23/17 Report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women - Note by the Secretary-General

United Nations A/HRC/23/17–E/CN.6/2013/8

General Assembly Economic and Social Council

Distr.: General 11 December 2012

Original: English

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General Assembly Human Rights Council Twenty-third session May-June 2013 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General

Economic and Social Council Commission on the Status of Women Fifty-seventh session 4-15 March 2013 Item 3 (c) of the provisional agenda* Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”: gender mainstreaming, situations and programmatic matters

Report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women

Note by the Secretary-General

Summary The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit herewith to the Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Council the report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women, which was prepared in compliance with General Assembly resolution 50/166.

* E/CN.6/2013/1.

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I. Introduction

1. The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women was established in 1996, pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/166, and is an important benchmark in the commitment of Member States to implement the legal and policy promises to end violence against women. Administered by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), on behalf of the United Nations system, the Trust Fund brings synergy and coherence to the work of the United Nations in this critical field. It is a vital platform for realizing the “Delivering as One” initiative. The Trust Fund is the only global multilateral grant-making mechanism specifically dedicated to addressing violence against women, irrespective of the type or context of this gross human rights violation. Guided by its strategy document for 2010-2015, “Vision 2015”, the Trust Fund supports national and local governments, non-governmental organizations and United Nations country teams in their programmes aimed at preventing violence, expanding services to survivors and strengthening institutional responses to address the causes and consequences of violence against women and girls.

2. By the end of 2012, the $63.5 million active grant portfolio of the Trust Fund included 95 programmes covering 85 countries and territories, touching the lives of over 24 million women and girls and influencing over 5,000 formal and informal institutions. The present report, prepared for the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the twenty-third session of the Human Rights Council, describes the progress and achievements of the Trust Fund in 2012.

II. Background and context

3. Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. In some countries, up to 7 out of 10 women experience physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.1 Women and girls in communities and countries across the world continue to live in a state of systematic insecurity that transcends geography, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status and religion. This violence and insecurity is exacerbated by the cumulative and intersecting discrimination and exclusion experienced by various groups of women and girls. Today, violence against women is increasingly recognized as a threat to democracy, a barrier to lasting peace, a burden on national economies and an appalling human rights violation.2

4. The recognition that violence against women is a major social and political problem is evident in the record number of countries adopting or strengthening

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1 See World Health Organization (WHO), Multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women, Geneva, 2005. The study found that the prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence by a partner varied from 15 per cent in urban Japan to 71 per cent in rural Ethiopia, with most areas being in the 30-60 per cent range. See also “Violence against women prevalence data: surveys by country”, compiled by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), 2011.

2 See UN-Women, “United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, Annual Report 2011”.

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laws, policies and action plans to address this violence.3 The reinforcement of these laws at the international level through successive resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council4 calling for intensified action in this field is a further testament to the progress made so far towards a global legal framework in the area of violence against women.

5. Through the mandate conferred by the General Assembly, the Trust Fund invests in collaborative, coordinated and innovative programmes that aim to end violence against women and enable women and girls to be safe and able to live dignified lives, free from fear and with access to justice as the norm, not the exception.

6. Consistent with this mandate, the Trust Fund focuses on translating the global promise to end violence against women into practice by supporting initiatives that address the gender-based discrimination and exclusion that allows violence to flourish. The programmes implement strategies to transform unjust laws, inequitable social norms and harmful practices; to provide a high quality of services and access to justice to survivors of violence; to keep women and girls safe in conflict, post- conflict and transitional settings; and to break the link between violence and HIV/AIDS.

7. Knowledge, lessons learned and good practices generated through funded programmes are fast becoming the foundations and drivers of policy change in the dynamic process of addressing violence against women. Evidence gathered through baseline studies, evaluations and research conducted by grantees is being transformed into instruments for public education, policy advocacy with institutions and programming. The funded initiatives play a key role in increasing knowledge, transforming behaviour and modifying practices based on prejudice. The Trust Fund considers these valuable efforts to be the building blocks for preventing violence and promoting women’s empowerment.

III. Translating promise into practice

8. Programmes supported by the Trust Fund combine multiple areas of interventions that seek to protect and fulfil women’s interrelated rights. Efforts for the prevention of violence are implemented in conjunction with service delivery programmes, legal and judicial reform and institutional strengthening, thus forging a coherent and holistic approach to ending violence against women and girls, and addressing the manifold causes of violence and its complex consequences on multiple levels. These efforts are helping shape a model to prevent, respond to, and address violence, and to prioritize the sustainability and institutionalization of good practices. Together with its partners, the Trust Fund has learned through its work that ending violence against women requires sustained engagement with communities, that the use of multimedia and social marketing lead to increased awareness and visibility of violence, and that research based on solid evidence can improve advocacy, policymaking and programme implementation.

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3 Globally, 139 countries have included gender equality guarantees in their constitutions, with 125 countries specifically enacting laws criminalizing domestic violence. See UN-Women, “Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice” (2011-2012), p. 24.

