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In Uganda, OHCHR, in partnership with the Human Rights Commission, consulted women and girls who were victims of grave violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law on their views on remedy and reparation. This work was published in the report “The Dust Has Not Settled: Community reflections on reparations in northern Uganda.” In May 2011, an expert meeting on gender and witness and victim protection was organized. The discussions elaborated on specific challenges and demands with respect to witness and victim protection in proceedings and programmes relating to human rights violations disproportionately affecting women, such as sexual and gender-based violence, domestic violence, so-called honour crimes and trafficking, and will contribute to the development of the framework of a tool for use at national level. Hide

UN Women manages the project Pacific Regional Facility Fund in Support of Organisations and Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women (EVAW), which is a regional ‘basket fund’ to support a small grants facility for Pacific Island organisations and actions to eliminate VAW. Hide

UN Women continued to support the first multi-purpose Centre in the occupied Palestinian territory (West Bank) for women victims of violence through provision of technical and financial assistance. The Centre includes a shelter which has hosted twenty women and their children on a monthly basis. Towards the end of 2011, the revision of policies and procedures of the Centre was initiated and will lead to the upgrading to national policies and procedures. The first multi-purpose Centre in the Gaza Strip was established modeling the Centre in the West Bank. Hide

With the support of UN Action, WHO organized, in collaboration with UNICEF and UNFPA, a technical meeting on responding to the psychosocial and mental health needs of survivors of sexual violence. The meeting in November 2011 reviewed the evidence and experiences from the field and made programmatic, policy and research recommendations. Hide

In Bolivia, with the sponsorship of UN Women, the Centre for Integral Development of Aymara Women (CDIMA) worked with local authorities from the municipalities of Mocomoco, Comanche and Simanco. Following this collaboration, the authorities signed agreements to ensure indigenous women´s access to justice in particular in cases of gender based violence. In the process of improving women´s access to justice, CDIMA has strengthened the coordination between ordinary jurisdiction and indigenous justice systems. Hide

In Latin America, UNODC Regional Office for Brazil and the Southern Cone developed a project for the strengthening of public and civil society institutions to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The project seeks to improve the countries' capacity to offer support to gender-based violence victims and to develop a regional knowledge/expertise on this problem and to architect a good practices network, gathering players from the community, civil society and governmental institutions. Hide

UNRWA has installed referral systems in its five fields of operations (Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and West Bank). In Gaza, UNRWA has established 12 one-stop centres located in UNRWA’s heath centres. In the West Bank, a multi-sectoral, community approach to addressing gender-based violence (GBV) has been the core of the referral system. Family and Child Protection Committees made up of representatives from UNRWA departments and community members are in place in 10 refugee camps to promote awareness and prevention of GBV/violence against women (VAW), and provide protection, and access to services. In Jordan, the primary mechanism of the system is to provide assistance to GBV survivors through referral to external partners who would be able to provide more comprehensive support to those seeking assistance. In Syria, the system was developed in Yarmouk and Deraa camps around the Family Support Offices, which consolidated introducing new services (social interventions and case management), while also strengthening relations with external partners to provide services that are not readily available at the offices (psychosocial counselling, sheltering). In Lebanon, the referral is in the early phases of development. Through the system that is being set-up, UNRWA staff will detect and refer GBV victims to its external partners for counselling and support. From January until November 2011, 561 survivors were detected and referred for services, protection and support. Hide

As part of its strategic leadership role, the UNAIDS Secretariat has gathered evidence to better address gender barriers that hinder women’s access to services, including violence. Hide

In October 2011, in collaboration with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and the Togolese Ministry of Women Affairs, the ECA organized a Regional Stakeholders’ Meeting in Togo on “Women’s Access to Legal and Judicial Services”, which focused on access to justice for women victims of violence including in conflict settings, and on the need for a multisectoral response to victims through the provision of legal, medical and psychosocial support services. Hide

In Afghanistan, OHCHR/UNAMA provided support to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and provincial Departments to establish commissions on the elimination of violence against women in different provinces. Hide