38/3 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/38/3–E/CN.6/2018/9

General Assembly Economic and Social Council

Distr.: General

15 December 2017

Original: English

17-22602 (E) 100118

*1722602*

General Assembly Economic and Social Council

Human Rights Council Thirty-eighth session

18 June–6 July 2018 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

Commission on the Status of Women Sixty-second session

12–23 March 2018 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

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.6/2018/1.

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I. Overview

1. The United Nations trust fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against

women is a global, multilateral grant-making mechanism that supports efforts to

prevent and end violence against women and girls. It was established in 1996 by the

General Assembly, in its resolution 50/166, and is administered by the United Nations

Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) on behalf

of the United Nations system. With the strong institutional support of UN-Women and

its regional, multi-country and country offices, and working closely with the rest of

the United Nations system through its inter-agency Programme Advisory Committee,1

the trust fund plays a vital role in driving forward collective efforts to prevent and

eliminate violence against women and girls.

2. The present report, prepared for the sixty-second session of the Commission on

the Status of Women and the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council,

describes the impact and achievements of the trust fund in 2017.

3. The trust fund raises and distributes funds to support multi -year programmes to

address, prevent and ultimately end violence against women and girls in three priority

areas: improving access for women and girls to essential, safe and adequate

multisectoral services; furthering implementation of legislation, policies, national

action plans and accountability systems; and promoting the prevention of violence

against women and girls. It does so through its three strategic directions: supporting

results-oriented approaches to prevent and end violence against women and girls;

catalysing learning from global evidence collected from grantees; and leveraging its

unique mandate and convening power to advocate for and foster sustainable

financing.

4. Raising the profile of effective measures to prevent and end violence against

women and girls in order to secure continued and increased funding remains at the

core of the trust fund’s efforts. The list of trust fund donors has grown and diversified

over the years and, while countering the causes and addressing the consequences of

violence against women remains seriously underfunded, the trust fund has brought

increasing attention to the need for resources and the enormous and sustained impact

that grantees can and do have on the lives of women and girls, often with relatively

modest investment.

5. As of December 2017, the Governments of Australia, Austria, Ireland, Israel,

Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of

America had contributed to the trust fund’s twenty-first grant-making cycle. Support

was also received from the UN-Women National Committees of Japan, the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.

__________________

1 In 2017, Programme Advisory Committee members at the global level included: the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development

Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and the World Health

Organization. Other experts at the global level, including representatives fro m the Centre for

Women’s Global Leadership, Equality Now and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, were

also actively involved in the grant-making process.

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6. In 2017, the trust fund managed 120 projects aimed at preventing and addressing

violence against women and girls in 80 countries and territories. 2 At least 340,830

women and girls benefited directly from services for survivors, empowerment

activities and protection from violence during the year, among whom were 45,950

women survivors of violence. A total of 6,362,155 people, including men and boys,

government officials and the general public, were reached by supported projects

during the year. In 2017, the trust fund sought in particular to reach women and girls

from marginalized and underserved communities and groups who face particular

challenges because of discrimination, poverty or isolation in rural or remote settings.

Among the direct beneficiaries, for example, were at least 37,550 women and girls

living with disabilities, 10,640 lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and 8,880

indigenous women. An analysis of trust fund projects showed that the cost of reaching

beneficiaries in 2017 was $2.7 per beneficiary, in line with the figure from 2016,

illustrating the great impact of often small investments.

II. Introduction

7. The global movement for human rights and women’s empowerment has

achieved much in recent decades. Nevertheless, violence against women and girls

remains prevalent, persistent and devastating. It is recognized as a major obstacle to

the fulfilment of the human rights of women and girls and to the achievement of the

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As many as 70 per cent of women

worldwide have experienced intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in their

lifetimes.3 At least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some

form of female genital mutilation/cutting in the 30 countries where the practice is

most prevalent; in the majority of cases girls were cut before the age of five. 4 More

than 750 million women alive today were married before their eighteenth birthday

and about 250 million entered into union before the age of 15.5 The scale of gender-

based violence against women and girls underscores the urgency of properly

resourcing effective measures to end it.

8. The deeply entrenched nature of gender-based violence affecting all

generations, nationalities and communities was recently highlighted by the high -

profile revelations of widespread sexual harassment and violence starting in the

__________________

2 Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize,

Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada,

Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Ke nya,

Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar,

Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco,

Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru,

Republic of the Congo, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands,

Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda,

Ukraine, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Viet Nam, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and State of

Palestine.

3 World Health Organization, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and South African

Medical Research Council, Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence

and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence (Geneva, World

Health Organization, 2013).

4 United Nations Children’s Fund, Female genital mutilation/cutting: a global concern (New York,

2016).

5 United Nations Children’s Fund, Ending child marriage: progress and prospects (New York,

2014).