4 General Assembly resolutions 61/143, 62/133, 63/155, 64/137, 65/187 and 67/144 and Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009) and 1960 (2010).

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9. The accomplishments of the Trust Fund grantees in 2012 make a compelling case for how much can be achieved by providing strategic and direct grants to programmes of high quality led by effective institutions. Through the programmes supported by the Trust Fund, grantees are building the foundation for an evidence- based, comprehensive model to prevent violence against women that can be scaled-up and replicated regionally, nationally and globally. The Trust Fund helps fill a critical gap in resources and increases the number of successful initiatives that have proven to be a factor in the reduction of violence against women and girls.

Preventing violence

10. Investing in primary prevention efforts at the individual, community, and societal levels to stop violence before it occurs remains a priority for the Trust Fund. This requires the identification of, and response to, the underlying causes of the problem, rather than focusing only on the consequences of violence. In addition, preventing violence entails interventions aimed at transforming unequal power relations based on gender, eliminating discriminatory social norms and confronting attitudes and behaviours that condone and normalize violence against women and girls, both in public and in private. To break the cycle of inequality, exclusion and marginalization that fuels violence, primary prevention focuses on changing the mind-sets and stereotypes that are at their roots. Primary prevention is a fundamental part of any long-term strategy that aims to eliminate violence against women and girls.

11. The Trust Fund has invested approximately $16 million of its active portfolio in community mobilization initiatives with the goal of bringing violence prevention efforts within reach of women and girls. By creating community support and zero tolerance for gender-based violence, these ongoing programmes are promoting changes at the individual level while increasing the protection of women at the community level.

12. The Trust Fund has also invested approximately $6 million on school-based prevention programmes that aim to create safe spaces for girls to continue their education. Engaging school administrators, girls, boys, parents and their communities, these interventions are recognized as an important component of any comprehensive strategy that will bring the intergenerational transmission of violence to a halt by tackling the norms that legitimize violence in society and the family.

13. The school-based prevention programmes supported by the Trust Fund provide girls and their support networks with the tools to realize their human rights and avoid potentially abusive situations. By engaging girls and boys, parents, school administrations and communities, the programmes directly target systematic gender discrimination and social norms that devalue girls, with the aim of changing personal behaviours and institutional and community rules that condone violence. In doing so, Trust Fund grantees are strengthening the role of girls and boys as agents and subjects of change in the achievement of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls.

14. Responding to high levels of rural migration, the Beijing Cultural Development Centre for Rural Women is implementing a programme aimed at preventing violence against young girls left behind by their parents who have migrated to cities for work (girls being raised by relatives in their parents’ absence), who are particularly

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vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. The centre is creating a community safety network for children by training guardians, teachers, police officers and medical professionals on how to better protect this group and identify the physical and mental trauma experienced by abused children who have been left behind. As a result of the programme, government departments cooperating in the pilot areas have increased their awareness of the importance of protecting left-behind girls and have shown interest in integrating components of the intervention into their routine work. For example, until 2012, local education policy in Suizhou City did not include safety and sex education in the education and training plan for teachers and students. Through the efforts of the centre, 1,675 local primary and junior high school students received critical sexual education and self-protection training, and sexuality and safety education was included in the annual training plan for teachers by the Suizhou Education Bureau for the first time. In addition, three resource centres were established in 2012 as safe spaces for guardians and left-behind children to share information and experiences, to learn and to help each other. The centre and its partners have taken the first crucial steps to establish measures for preventing violence against girls in the context of communities affected by migration. In doing so, the centre has demonstrated how a strategic, small-scale investment can have an important multiplier effect.

15. In Zambia, Equality Now is empowering adolescent girls to prevent, identify and report sexual violence through the creation of safe spaces for girls where they can build their protective assets. The programme has reached over 1,800 girls in four schools. Knowing that engaging boys is critical to any prevention effort, the programme reached 1,500 school-age boys with messages aimed at challenging stereotypes that condone sexual violence against girls, thus eroding the discriminatory attitudes and behaviours that have prevented them from becoming champions of girls’ rights. The attitude change generated by the programme became evident through the commitment of over 600 boys in four schools to become agents of change to address sexual violence against girls, with an emphasis on becoming the next generation of partners in the fight against violence.

16. Recognizing the important role that men and boys can play in promoting zero tolerance of violence, the Trust Fund has invested approximately $6.3 million in programmes that specifically engage men and boys as agents of change.

