Measures

UNRWA is strengthening the capacity of its counselors in the health centres, its lawyers in legal advice offices, and its social workers in the women program centres to offer a more targeted intervention to victims in Gaza and West Bank through the Community Mental Health, the MDG-Gender and the Equality in Action programs. Hide

UNRWA participated in the 16 days of activism campaign against gender violence. In Gaza City, 700 women were invited to an informative talk about gender-based violence. A series of activities were held in UNRWA’s schools and women’s centres throughout the West Bank, including creative workshops, documentary screenings and sessions on the adverse consequences of gender-based violence. UNRWA, along with other UN agencies in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, held a joint event. In Syria, public events were organized in Damascus, Hama and Homs, including testimonies from victims, paintings, lectures and marches. Targeted audiences included youth, women, men, community leaders and religious leaders. Hide

In October 2009, the “Sakhli Advice Centre for Women”, an NGO and partner of UNHCR in Georgia, published a booklet on IDPs and the Problem of Violence, which is based on surveys on sexual and gender- based violence among IDP affected communities. Hide

UNHCR and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working on a population-based survey to understand the magnitude of sexual and gender-based violence and the barriers to protection and other services among refugee populations. Hide

UNHCR hosted a White Ribbon Campaign to mobilize men to end violence against women, and a photo exhibition to raise awareness about trafficking. Hide

In December 2009, UNHCR held a training with NGOs from several African countries on resettlement and the heightened risk identification tool (HRIT), which has been developed to enhance the identification of individuals at heightened risk of protection problems, including SGBV. Resettlement is an important protection tool for survivors of SGBV. Hide

UNHCR, in cooperation with UNFPA and WHO, published an e-learning tool on the clinical management of rape. UNHCR’s Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls has been translated into Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish and a CD-ROM version in Arabic, English, French and Spanish has been produced. Hide

During 2009, UNHCR organized a session for staff at Headquarters to raise awareness about Security Council resolutions 1820 and 1888, and also held a lecture on Revisiting Strategies of Inclusion and Violence against Women. UNHCR commemorated the 16 days of activism campaign against gender violence at Headquarters and in the field with a variety of activities, including a demonstration of solidarity by UNHCR staff in joining the “Get Cross” campaign of UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict. Hide

In September 2009, a workshop, jointly facilitated by UNHCR, UNFPA and the International Rescue Committee, was held on the establishment of standard operating procedures to address SGBV, and on the gender-based violence information management system (GBVIMS). The workshop included participants from the Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Nepal, and Sudan. UNHCR and UNFPA conducted GBVIMS technical support missions to the refugee operations in Kenya and Thailand. Hide

The Final Evaluation Report of the UN Trust Fund 2005-2008 and the Management Response can be found at the UNIFEM website (www.unifem.org/evaw). A debriefing on the evaluation findings was organized in September for the global inter-agency Programme Appraisal Committee and UN Member States.The UN Trust Fund continued to intensify its outreach and resource mobilization efforts, including through a new fund-raising strategy under the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign. The Campaign’s target of an annual contribution of US $100 million by 2015 to the UN Trust Fund became a Commitment to Action of the Clinton Global Initiative.In 2009, the UN Trust Fund reached an unprecedented US $23.5 million in total donor contributions and pledges, the largest amount of resources mobilized thus far in a single year.UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador and UN Trust Fund grantee organization Breakthrough testified in October 2009 to the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. They presented strategies on ending violence against women and girls, and called attention to the need to scale up resources to the UN Trust Fund.In November 2009, the UN Secretary-General announced US $10.5 million in UN Trust Fund grants. A training curriculum on evidence-based programming, monitoring and evaluation was piloted, and two workshops were held in Ethiopia and in India for grantee organizations. Hide