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entertainment industry and swiftly encompassing a host of diverse sectors. The initial

focus on people in the public eye became a truly global phenomenon as people drew

courage from each other and spoke out about their experiences. The debate

increasingly focused on the all-pervading, constant, everyday reality of a continuum

of violence faced by so many women and girls around the world. More than 1 million

people tweeted using the hashtag #MeToo, sharing personal stories of sexual

harassment or assault in an act of virtual solidarity. This online outcry gave voice to

acts that are traditionally shrouded in silence and neutralized by convention, exposing

the web of intimidation that protects abusers and the cruel privilege of impunity. It

was one of many expressions of women’s activism in 2017 that, in different contexts

and languages, sent the message: sexual harassment and gender-based violence,

whether at work, in the home or in public spaces, are not acceptable and must not be

ignored, and that each individual must take action in this regard, without delay. It is

in this context that trust fund grantees around the world continue to work on a daily

basis to challenge impunity, to empower survivors and to further attitudinal change

in order to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls.

9. In 2016, the total funding requested in response to the trust fund’s Call for

Proposals was more than $677 million, a testament to the existence of a wealth of

innovative and transformational civil society projects that could make a real impact

on gender-based violence in many different settings around the world. A key

challenge for the trust fund, therefore, is to find ways to enable this momentum to

translate into projects fostering sustainable change.

A. Building sustainability

10. Of 21 small grants assigned in the eighteenth and nineteenth cycles (2014 and

2015, respectively), 14 (two thirds) were assigned to organizations that identified

themselves as women’s non-governmental organizations. This represents a significant

increase in comparison to earlier cycles and shows that opening the small grants

modality has improved the trust fund’s outreach to women’s rights organizations. As

of the twentieth call for proposals (2016), the trust fund has refined its outreach

approach by stating explicitly what type of organizations are prioritized and what

criteria would be applied; these include the size of organizations, whether they are

women-led, their level of expertise as regards gender-based violence and their track

record of implementing projects in the field on ending violence against women.

11. One of the consequences of the historically low level of funding allocated to

initiatives to end and address violence against women, representing just 2 per cent of

the total donations allocated to human rights funding, 6 has been the relative

underdevelopment of the administrative and governance capacities of organizations,

particularly smaller organizations, working on these issues. The trust fund is,

therefore, prioritizing capacity-building for small organizations, with a particular

focus on small women’s organizations.

12. The trust fund recognizes the need for small women’s organizations to ensure

the sustainability of their core organizational functions so that they can define their

own priorities in accomplishing their mission. The trust fund is responding to this __________________

6 A report by the Foundation Center on global human rights -related giving by private foundations

found 23 per cent of donations being allocated to organizations that work to advance women ’s

rights, of which 9 per cent is assigned to initiatives to end violence against women. The

Foundation Center, “Accelerating change for women and girls: the role of women’s funds”

(New York, 2009).

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need by including, for the first time, a budget line for core funding to small women ’s

organizations for a maximum of 7 per cent of direct activity costs. This core funding

is separate from and in addition to the 7 per cent all organizations can currently

request for indirect costs.

13. One measure of success and sustainability is the extent to which grantees are

successful in obtaining new and additional funding, beyond the project supported by

the trust fund. In 2017, 6 out of 9 small grant recipients who requested

recommendations managed to mobilize additional funds from other donors. Among

them was Alafia, a small women-led organization in Togo working to eradicate

harmful traditional widowhood practices that increase the risk of HIV infection.

Although a 2012 law grants widows the right to refuse such practices, they remain

widespread, especially in rural areas. Since being awarded a grant by the trust fund,

Alafia has gone on to obtain $25,000 from the African Women’s Development Fund

to encourage discussion among leaders of the Ewe community in order to explore

possibilities for eradicating these practices. Alafia also obtained a second tranche of

funding, totalling $24,306, from the United States Department of State through their

Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund. This project focuses on eradicating harmful

widowhood practices in Aneho communities in the south-east of the country.

14. Another grantee that has been able to secure further funding is the Women’s

Justice Initiative, the only organization in Guatemala working to prevent gender-

based violence specifically in rural indigenous communities. A small trust fund grant

enabled the organization to help overcome key obstacles that Mayan women face in

accessing justice. In June 2017, the Women’s Justice Initiative was awarded a grant

by Hivos and in July 2017, the Initiative was given a one-year grant of $45,000 by

Dining for Women, a global giving circle. Those two grants will support a number of

activities that the Initiative has initiated with the trust fund’s support.

15. Small organizations often play a crucial role in empowering women to demand

that existing norms are put into practice. For example, the grantee Equali ty is

implementing a project to promote justice for survivors of gender-based violence in

China. Its particular focus is on empowering women and girl survivors of violence

from marginalized and underserved communities, such as lesbian, bisexual and

transgender women and women living with HIV/AIDS, to advocate for their rights

and gain access to legal assistance and social services. Two new implementing

regulations for the national domestic violence law passed during 2017 in Yunnan

Province directly incorporated perspectives from project experts. The first requires

police to flag situations with a high risk of domestic violence and thereby better

mobilize resources for survivors. The second involves strengthening the protection

order mechanism in the new Anti-Domestic Violence Law. In addition, Equality and

its partners reached out to over 50 survivors of domestic violence to begin collecting

data for future empirical studies that will be used as advocacy tools. Equality and its

implementing partner also trained 82 government officials to improve their

understanding of domestic violence and appropriate legal and police responses. In

addition, in the first six months of 2017, Equality provided services for 61 people, an

increase over the previous year.