17. Another grantee working to engage men and boys in preventing violence against women and promoting gender equality is the Brazilian organization Instituto Promundo. With support from the Trust Fund, the institute implemented a multi- country programme in Brazil, Chile, India and Rwanda, that ended in 2012. The programme sought to test and evaluate an array of interventions that engage young and adult men in the prevention of gender-based violence, including in the fields of sport, education, health and the workplace. The programme was subject to an impact evaluation in 2012 that demonstrated statistically significant changes both in attitudes towards violence against women and in the self-reported decrease in the use of violence against female partners. Qualitative results further affirmed decreased support for attitudes that encourage men’s use of intimate partner violence. In India, the programme generated a decline in self-reported perpetration of intimate partner violence among participants. In Jaunpur, for example, there was a decrease of self-reported use of physical violence against women over the course of three months, from 19 per cent at the baseline to 9 per cent at the end-line survey. The evaluation also showed an increase in knowledge of laws pertaining to violence

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against women. In Brazil, following the sport-based intervention with workshops, campaigns and tournaments, there was a significant decrease in the percentage of men that agreed that intimate partner violence was acceptable. Of the participants in the football tournament, half reported that they had learned how to interact with women differently and over 20 per cent said they had learned how to better control themselves when they had been tempted to act violently. In Chile, the health sector intervention showed a significant positive change in participants’ self-reported behaviour, including an increase in condom use. The evaluation also showed a significant increase in gender-equitable behaviour by participants and over 80 per cent of the youth reported that the intervention had provided them with more tools to solve problems without resorting to violence.

18. In Cambodia, the Trust Fund grantee CARE and its local implementing partner, the People Health Development Association, have been highly successful in engaging young men in dialogue on sexual health and gender-based violence. In 2012, the programme scaled up its gender-based violence prevention initiative with male university students in 10 major universities in Phnom Penh, reaching over 6,500 young men. The initiative builds the ability of peer leaders to conduct peer education on gender, women’s rights and responsible behaviour towards women in general, and pre- and post-training tests have affirmed the improved understanding and awareness of gender-based violence issues among trained university students. In 2012, the Executive Director of People Health Development Association was also appointed by the Secretary-General as a Youth Ambassador and member of the Network of Men Leaders in recognition of his role in engaging young men to address the issue of violence against women.

19. The Trust Fund is increasing investment in programmes using media to target discriminatory gender norms, attitudes and behaviours that place women and girls at an increased risk of violence. The Trust Fund grantee Puntos de Encuentro has been one of the pioneers in the area of so-called “edutainment” or education through entertainment. It developed the popular television series Contracorriente, which addresses key issues affecting young women in Nicaragua, such as commercial sexual exploitation, young female labour at factories and sexual abuse and its effects, through the day-to-day struggles of a working class family in Nicaragua. Puntos de Encuentro has further utilized the convening power of Contracorriente to spark discussions on sexual exploitation with over 1,500 young men and women, using selected episodes of the series. As a result, participants reported being able to identify risks of sexual exploitation and ways to prevent it. The grantee has also produced the popular magazine La Boletina, reaching out to more than 140,000 beneficiaries across the country, covering more than 84 per cent of the municipalities. La Boletina is disseminated through a network of more than 282 women’s organizations, and has become a channel of cohesion, coordination and dialogue for the women’s movement in the country. An evaluation in 2012 showed that readers of La Boletina reported having increased their understanding of the interconnectedness of their rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, economic rights and the right to a life free of violence. They also reported being able to make their rights respected to a larger extent, making decisions that affect their lives, establishing their own personal goals, ensuring political participation or organizing with other women to speak out. The Trust Fund is now scaling-up the strategy to prevent violence against women and girls in 11 countries, through the support of the “Pop Culture With a Purpose” programme implemented by Oxfam-

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Novib. Puntos de Encuentro is one of the resource organizations in this programme, sharing and helping replicate its experiences throughout Asia and Africa.

Expanding access to support services for survivors

20. The Trust Fund supports coordinated, comprehensive and multisectoral approaches to ending violence against women. To ensure that the range of interrelated needs and rights of women survivors of violence are being addressed effectively, grantees engage with multiple sectors and institutions, including those related to health, security and/or police, legal matters, education, social affairs, youth affairs, labour and urban planning.

21. In Mozambique, in 2012, Pathfinder International, a grantee, established the first integrated centre in the country to care for and assist survivors of violence against women, bringing together health, psychosocial, law enforcement, paralegal and social services under one roof. The programme is strengthening the capacities of police and health providers in the Gaza province, contributing to the now fully functional directorates of assistance for women and children victims of violence in the police stations of Chokwè and Xai-Xai City. In these Cabinets, trained health providers receive and treat survivors, and refer them to appropriate services. The programme is also building the capacity of provincial and district directorates to plan, budget (e.g., training on gender-responsive budgeting), implement and monitor interventions to prevent violence against women. All partners and associates have been trained on gender and policies/laws related to the elimination of violence against women. These activities are the crucial building blocks for increasing ownership and sustainability of the strategies and interventions beyond the lifetime of the programme.

