UN Women Takes Action Worldwide

Globally

UN Women’s Global Programme on Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women is a unique initiative that focuses on reducing sexual harassment and violence in urban public spaces, through community empowerment and partnerships with local authorities. Millions of girls and women worldwide are routinely subjected to harassment and abuse when they use public transport, fetch water or go to work. Despite the widespread phenomenon, these forms of violence are often neglected by laws, policies and society at large. The Safe Cities programme is the first global effort focused on developing an intervention model, proven and tested through rigorous evaluation, of how practical measures by local authorities, along with community mobilization, can result in preventing violence against women. The initiative originated in Argentina and Peru, where two women’s organizations used a UN Trust Fund grant to pilot ways of making cities safer for women.

Africa

In Sudan, UN Women has partnered with the UN Mission in Darfur, the local police and tribal leaders in training women in refugee camps to protect themselves from sexual violence. The women receive information on where to seek medical support and about safety measures, such as walking together in groups or carrying a whistle to use in case of attacks. Targeted outreach to men, mentoring them on becoming champions for the protection of women’s human rights, is also underway. The UN Women-supported initiatives have resulted in the establishment of Child and Family Units in police stations and the recruitment of 500 female police officers for Southern Darfur.

In Burundi, significant progress was made when the traditional judicial institution for conflict resolution, the Bashingantahe, amended its Charter to allow for the effective involvement of women. UN Women supported the sensitization of the Bashingantahe on women’s rights and its role in addressing violence against women. For the first time, women are admitted to participate in judicial decisions and now constitute 40 percent of the judges in each session. A direct outcome has been an increase in cases of sexual violence heard by the Bashingantahe: more women are now willing to break the silence on violence and report cases of abuse.

Asia/Pacific and Arab States

Improving access to justice for Afghan women, in particular violence survivors, has been a focus of UN Women efforts. Statistics indicate that in Afghanistan more than 87 percent of all women suffer from domestic abuse, making the country one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman. Since 2008, referral centres provide a safe haven and 24-hour legal advice for cases concerning elopement, divorce, domestic violence and land rights. Staffed and used solely by women, the centres were established by the Ministries of the Interior and Women’s Affairs, with support from UN Women, and plans are underway to extend them to all 34 Afghan provinces.

In Thailand, training of the judicial staff at the Thonburi Criminal Court has resulted in increased commitment to enforce the Domestic Violence Act, and rearrangement of courtrooms using partitions and cameras now protects the survivor from directly encountering the perpetrator.

Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS

UN Women supported efforts in Slovakia to conduct a study on the prevalence and perception of violence against women, including an assessment of institutional responses. The findings of the research have been used to update the national strategy on preventing violence against women and serve as a baseline for gender equality advocates to monitor progress.

In Kazakhstan, efforts have been focused on supporting civil society members and parliamentarians in drafting a domestic violence law.

Latin America and the Caribbean

In Mexico City, the burgeoning public transport system has gotten a facelift aimed at preventing violence against women in buses and subways. The Safe Travelling programme provides specialized security personnel in select locations, and dedicated women-only buses at certain hours, along with reserved entrances and compartments within subway cars. For the women in one of the world’s largest cities, these measures mean better access to education, health services and job markets.

In Ecuador, UN Women supported efforts to reform the ancestral indigenous justice system in Kichwa communities in the province of Imbabura, to better respond to cases of violence against women. A set of “Rules for a Good Coexistence” was created by indigenous women and is currently being used by the communities, with technical and financial support from UN Women. Following an invitation by the Secretariat of the National Plan to Combat Violence against Women, the indigenous women leaders presented their experience as a successful example of ways to curb gender-based violence in indigenous communities.