16. In Serbia, the grantee Astra, working with a State institution, the Centre for

Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection, implemented a project to establish the

referral procedures for victims of trafficking, many of whom are underage and from

the Roma minority. In the first half of 2017, Astra received 2,106 calls, 75 per cent of

which related to trafficking. Astra identified five new victims of human trafficking

and 15 people at high risk of trafficking or some other form of violence, while

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continuing to support victims identified in previous years. During 2017, over 110

different assistance interventions were provided to Astra clients, including assisting

30 people at risk of becoming victims of trafficking and supporting them during

recovery. Almost all beneficiaries stated that the biggest change they experienced in

terms of Astra work is that feel much safer because they know they are not alone and

they get support when they need it the most. Astra also organized training for social

welfare centres; 24 professionals from 12 centres participated in an accredited two-

day training course entitled “Support to victims of human trafficking in the social

protection system — identification, assessment and planning of the support”. Most of

the participants did not have any previous knowledge about human trafficking. In the

period after the training, Astra consultants established 48 contacts with social welfare

centres regarding potential victims of human trafficking.

17. A project implemented in Brazil by Casa da Mulher Trabalhadora sought to raise

awareness among marginalized groups of young women in Rio de Janeiro on

identifying violence, including technology-related violence, and how to address it.

Three months after the training, which took place in March and April 201 7, 94.4 per

cent of young women who had participated had carried out some form of activity in

their locality. The most common activities were participating in a workshop, either

with other women or in mixed groups (55.6 per cent); distributing materials on

women’s rights (50 per cent); and conversations with family or friends on the issue

(83.3 per cent). Through its “multiplication” approach, the project managed to reach

2,969 women and girls in schools and in public places. Evaluations from 76

participants found that 86 per cent felt the activity had increased their understanding

of violence against women and 56 per cent were interested in taking further action.

B. Responding to humanitarian crises

18. In its twentieth funding cycle, the trust fund awarded $2.5 million through a

newly established funding window to five organizations working to prevent and end

violence against refugee and internally displaced women and girls. The two grantees

operating under the humanitarian window in Jordan delayed the start dates of their

projects, pending relevant approvals. Meanwhile, 2 of the 3 grantees working in Iraq,

the Free Yezidi Foundation and ASUDA for Combating Violence against Women,

reported challenges brought about by conflict in the region. Despite challenges in

keeping staff in the increasingly unstable project area and the movement of local

beneficiaries to safer areas, the projects did make headway prior to the conflict.

19. During the first six months of the project, the Free Yezidi Foundation operating

in Duhok enrolled 288 women and girls in their trauma and mental health therapy

sessions. It is estimated that another 800 community members have been reached by

the project through social media outreach. The project has also trained three

volunteers as paraprofessional psychological first aid workers, with a view to

ensuring sustainability beyond the trust fund-supported project. Women participants

reported that they used the skills and insights they had gained to help their relatives

at home who have so far been unable to attend the sessions.

20. During the same period, the implementation of a second project began in

Sulaymaniyah, Dahuk and Erbil, in which six female researchers were hired and

trained by ASUDA for Combating Violence against Women in collecting evidence

and monitoring sexual and gender-based violence experienced by female Syrian

refugees. This phase was followed by consultations with camp administrators, service

providers and local authorities on strengthening response mechanisms for Syrian

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refugees, community awareness workshops and legal and psychosocial support for

refugee girls who are vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence.

21. The third grantee in Iraq, Women for Women International, enrolled 600 women

and girls in social and economic empowerment training programmes during its first

six months of implementation in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Thirty women have so far

received social and legal services through the local partner organization, Warvin.

Women for Women International is continuing to train and mentor Warvin so as to

strengthen their organizational and technical capacity in providing protection services

against gender-based violence.

C. Addressing the needs of women and girls living with disabilities

22. The 2017 call for proposals opened a window for at least $1 million in funding

for projects on ending violence against women and girls with disabilities, in

recognition of the fact that, while they experience many of the same forms of violence

all women and girls experience, they also face particular risks. Women and girls with

disabilities face a risk of rape that is almost three times greater than that faced by

women and girls in general, and are twice as likely to be survivors of domestic

violence and other forms of gender-based violence. They are also likely to experience

abuse over a longer period and with more severe injuries than other women and to

face particular obstacles in obtaining justice and redress for the violence

experienced.7

23. Among those projects already supported focusing on women and girls with

disabilities is a project implemented in Zimbabwe by the Leonard Cheshire Disability

Trust. The Access to Justice project, which started in 2015, provides specialized

services for girls and women with disabilities, including logistical support and sign-

language classes in order to facilitate access to police units and the courts. To date,

the project has directly supported 696 women and girls with disabilities. Additionally,

293 police officers, 203 Court officials and 81 representatives of mainstream

women’s organizations have been reached by the project. About 1,300 girls and

women with disabilities, including their caregivers, and 290 community leaders were

reached with information and other prevention activities at the community level.