22. Moreover, the Trust Fund supports a number of pioneering initiatives aimed at strengthening service delivery for particularly vulnerable women and girls. As part of the $9.6 million allocated to the special thematic window5 addressing the intersection of HIV/AIDS and violence against women, the recipients of grants from the Trust Fund are working to increase access for women and girls to critical services. The Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health is implementing a programme to improve the lives of women living with HIV and women and girls living on the streets, who are survivors of gender-based violence, by improving their access to care and support, and by building the systems, capacity and commitment of the Government to prevent and respond to violence. The initiative established first identification, referral and service provision system in Kiev for cases of violence against women and girls living with HIV/AIDS and living on the streets. The foundation is also piloting an innovative programme to engage over 400 perpetrators of violence in behavioural change counselling and education, in four cities throughout the country. In India, the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust is implementing a programme to address high levels of violence and increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS experienced by sex workers in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka, where nearly 135,000 women work in sex work, of whom 26 per cent report having been beaten or raped in the past year alone. By intervening at the individual, community and institutional levels, the programme is improving

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5 The Trust Fund launched a special funding window as part of its fifteenth call for proposals, focusing on programmes that address the twin pandemics of HIV/AIDS and violence against women.

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knowledge, attitudes and behaviour among community members, sex workers and their partners, and service providers, on the intersection of HIV and violence against women. The programme has started yielding results and recognition by important stakeholders during its first year of implementation. In 2012, the judiciary in Karnataka decided to institutionalize the training across all districts through the judicial academy.

23. Conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings pose particular challenges to service delivery for survivors of violence. Across conflict-affected zones around the world, the organizations in partnership with the Trust Fund are working to meet those complex challenges so as to ensure that women receive the critical services they need. In Iraq, the International Medical Corps is building an integrated model of care for women survivors of violence by strengthening the capacity and coordination efforts of key service providers across multiple sectors of care in Baghdad and is establishing a referral system to respond to violence against women and girls. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, more than 100 medical staff from over 40 hospitals and primary health-care centres have been trained to provide better support and services to survivors. The knowledge gained by doctors, nurses, midwives, medical assistants and other medical staff is being integrated into the country’s basic health-care system. The training of local authorities, the Iraqi Bar Association of lawyers, community social workers and non-governmental organizations promotes the cross-sectoral coordination needed to ensure a comprehensive approach for the provision of services to survivors. The non-governmental organization Resonance, based in the Republic of Moldova, is implementing a programme in the region of Transdniestria, aimed at preventing and combating domestic violence. The organization has developed techniques for integrated service delivery to women survivors of violence, including an effective system of referrals. Service providers have applied the programme’s assistance model to their day-to-day work and have established a system of internal recording and reporting. The programme has been effective at reaching out to women, many of whom have become advocates and volunteers, passing on their first-hand experience, knowledge and skills to other survivors. The programme is increasing public participation in campaigns aimed at eliminating violence against women. In addition, the grantee was the driving force behind a draft domestic violence law that was intensively discussed, finalized and considered in the official agenda during parliamentary hearings in 2012. Overall, the Trust Fund has invested $7.5 million in interventions benefiting women and girls in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings.

Strengthening the institutional response to violence

24. To ensure that policies and laws adopted around the world result in tangible changes for women and girls, the Trust Fund supports a range of initiatives aimed at strengthening the institutional response to violence. By expanding the quality and quantity of support available for the effective implementation of national laws and action plans, the Trust Fund promotes accountability, transparency and citizen participation and oversight.

25. The Trust Fund supports a number of initiatives that focus on strengthening the response of justice systems to human rights violations. In many countries, gaps in capacity and insufficient clarity regarding accountability, institutional mandates and responsibilities have led to justice systems in which impunity is the norm. By

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setting up new criminal investigation guidelines and crime registration systems, grantees aim at creating institutional environments that can truly address women’s needs. For example, a programme led by the International Rescue Committee is working to combat impunity and promote access to fair and timely justice in Sierra Leone. The Committee has provided financial and technical assistance to the police in Sierra Leone in the conceptualization and dissemination of the country’s first standard operating procedures for the investigation of sexual and domestic violence offences. The procedures will improve the consistency and effectiveness of procedures for documenting, investigating and prosecuting sexual and domestic violence nationwide. The Committee was also an instrumental partner in the passing of the Sexual Offences Act by the national parliament of Sierra Leone. The Act provides a more consistent and comprehensive legal framework for the prosecution of a wide range of sexual crimes, including rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation and is currently awaiting the signature of the President to be passed into law. It is anticipated that the law will create the legal framework for a more consistent and effective investigation and prosecution of sexual crimes, regardless of the victim’s age or relationship to the perpetrator. Once the bill has been signed into law, the Committee will join other stakeholders in ensuring that the law is disseminated in Sierra Leone through a range of public education and training activities supported by the Trust Fund. The initiative builds on and scales up an earlier programme supported by the Trust Fund and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, demonstrating the importance of strong and sustained partnerships. The replication of the programme in other countries where the Committee is present is also being planned.

