitarian action to address gender inequalities and the root causes of GBV, highlighting the importance of rapid gender assessments (RGAs) in guiding interventions and empowering women in crisis settings.  

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) is the only global, multilateral, inter-agency grant-making mechanism exclusively focused on ending violence against women and girls.  

Between 2021 and 2024, the UN Trust Fund awarded $54.7 million to 134 civil society organizations, including 96 (72%) women’s rights organizations, to address violence against women and girls (EVAW) in three priority areas: (a) improving access to essential multisectoral services; (b) preventing violence through changes in behaviours, practices, and attitudes; and (c) enhancing the effectiveness of legislation, policies, national action plans, and accountability systems. Nearly 119 million people were impacted by or involved with UN Trust Fund grantee partners during this period.

The UN Trust Fund also supported 55 organizations under the Spotlight Initiative, including 35 (24 in sub-Saharan Africa and 11 in Latin America) receiving grants from the 2019 Spotlight Call for Proposals, as well as additional support through the COVID-19 response funding allocation. A further 20 grantee partners in sub-Saharan Africa received extra support through the 2020 COVID-19 response allocation.

In 2023, the UN Trust Fund, UN Women, and the European Commission launched in partnership the Advocacy, Coalition Building, and Transformative Feminist Action (ACT) programme to strengthen coalition-building, leadership, and resilience within feminist and women’s rights movements, while enhancing advocacy, campaigning, and policymaking. In 2024, the ACT programme awarded $2.34 million to eight women’s rights organizations and organized a global convening of programme partners aimed at strengthening coalition-building and collective action in the face of emerging challenges.

In 2024, the UN Trust Fund launched an initiative, co-led by the Spotlight Initiative and 11 UN entities, to transform the way the UN System funds civil society and women’s rights organizations, by addressing institutional barriers and promoting accessible, effective, feminist-informed funding mechanisms for women’s rights and gender equality.