24. The feedback from women and girls, caregivers and stakeholders confirms that

the project has greatly empowered women and girls with disabilities who are utilizing

the acquired knowledge and information to report acts of violence against women and

girls in their communities. The community-based approach used provides safe spaces

for girls and women with disabilities to seek information on violence against women

and to discuss challenges and solutions. Through advocacy and national dialogues on

access to justice for girls and women with disabilities, the project also contributed to

the explicit recognition of their rights in the new national gender policy. The project

also facilitated the adaptation of the policy into accessible formats, like Braille.

25. The Mental Disability Rights Initiative is implementing a project in Serbia to

address violence against women with disabilities in custodial institutions. It has

helped raise awareness of this issue for informed policymaking. For example, in June

2017, the grantee gathered the representatives of the Government of Serbia, members

__________________

7 Stephanie Ortoleva and Hope Lewis, “Forgotten Sisters — A Report on Violence against Women

with Disabilities: An Overview of Its Nature, Scope, Causes and Consequences”, Northeastern

Public Law and Theory Faculty Research Papers Series, No. 104 (Boston, Massachusetts,

Northeastern University, 2012).

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of Parliament, independent institutions, the Republican and Provincial Institutions for

Social Protection and international organizations and presented findings of a study

about various forms and manifestations of violence to which women with mental

disabilities are exposed in custodial institutions, including the administration of

contraceptives without informed consent, forced abortions, steril ization and sexual

violence.

26. During the reporting period, 15 women with mental disabilities who have

previously or are currently in custodial institutions were involved in training

programmes held for 68 service providers. The women contributed important insights

into their experiences and all participants assessed this approach as innovative,

important and beneficial. The project has made a significant impact in several areas:

making women’s stories visible to the public, contributing to a change of practice in

custodial institutions and framing custodial violence as an important topic in gender

and disability policies.

III. Results and evidence

27. The trust fund’s strategic plan, 2015-2020, calls for the creation of a results

framework to translate the plan into measurable results. One of the key aspects of this

is evaluating the results attributable to the organizations that have been awarded

grants. This required the development of a core set of common, standardized

indicators that grantees could apply and on which they could report. Following an

earlier pilot, a new approach was tested in 2016 whereby the trust fund reviewed all

progress reports against project-specific results frameworks and indicators, so as to

identify those grantees measuring and reporting on the same or similar indicators.

Building on this experience, a small set of standard, common indicators was

developed in late 2017 to collect and aggregate data on similar results achieved across

the portfolio of grantees. For example: 36 grantee organizations report that at least

10,540 women and girls were reached using specialist support services, including

trauma counselling and shelters, as a result of trust fund projects in 2017.

28. An annual partner survey was conducted for the second time in 2017. 109

individuals from 61 organizations in the trust fund’s active portfolio completed the

survey in 2017. The increased visibility and publicity provided by the trust fund is a

benefit cited, in that 52 per cent of respondents said that additional financing has been

raised during the grant period, resulting in $6.5 million being raised in additional

financing for the continuation or scaling-up of the project funded by the trust fund.

29. One of the ways in which the trust fund contributes to expanding the knowledge

and evidence base on effective models to prevent and respond to violence against

women and girls is a series of knowledge-exchange events. In early 2017, the trust

fund was able to analyse in depth the results of the first of these events, held in

October 2016 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. This brought together 16

organizations from 10 countries and territories in the Europe and Central Asia region

involved in providing multisectoral services, who had received trust fund grants

between 2007 and 2016.

30. Examples of the results identified by independent, external evaluators included

two projects in Albania implemented by the non-governmental organization

Refleksione (the Albanian network against gender violence and trafficking), between

2007 and 2012, which led to the establishment of a network of shelters and

counselling centres for survivors and women at risk, the approval of the decree on the

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establishment and functioning of a referral mechanism for the treatment of cases of

domestic violence and the adoption of proposed amendments to legal codes. In

Ukraine, a project implemented by the Foundation for Public Health from 2011 to

2014 focusing on HIV-positive and street-involved women and girls succeeded in

establishing a referral system, including cooperation with law enforcement agencies

and an information campaign to increase the number of clients reached by services.

In Serbia, the non-governmental organization Fund B92 piloted a model for the

economic empowerment of women survivors of gender violence and women from

marginalized social groups within the context of a safe house in Sombor. The

evaluation assessed the project as a success and one which should be replicated and

tested further by centres for social welfare and civil society organizations, with

modifications to adapt to the local context.

31. The main conclusions and recommendations reached through this participative

process included how referral systems can form the basis for building more

comprehensive coordination. The event also underscored how non-governmental

organizations are in many cases leaders in creating and sustaining multisectoral

coordination in service delivery at the local level, acting both as entry points for

survivors seeking services and as providers of long-term support as rights advocates.