26. The Trust Fund supports several programmes aimed at establishing and/or strengthening referral mechanisms. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a United Nations country team programme implemented jointly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in close collaboration with the Government, is building lines of communication and coordination between entities and both the local and State levels with the goal of establishing an effective referral mechanism for use by key stakeholders. The eight targeted municipalities have committed resources to ensure its sustainability. The programme has also contributed to the development and adoption of local plans and programmes on the prevention of gender-based violence by local authorities in 13 municipalities, which are provided with funding allocations through the national gender action plan. The target referral mechanisms have also developed and adopted their own plans for the prevention of violence in their local communities as a sign of long-term commitment to eliminating violence against women and girls.

27. Other grantees of the Trust Fund focus on strengthening the implementation of protection orders and criminal investigations of gender-motivated killings of women. In Mexico, Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Catholics for the Right to Free Choice) is establishing a standardized protocol for the criminal investigation of cases of murder and forced disappearance of women, which will serve as a model for state-level Attorneys General. In partnership with the National Citizens’ Observatory on Femicide, the grantee has developed the first draft protocol for the criminal investigation of cases of femicide in Mexico City. The protocol will be replicated in other states in the country. By the end of 2012, 11 of the 17 Mexican States that had codified femicide had made use of the minimum guidelines for

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investigation developed by the grantee. In response to the lack of, or inadequate, data on murders of women across the country, Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir has also identified eight minimum variables that should be reported when registering cases of femicide. These variables have been adopted by the Attorney General of Mexico City and will likely be replicated in other states and at the federal level.

IV. Generating knowledge and developing capacities

28. As the leading global fundraising mechanism dedicated to the elimination of violence against women and girls, the Trust Fund is an international hub of knowledge generation and dissemination. The knowledge generated through programmes supported by the Trust Fund provides a blueprint for what works to eliminate violence against women, but also highlights gaps in programming and funding that must be addressed.

29. What is increasingly becoming evident is that ending violence against women requires a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, assistance to survivors, a robust legal and policy framework and law enforcement capability. Without exception, programmes supported by the Trust Fund identify deep-seated stigma and discrimination against women and girls at the individual, community and institutional levels as the most important factors contributing to the vulnerability of women and girls. Analysis and evaluations of programmes supported by the Trust Fund are revealing that when it comes to the elimination of violence against women, strategies for change are the responsibility of all. The elimination of violence against women requires systematic and continuous reflection by individuals, communities and national and international institutions on beliefs, behaviours and practices and how these beliefs and practices may affect policies, programmes and actions.

30. The collective experiences of the programmes supported by the Trust Fund reveal that there are four common approaches that are critical to delineating a comprehensive response to ending violence against women. The analysis shows that 90 per cent of the grantees have put in place initiatives to strengthen the response to violence against women, to prevent the occurrence of violence and, where violence is perpetrated, to support survivors in the most effective way. Grantees of the Trust Fund have identified the need for multidimensional responses to ending violence against women, in the preventive, remedial and rehabilitation stages of the spectrum and have implemented this approach through one-stop centres, common protocols and the building of individual and institutional capacities to foster a unified response to violence against women. More than one third of the grantees have identified eradicating the root causes of violence against women as a core strategy and have used numerous interventions to change the beliefs, traditions, perceptions and behaviour of people. Among these interventions, those involving working with men and boys and with community, tribal and religious leaders are the most relevant, along with those promoting community-based research and awareness- raising through public information campaigns. A third approach is the production and enrichment of knowledge to support advocacy for social transformation, policy and action, with 41 per cent of the portfolio of active grants using this strategy mainly through (a) conducting surveys and baseline research; (b) mapping resources and services; (c) piloting programmes and drawing on knowledge from individual

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and collective experiences; (d) conducting specialized research; and (e) building upon existing knowledge. The fourth core approach is the empowerment of survivors to enable them to move from a state of victimhood towards taking control of their lives and being agents of change for other survivors. Close to one fifth of grants have used such a strategy, creating support systems such as peer educators, counsellors and survivors’ networks and programmes to provide women survivors with skills to reduce their vulnerability to violence. Specific interventions that have proven effective in promoting healing and transformation among survivors are related to the use of edutainment techniques and the creation of solidarity and support groups where women can have a voice to make their needs and priorities acknowledged and respected.

31. There is no single solution for ending violence against women, but rather various measures, models and approaches that can be applied in a coherent way. The impact of programmes is rarely immediate, as change is a slow process even in the best of circumstances. The lessons learned on best approaches for addressing violence against women accentuate the impact that the current funding environment can have on programming. While the importance of the multisectoral and multipartner approaches are increasingly highlighted through research and evaluations, the lack of long-term funding available in the field makes it challenging to carry out these recommendations and to push forward the lessons learned. Long- term investments in programmes that combine several strategies, bringing together multiple actors to address the many causes and consequences of violence against women and girls in a coherent manner, are crucial.