Participants also stressed that governance and legislation play a crucial and multi -

faceted role in creating, supporting and maintaining multisectoral coordination. For

example, a former grantee from Croatia described how they brought cases before the

European Court of Human Rights as a tactic to encourage the Government to achieve

compliance with international standards.

32. During the year, the trust fund team conducted 32 monitoring missions to

projects in 22 countries, six of which were to provide training and support to small

organizations. The missions had varied areas of focus. For example, in August, the

trust fund visited the Sindh Community Foundation, a non-governmental organization

implementing a project to curb early marriage, in order to review financial reporting

and documentation. The trust fund was able to verify that the grantee had made

marked improvements in the area of financial management and documentation. It is

also important to note that this was not achieved at the expense of their programme

work; their progress in terms of completing project activities was on track and on

schedule.

33. In April, the trust fund visited a project implemented by the Women’s Support

Centre in Armenia to prevent and combat domestic violence. Through interviews with

the grantee, partners and beneficiaries, the trust fund was able to confirm that the

project was using a human rights-based approach and had established a well-

functioning network of service providers. The grantee had identified the need for

further work to ensure proactive State involvement for a sustainable coordinated

response mechanism.

34. In June, the trust fund visited a project in the district of Sonitpur, in the Indian

state of Assam, where Pragya, a civil society organization, is working to address

violence against women from ethnic minority tribal communities. As part of the visit,

the trust fund team visited the village of Amloga village and met 35 women’s peer

group members. The project is supporting a kitchen garden seed distribution

programme that has helped the village to grow essential vegetables, which are used

both for their own consumption and to sell in local markets. Pragya is working with

100 women’s peer groups and councils, which have over time become cohesive and

vibrant and attracted new members. The grantee also continued to work with the 300

women leaders trained in providing counselling and psychosocial support so that they

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could offer leadership and guidance to the peer groups to which they belong. These

women leaders are regularly convening meetings, discussing issues around violence

against women and solutions to engage the 2,757 members of the women’s groups.

The monitoring visit clearly indicated the scope in areas of convergence where the

work of Pragya and the trust fund can reinforce each other, for example in obtaining

access to relevant State machineries and using learnings from the project to inform

future initiatives.

IV. Strategy-led results

35. The trust fund continues to channel its grant-giving in support of the key

objectives set out in its strategic plan, 2015–2020, namely: supporting work on

primary prevention of violence against women and girls; increasing and improving

support services for survivors of violence; and strengthening the implementation of

national laws, policies and action plans. The following sets out some of the key

achievements and areas of progress by trust fund grantees in pursuit of the

overarching aims.

36. In 2017, several projects supported by the trust fund were aimed at ensuring that

national laws were enacted in line with international law and standards and that the

guarantees promised were delivered in reality for women and girls. In Nepal, for

example, grantee Restless Development Nepal, in partnership with local

non-governmental organizations, implemented a project to abolish the harmful

traditional practice of Chhaupadi, which involves isolating menstruating women and

girls, thereby putting them at risk of other abuses. The practice has been banned by

the Supreme Court and in August 2017 was made a criminal offence, with Restless

Development Nepal among the organizations that were instrumental in getting the

new law passed. More recently, the grantee has focused on institutional development

among civil society organizations and capacity-building to implement the legislation

and ultimately end Chhaupadi.

37. The project used youth-led peer-to-peer education to address such sensitive

issues as sexual and reproductive health, as well as disseminating information on laws

and policies. Youth group members have also taken initiatives to spread the message

of “Six Sa (health, safety, hygiene, education, nutrition and support)” in the

community. A mid-term review showed that all the women and girls who responded

to a survey by Restless Development Nepal reported that they had attended school or

work regularly during menstruation in the previous three months. This indicated an

important change from the baseline survey, when almost 7 per cent of respondents

reported skipping class during menstruation. In addition, 11,180 young women and

girls gained knowledge about Chhaupadi, gender-based violence and other forms of

discrimination through school sessions, door-to-door visits and awareness-raising

sessions.

38. In Tunisia, Fondation CIDEAL, a development organization, is working to make

the commitment to gender equality, including the elimination of violence against

women, enshrined in the 2014 Constitution a reality. The trust fund-supported project

is working to improve access to justice, health care and other vital services in the

governorate of Kef, including through the Manara Centre, which is the only centre

offering multisectoral services to women survivors of domestic violence in the north-

west of the country. The Centre’s legal department assists women in legal actions

relating to violence, divorce, maintenance payments, childcare and housing subsidies.

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During 2017, 99 women were assisted by the Centre’s legal department and 19 cases

were won.

A. Preventing violence against women and girls

39. Transforming attitudes, beliefs and behaviours is an essential part of making

progress towards a world without violence. Trust fund grantees use a wide range of

approaches to deliver results that demonstrate how interventions can alter customs,

institutions and practices that normalize violence against women and girls.

40. In the United Republic of Tanzania, for example, Equality for Growth, a local

women’s organization, is working to bolster women’s economic rights and reduce the

risk of violence by creating safe environments, in six markets, in two districts of Dar

es Salaam. Some 2,081 market traders (1,354 men and 727 women) from the six

markets took part in the campaigns on the causes and impacts of gender-based

violence, as well as on how to handle issues in the markets and how to report cases.

In March and April 2017, Equality for Growth conducted several visits with

journalists to the six markets. During the visits, interviewees said that the situation

had improved, as compared to before the project. They credited such activities as

awareness sessions on gender-based violence delivered in the market, the imposition

of fines on perpetrators of violence and education sessions by paralegals and legal

community supporters as having contributed to the reduction in violence against

women. Cases of violence against women are reported to have dropped by a third.

41. Episcopal Relief and Development implemented a project that addresses gender-

based violence in post-conflict Liberia through the engagement of interfaith, Christian

and Muslim organizations in six districts of Grand Cape Mount and Rivercess. A

midterm assessment showed that the percentage of faith leaders who reported publicly

speaking out against violence against women and girls in the previous year had

increased, from 27 per cent, at the start of the project, to 100 per cent. Some 8,300

members of churches and mosques were reached by their faith leaders and informed

about how to access services. Faith leaders are increasingly challenging deeply roo ted

stigma by speaking out against practices that compromise or disadvantage women and

girls and, importantly, are using the knowledge they acquired on the various forms of

violence as guidance as they counsel families or refer cases to service providers.

B. Fostering the implementation of law and policy

42. The Azerbaijan Young Lawyers’ Union set up a trust fund-supported project to

provide women with free legal, medical and psychological support services, as well

as refuge from violent partners and family members; the project set up the only shelter

for survivors of violence currently operating in the country. The project was, in part,

a response to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women on Azerbaijan’s fifth periodic report. The Committee

called on Azerbaijan to ensure that women and girl victims of violence have access

to immediate means of redress and protection, including a sufficient number of

adequate shelters in all regions. During the reporting period, 203 survivors of

domestic violence who came to the centre benefited from the rehabilitative,

protection, legal and medical services provided. Moreover, 30 women were the

beneficiaries of small grants, helping them towards financial autonomy, an important

factor in eliminating domestic violence. So far, 17 businesses have been supported or

established within project activities on empowering women and girls who have

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experienced domestic violence. The businesses are small, varied and thriving. I n

addition, through a series of awareness-raising sessions, 680 boys and men have a

better understanding of domestic violence, its negative consequences for the

community and the available protection mechanisms, including the services offered

by the shelter. The analysis of pre- and post-session evaluation questionnaires

revealed a significant increase in the knowledge and awareness of the issues among

the target groups.

43. The current three-year project implemented by the Victims Support Section of

the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia builds on the achievements

of an earlier trust fund-supported project to promote gender equality and improve

access to justice for female survivors of gender-based violence under the Khmer

Rouge regime in the 1970s. During 2017, 255 civil parties and victims of gender-

based violence were logistically supported to participate in the court hearings and

forums. The grantee is also working to assist in connecting implementers with sources

of funding. For example, one of the 22 proposed reparations projects, the Pka Sla

project, which is related to forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge, received

approximately $500,000 towards its implementation, under the coordination of the

Victims Support Section. The Victims Support Section interviewed approximately 80

civil parties about discrimination against survivors of forced marriage in their

communities and found that the discrimination has decreased significantly, owing to

a change in the social and economic situation in Cambodia and a growing

understanding of and empathy towards survivors.

C. Funding projects that work to ensure access to multisectoral services

44. A project implemented by the Institute for Development and Community Health

in Kien Xuong, Thai Binh Province, Viet Nam, focuses on intimate partner violence

during pregnancy and lactation, an alarming and underaddressed global health issue.

During the second year of the project, 1,282 women among the target group were

reached by community health service officers, 153 calls were made to the hotline to

request more counselling services on domestic violence and 2,748 women received

counselling on intimate partner violence during home visits. Up to 50 per cent of

women in the target group reported that after receiving services, they were better

placed to identify different kinds of intimate partner violence and to make plans to

protect themselves. Some 82 per cent of female clients reported that they were

satisfied with the services offered. Advanced training on screening services for

community health service workers and village health workers also enabled them to

identify survivors of intimate partner violence in their day-to-day work.

45. A project implemented by the Chega! Ba Ita association addresses the

repercussions of the pervasive sexual violence that characterized the Indonesian

occupation of Timor-Leste (1975–1999). The project worked directly with groups of

women survivors in all 13 districts of Timor-Leste and a national women’s

non-governmental organization to urge policymakers and parliamentarians to create

and implement specific policies for women survivors of human rights violations,

including implementing the recommendations of the Truth, Reception and

Reconciliation Commission, which found that rape during the occupation was

systematic and widespread, a crime against humanity.