32. In 2012, the Trust Fund continued its support of global learning initiatives through its special thematic windows. In its sixteenth grant making cycle, the Trust Fund launched a special thematic window on addressing violence against women in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings. The special thematic windows are particularly relevant for generating knowledge and stimulating actions in strategic areas to advance the field of ending violence against women and girls.

33. The Trust Fund special thematic window on addressing the twin pandemics of violence against women and HIV/AIDS also continues to scale up efforts for evidence-based programmes. In 2012, the Trust Fund produced a policy paper on effective approaches for addressing the intersection of violence against women and HIV/AIDS. The policy paper reinforced the message that investing in long-term interventions and challenging discrimination and harmful norms against women and girls is the way towards a future with zero violence and zero HIV/AIDS. The policy paper was presented at the International AIDS Conference, held in July 2012, in Washington, D.C., at a session co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN-Women.

34. In 2012, the Trust Fund intensified its efforts to develop the capacities of grantees to conduct effective monitoring and evaluation and to improve the overall processes of the Trust Fund for capturing and disseminating knowledge. The Trust Fund provided technical feedback to grantees, starting in the proposal development phase, and continued its assistance in developing and implementing grantees’ monitoring and evaluation plans. It also extended its capacity development training for recently funded grantees on evidence-based programme design, monitoring and evaluation. The Trust Fund held a five-day capacity-building workshop in Mexico City, reaching a total of 14 organizations. The workshop was tailored for new

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grantees to gain a global overview of evidence-informed best practices on programming. It brought the partners together to gain a fuller understanding of their programmes and to ascertain how their evidence-informed approaches can be strengthened.

V. Building new partnerships, ownership and expanded commitment

35. Mobilizing broad-based participation of both established and new actors in the field of eliminating violence against women is a key pillar of the strategic plan of the Trust Fund for 2010-2015. The Trust Fund is actively contributing to the United Nations “Delivering as one” initiative, by bringing the system together and ensuring coordination at the operational, decision-making and programme implementation stages. At the operational and programme management levels, the primary vehicle for the participation of the United Nations system comprises the 14 local inter-agency programme advisory committees and the Global Programme Advisory Committee of the Trust Fund. The Global Programme Advisory Committee advises the Trust Fund on strategic priorities and grant-making issues. The subregional inter-agency programme advisory committees ensure synergies with existing United Nations efforts towards the elimination of violence against women and national priorities. The decentralized and broadly participatory structure ensures that funding allocations conform to the capacities and needs of diverse countries and regions, thereby promoting the overall relevance of the Trust Fund to national priorities and contexts. In its grant-making cycle for 2012, the Trust Fund recorded the participation of 105 individuals and 17 organizations of the United Nations system6 throughout the entire process, which illustrates the commitment of the entire United Nations system to the work and mission of the Trust Fund, and demonstrates the ability of the Fund to bring the system together in an open, transparent and participatory manner. Equally, it highlights the capacity to generate a platform for open discussion on strategies for the elimination of violence against women worldwide.

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6 In 2012, members of the programme advisory committees at the global and subregional levels included: the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); the International Labour Organization (ILO); the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); the World Health Organization (WHO); the World Food Programme (WFP); the World Bank; United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict; and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Programme advisory committees also comprised of leading representatives of non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations and other experts at the global and field levels, including representatives from the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, Equality Now, the Open Society Institute, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and others.

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36. The Trust Fund is also supporting joint programmes off United Nations country teams, thereby contributing to the synergized, coordinated and collective efforts of the United Nations system, at the country level, for the elimination of violence against women. Since 2008, the Trust Fund has received joint programme proposals from 50 country teams, and is currently supporting 13 such joint programmes, with a total investment of $12.6 million in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Panama, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Uruguay. The targeted programme support of the Trust Fund is serving as an important incentive for agencies of at the country level to gather the collective knowledge and experiences of the United Nations system for systematic, coordinated and comprehensive programming. Joint programmes promote a multisectoral and holistic response to violence and are focused on supporting Governments in the establishment of systems and mechanisms.

37. The Trust Fund continues its close collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and its support to the mandates of the special procedures mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council. The country offices of OHCHR are working closely with the grantees to ensure the integration of a human rights perspective at every stage of programme implementation. The Trust Fund’s annual call for proposals solicits proposals from organizations working to address gaps in the realization of recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The Trust Fund has also engaged the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict during the development of the new special thematic window on violence against women and girls in conflict, post- conflict and transitional settings, to ensure that the proposals submitted address gaps in the implementation of Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009). The collaboration will continue throughout the implementation of the programmes supported within this focus area. By funding these programmes, the Trust Fund is also supporting the Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign by targeting one of its five key outcomes: addressing sexual violence in conflict and post- conflict situations.

38. In June 2012, the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, hosted a cultural event in the General Assembly hall with the aim of boosting support for the Trust Fund and celebrating the work of UN-Women. Through this event, the General Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to the cause of ending violence against women and the mandate of the Trust Fund to take action on behalf of the United Nations system. The increasing commitment and partnership was illustrated, subsequent to the special event, by first-time donor contributions from Africa, Latin America and Arab States.

VI. Grant-making cycle 2012

39. The Trust Fund’s annual call for proposals solicits applications that focus on addressing all forms of violence against women. In ensuring that the core principles of an open, fair, transparent, competitive and merit-based process are maintained, the Trust Fund makes the call for proposals available in six languages and solicits applications in English, French and Spanish. The Trust Fund prioritizes applications that demonstrate multisectoral approaches and collaboration between various

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stakeholders; evidence-based interventions; meaningful investments in monitoring and evaluation; and systems to document knowledge and lessons learned. It also underscores the potential for scaling up successful initiatives, while emphasizing the development of national capacities to foster sustainability.

40. The demand for grants from the Trust Fund has increased exponentially over the past five years. During its sixteenth grant-making cycle (2011-2012), the Trust Fund was able to meet less than 1 per cent of the total amount requested in grant applications (total requests amounted to $1.06 billion). In any given year, the Trust Fund has been able to meet less than 5 per cent of the demand for resources to address violence against women and girls.

41. In 2012, the Trust Fund awarded $8.4 million in new grants to 12 initiatives in 19 countries. Grants distributed in the sixteenth grant-making cycle are expected to reach over 1.9 million beneficiaries between 2012 and 2015. The largest number of grants distributed in 2012 went to Latin America and the Caribbean region, with Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia and cross-regional programmes each receiving an equal number of grants, followed by the Arab States. In terms of the value of grant distribution, programmes from Latin America and the Caribbean were awarded the greatest amount of funds (23 per cent), followed closely by cross- regional programmes (20 per cent); Africa (18 per cent); Europe and Central Asia (15 per cent); and Asia-Pacific and the Arab States (12 per cent respectively). The vast majority of new grantees (75 per cent) are civil society organizations, followed by governmental organizations (17 per cent) and United Nations country teams (8 per cent).

42. The number of Member States contributing to the Trust Fund showed a significant increase from 24 in 2011 to 33 in 2012, reaching the largest number of contributing Member States since the establishment of the Trust Fund in 1996. Through its contributions, the Trust Fund serves as a barometer of the commitment of the international community to advancing efforts for the elimination of violence against women. These new partnerships represent a step towards the achievement of the goal set by the Secretary-General through the UNiTE campaign to raise, by 2015, $100 million annually for the Trust Fund grant-making cycle. For its sixteenth grant-making cycle, the Trust Fund benefited from the generous support of 17 Member States: Australia, Bahrain, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, South Africa and Switzerland. In 2012, Johnson & Johnson was the leading private sector partner of the Trust Fund, while the United Nations Federal Credit Union made its second contribution to the Fund. From the non-profit sector, Zonta International has reaffirmed its commitment to the cause of the Trust Fund with its eighth consecutive contribution, while the United Nations Women for Peace initiative and the Universal Peace Federation made their first contributions to the Trust Fund in 2012. The work of the Fund was also supported by national committees for UN-Women in Austria, Finland, Iceland, Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Around the world, committed individuals have also embraced and supported the cause of the Trust Fund through their contributions.

43. Grants awarded in 2012 continue to support work along the thematic and priority areas identified by the Trust Fund, with some grantees partnering with and building on the achievements of past grants from the Trust Fund, and others

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breaking new ground with novel approaches and learning in the field, as illustrated in the following examples:

(a) The organization Concern Worldwide will work to reduce school-related gender-based violence in the Nsanje district of Malawi by partnering with local non-governmental organizations and government agencies to establish effective awareness, prevention and response mechanisms and promote equal access to quality primary education for girls and at-risk children in 25 schools. In Papua New Guinea, Voice for Change, a local women’s human rights organization, will support the local government in drafting by-laws for the newly established Jiwaka Province to address many forms of violence against women that remain widespread in the province;

(b) Five new grantees will focus on strengthening local and national laws, policies and action plans that address violence against women. In Peru, DEMUS will build on its record of successful advocacy for legislative change by seeking improved application of the new Peruvian Criminal Procedure Code for cases of sexual violence by strengthening the capacity of justice officials responsible for providing protection and reparation to women survivors. In Belize, the Women’s Department will lead efforts towards the implementation of the country’s National Plan of Action on Gender-based Violence, prioritizing primary prevention by addressing the causes of violence against women through specialized school curricula and the engagement of teachers as allies. The Women’s Resource Centre in Armenia will promote the Government’s accountability for the implementation of the 2011-2015 Strategic Action Plan to Combat Gender-based Violence through developing monitoring mechanisms and providing recommendations to relevant government agencies on legal and policy changes. The United Nations country team in Serbia will contribute to the establishment of a coordinated institutional response to address violence against women, in line with the National Strategy for Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women in the Family and in Intimate Partner Relationships 2011, through a set of prevention and protection measures. The Institute for the Advancement of Gender Equality in Cape Verde will spearhead implementation of the 2011 Gender-based Violence Law with a focus on the prevention of violence and the coordinated institutional response of the Government and non-governmental organizations;