46. In 2017, the project continued to develop its database on women survivors of

past and recent violence, as well as on children born as a result of sexual violence.

Currently the database contains 482 profiles, providing a sound basis for advocacy

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and the production of policy recommendations. Three reports (on women survivors,

on children born as a result of rape and on a national victims’ trust) were published,

or nearing publication, in English and Tetum. For part of the year, field research

concentrated on children born out of sexual violence during the Indonesian

occupation. Their accounts provide valuable information both on their mothers ’

situation and the recurring cross-generational experiences of marginalization and

discrimination. The words of participants shed a very poignant light on the legacy of

these human rights violations: “our hearts and heads hurt, because we think too much

about the things people say, then our eyes become heavy with tears so the things about

the past become a heavy load to carry but we remain strong in our hearts”. These

accounts are also unique in the sense that many were sharing their experiences for the

very first time. An increasing number of women survivors expressed self-confidence

in their ability to organize themselves and advocate for their rights. A similar process

has started with the children of women survivors.

47. In Côte d’Ivoire, Children’s Life in Rural Area is working to engage entire

communities, including local leaders and teachers, in the development of community-

based institutional mechanisms to prevent and respond to violence against women

and girls and to eliminate discrimination against HIV-positive women. In the first six

months of the year, the grantee reached 2,588 community members, including 50 male

leaders, through its awareness-raising sessions on how to create a more secure

environment for women in communities. Women whose spouses participated in the

men’s awareness-raising sessions noted an improvement in how their spouses

behaved towards them.

48. The project, which is due to continue until the end of 2018, has already noted

progress in key areas, attributed to intense awareness-raising sessions in the localities.

No cases of female genital mutilation have been reported in the village since the

beginning of 2017. In 7 of the 10 communities where the project is being

implemented, youth groups have formed to be on the alert for risks of female genital

mutilation. Community laws are in place and community action plans were drawn up,

using participatory project design with local government cooperation, to discourage

and address violence against women. Since the implementation of the plans, a marked

reduction in the levels of both physical and emotional violence against women have

been reported. All 10 communities have developed and implemented action plans that

include reparations for mental abuse and have increasingly refused to accept out-of-

court settlements in sexual violence cases and have strengthened community-based

provisions to further protect women and girls.

49. A project implemented by the Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz in

El Salvador, a country with the highest rate of femicides in the world, is working to

improve institutional responses to violence against women and girls and to enhance

oversight and advocacy skills among local women’s and youth organizations. In the

three municipalities where the project was implemented, 359 women have taken part

in initiatives to improve their leadership skills in relation to the exercise of the right

to live free of violence. In addition, 511 women survivors of violence have received

support, in line with agreed protocols. At least 130 people, including members of the

general public and decision makers, took part in the presentation of an audiobook on

violence against women and women’s human rights. At least eight media outlets have

broadcast the 24 episodes of the audiobook, reaching at least 20,000 people. Three

local networks have been formed that are continuing the work of training, capacity -

building and engaging with State institutions to ensure effective coordination of

efforts to end and address violence.

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D. Advocating for and ensuring the human rights of all women and girls

50. Projects supported by the trust fund are reaching out to communities and

individuals around the world, including underserved women and girls, who are often

at increased risk of violence not only because of their gender, but also because of

factors such as their ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. The trust fund continues

to work under the umbrella of the 2030 Agenda to further the aim of leaving no one

behind.

51. In Egypt, the Al-Shehab Institution for Promotion and Comprehensive

Development implemented a project, working with women and girl survivors of

violence, women domestic workers, female sex workers and women living with HIV

in the marginalized informal communities of Izbat al-Hajjanah and Al Marj in Cairo.

The organization established a community service centre as part of efforts to improve

access to essential services for survivors of violence, such as legal and psychosocial

support. Between January and June 2017, the project provided a comprehensive

package of services for 211 women and girls. The project continued to support female

domestic workers within the targeted communities and conducted in-depth individual

discussions with these workers, in order to identify the problems they encounter in

their everyday lives and explore potential solutions. Of the 18 female domestic

workers directly supported, 7 accessed psychological support and 5 benefited from

legal support, 2 accessed voluntary counselling and testing for blood-borne diseases

and 5 were referred to other service providers, some to access income-generating

activities to enable them to improve their economic situation, addressing one of the

structural causes of their vulnerability to violence and abuse. The project enabled a

total of 1,427 women and girls from the target group to access services in order to

improve their well-being and safety.

52. Socio-legal kiosks/empowerment centres set up by the Al-Shehab Institution in

10 districts, in 2016, have seen the number of visitors and callers contacting the

helplines more than double in 2017, compared with the previous year. Survivors of

domestic violence and of violence in the community have been approaching the

centres to get guidance and have their cases documented. They reported high level s

of reassurance while interacting with those providing care and valued the support

received, which helped them present their cases confidently in front of police officials

and other relevant authorities.