(c) The Trust Fund is supporting four new programmes in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings in 2012, awarding close to $3.5 million to these vital initiatives and providing grants for the first time to programmes in Libya. The International Medical Corps will work to ensure that gender-based violence is appropriately addressed and prioritized by local and national authorities during Libya’s current transitional period. It will increase the service and coordination capacities of Government and community-based service providers and train people in five key facilities across the country on gender-based violence guiding principles and psychological first aid. The Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice will address the matter of accountability for gender-based crimes in the context of four armed conflict and post-conflict settings where the International Criminal Court is conducting ongoing investigations. The grantee will strengthen local capacity to undertake documentation programmes in order to generate credible data on gender- based crimes. The International Centre for Transitional Justice will work to ensure that transitional justice mechanisms are designed to address the specific needs of victims of gender-based violence in six programme countries, by providing

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technical assistance and trainings to national policymakers and others involved in the design of transitional justice measures. In Thailand, the International Rescue Committee will scale up an already proven approach to service delivery for gender- based violence in humanitarian contexts, through a survivor-centred, multisectoral approach to address the needs of survivors in two refugee camps along the Thailand/Myanmar border, and by helping a local community-based organization to become the leader of this approach.

VII. The way forward

44. As the Trust Fund approaches its seventeenth year of grant-making, it will continue to offer a global platform to Member States, civil society organizations and the United Nations system for concerted efforts towards eliminating violence against women. Through its grants, the Trust Fund will continue to support high quality, evidence-based programmes that will improve the lives of women and girls around the world. It will continue to be a catalyst for new ideas, a source of support for strategic action and a hub of knowledge on emerging best practices in the field. Building on the knowledge generated by its grantees on the ground, the Trust Fund will continue to shed light on the necessary components of a global approach that enables a holistic response to end violence against women.

45. In order to meet the increasing demand for grants from the Trust Fund, efforts will be redoubled to ensure that necessary resources and attention are obtained. As of December 2012, the Governments of Australia, Austria, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Turkey and the United States of America have contributed to the seventeenth grant-making cycle of the Trust Fund, alongside formal pledges from the Governments of Germany and the Netherlands.

46. Closing the gap on the implementation of national laws, policies and action plans will continue to be the overarching framework of the Trust Fund’s call for proposals. In particular, the Trust Fund will seek to support areas of work that remain underresourced and largely underserved by existing development programming. Given that exposure to violence at a young age has devastating and potentially lifelong physical and mental health consequences, the call for proposals launched in November 2012 included a special focus area on addressing violence against adolescent and young girls. This capitalizes on the first ever International Day of the Girl Child, which was celebrated on 11 October 2012, and will reinforce the commitment to respect, protect and realize the human rights of girls. This area of grant-making focuses on preventing and protecting adolescent and young girls from all forms of gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation, and ensuring that girls who experience violence receive critical services and access to justice. This includes addressing violence against those most at risk of violence, such as girls who are out of school, isolated by marriage, or “invisible” domestic workers. The funding window allows the Trust Fund to provide much needed resources and support to non-governmental organizations, Governments and United Nations country teams dedicated to advancing the rights of adolescent and young girls through integrated interventions that address and respond to their needs. By doing so, this new cohort of grantees will also be generating essential knowledge on best practices and identifying models that can be scaled up and replicated in other contexts. The Trust Fund envisions working closely in 2013 with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Coalition for Adolescent Girls and others to share information on

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programming and expand the network of partners with extensive experience of working with adolescent and young girls.

47. The new group of grantees working in 10 conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings will be invited to share the experiences gained and lessons learned during the implementation of their programmes. At the end of the grant cycle, and based on the programme evaluations, the Trust Fund will disseminate knowledge and produce policy papers that outline good practices in addressing gender-based violence in conflict, post-conflict and transitional settings. Case studies will also be developed to identify promising practices in this area of gender- based violence programming. In terms of grantees working to address the intersection of violence against women and HIV/AIDS, the Trust Fund will continue to provide specialized technical assistance to partners.

48. Under the auspices of UN-Women as the administrator of the Trust Fund, the organizations of the United Nations and of civil society that form the Global Programme Advisory Committee of the Fund, including WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, the International Labour Organization (ILO), OHCHR, Equality Now, the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership and the regional commissions, are closely collaborating in documenting the lessons learned from the programmes supported by the Trust Fund. This collaboration and coordination will continue in 2013 and beyond in an effort to ensure the integration of the elimination of violence against women as a core part of the development agenda beyond 2015 and as the critical enabler in achieving gender equality, advancing women’s human rights and empowering entire communities.