53. The Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand implemented a three-year project in

four regions to empower lesbian and transgender women and build their human rights

and advocacy capacity both within their communities and with relevant government

agencies. The National Social Welfare Act 2012 recognizes sexual diversity, but

implementation of the Act has been partial and the national AIDS strategy does not

fully address the needs of transgender and lesbian women. In the first half of 2017,

the Association reached 16,063 people through various interventions, including

capacity-building workshops, hotline and online services, community health centres

and outreach services.

54. As part of the three-year project, the Association’s Monitoring and Evaluation

Unit followed up with the 113 trained participants, three and six months after the

training. The comments elicited gave a clear indication of how the project has helped

to change lives for the better. In the words of a 29-year-old transgender woman in

Bangkok: “I have more confidence and the courage to stand up for myself when my

rights are violated. I am proud of myself and I understand others better ”. Many

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indicated their increased knowledge of and confidence in addressing violence, stigma,

discrimination and human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender

identity. The online and hotline services, which provide assistance when violence

occurs, were operational and connected to the committee of judges on gender-based

violence cases of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Many

people indicated their increased capacity to seek assistance when violence occurs.

One concrete result concerned a case in the southern province of Yala, where four

lesbian women, together with a grantee community leader, went to the police to report

an incident of sexual abuse. The Association supported the complainants throughout

the court proceedings.

55. In Nicaragua, the women’s organization MADRE is working with a long-

standing partner, the local indigenous women’s organization Wangki Tangni, to

reduce violence against indigenous women and girls in 63 Miskito communities. The

women targeted by the project live in remote communities on Nicaragua’s North

Atlantic coast, so it can be almost impossible for them to access shelters or local

resources. The aim of the project is to advocate for the effective implementation of

Nicaragua’s Law 779, on addressing violence against women and girls, in these

communities and to carry out capacity-building with local stakeholders to prevent

violence and make the customary justice system work to protect women and girls.

Women have reported that they are seeing a decrease in violence within their homes

and communities as a result of their increased knowledge of their rights and the laws

that protect those rights. The project has trained 30 women in broadcasting and

reporting and distributed 400 solar-powered radios to make sure everyone can tune in

to radio programmes, the only ones broadcast in Miskito, that reach 115 communities,

six days a week. They report that men who are participating in this project and who

are listening to the Wangki Tangni radio broadcasts are more supportive of women’s

rights and have become less violent. Women have shared that they feel confident to

stand up for their rights as a result of the workshops and radio broadcasts. Each of the

42 communities within the seven territories has made commitments to develop and

implement cultural events and create groups within their communities.

V. The way ahead

56. In many ways, 2017 was a year of increased awareness regarding gender-based

and sexual violence threats worldwide and the need to take further action globally to

move the issue out of the shadows, into the spotlight. It is a result of the long-standing

efforts to unveil the prevalence of violence against women and girls that takes many

forms and affects people in every walk of life and in every part of the globe. It has

become clear that the abuses revealed in the public arena had been known about or

suspected for years and, in some cases, decades.

57. For many around the world, the #MeToo phenomenon was a watershed moment.

Certainly for the millions of victims who spoke out, as well as those who either chose

not to or felt they could not, it was an important moment of solidarity across countries,

continents and cultures. It has re-energized those who insist that violence against

women and girls is not acceptable and can be stopped. That assertion is the starting

point for the work of the trust fund. The achievements of grantees take the next step

by showing how this can be achieved.

58. Focusing on results and sustainability, grantees around the world are finding and

implementing solutions and contributing to our overall understanding of effective

strategies to counter all forms of violence against women and girls. They are often

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doing so with a relatively modest investment of funds. Trust fund evaluations have

shown that two key factors are central to successful initiatives: collaboration and local

grass-roots involvement in developing projects. The emphasis on funding projects

rooted in local communities, coupled with the capacity-building provided to grantees

by the trust fund, have contributed substantially to their overall impact and

sustainability. The trust fund will continue to strengthen its support for small women’s

organizations and to explore the potential of small grants. The emphasis on

sustainability and impact is also leading the trust fund to consider longer-term grant

periods in recognition of the time needed to bring about attitudinal change.

59. The trust fund is keenly aware of its unique role and continues to explore new

ways of expanding its collaboration with donors and partners to provide the necessary

resources for the creative projects put forward each year. It will also lo ok to explore

ways of contributing its expertise to wider initiatives, such as the joint United Nations

and the European Union Spotlight Initiative on combating all forms of violence

against women and girls, which was launched in September 2017 and is a we lcome

step forward in continuing efforts to ensure that efforts to address violence against

women and girls attract the resources needed.

60. Gender-based and sexual violence and the way they distort and restrict the life

chances of women and girls around the world have received intense global attention

in 2017. The challenge for all those working to change this reality is to translate this

awareness into effective, sustainable change and, as the present report has shown, not

only are grantees rising to that challenge, they are increasingly shaping the response

and signalling how their initiatives can be scaled up and strengthened to move

confidently towards a future free from violence for women and girls everywhere. The

trust fund will continue to support the increasing confidence and mobilization of

groups working for a future free of violence against women and girls everywhere.