Document Abstract
Published:
2012
Report on the online discussion on eliminating violence against women and girls ― gaps, challenges and strategic directions in prevention and multisectoral services and responses
With the aim to involve civil society organisations, policy makers, experts and researchers in the field of gender based violence, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) organized and moderated an online discussion on the critical gaps and challenges in prevention and multisectoral services and responses to violence against women and girls. The aim of the online discussion was to provide a forum for discussion between different stakeholders; identify measures taken and good practices from different parts of the world and in diverse resource settings in the two key areas of focus; and identify any emerging issues and practices that should be considered. This report, also available in French and Spanish, is the summary of the discussion. Rather than being a comprehensive mapping exercise, it aims to reflect many of the key concerns and priorities of practitioners working in this field on the ground.
Key findings in the violence prevention discussion included:
• policy makers, public servants and traditional leaders are not gender sensitized;
• efforts to address prevention are uncoordinated, ill-funded and rarely monitored;
• context-sensitive responses require more research on attitudes and behaviours;
• key strategic groups and influencers are being neglected;
• cultural change is not addressed in remote or marginalized communities.
Key findings in the multisectoral services and responses discussion included:
• Services remain uneven in quality, longevity and sustainability;
• Many services are not well regulated, and do not take a rights-based approach;
• Services need to be more broadly distributed, and preceded by comprehensive outreach;
• Service staff and policy makers need to be better trained and sensitized;
• Services must be better designed for children and girls, and for women subject to multiple forms of discrimination
A range of recommendations have been suggested including:
• violence prevention must become a State priority as governments play an essential role in leading, coordinating and promoting accountability in the field of prevention
• a better understanding of the multiple causes of gender-based violence, the intersections between different types of violence and trajectories of change must be built
• Services need to be more broadly distributed, and preceded by comprehensive outreach to women on their rights and the services available, and more work must be done to change mindsets
• More training and gender-sensitisation must be in place for frontline service providers and police officers
• Services must be better designed for children and girls, and for women subject to multiple forms of discrimination
French http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EVAW-Online-Discussion-Report_FR.pdf
Spanish http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EVAW-Online-Discussion-Report_SP.pdf
Key findings in the violence prevention discussion included:
• policy makers, public servants and traditional leaders are not gender sensitized;
• efforts to address prevention are uncoordinated, ill-funded and rarely monitored;
• context-sensitive responses require more research on attitudes and behaviours;
• key strategic groups and influencers are being neglected;
• cultural change is not addressed in remote or marginalized communities.
Key findings in the multisectoral services and responses discussion included:
• Services remain uneven in quality, longevity and sustainability;
• Many services are not well regulated, and do not take a rights-based approach;
• Services need to be more broadly distributed, and preceded by comprehensive outreach;
• Service staff and policy makers need to be better trained and sensitized;
• Services must be better designed for children and girls, and for women subject to multiple forms of discrimination
A range of recommendations have been suggested including:
• violence prevention must become a State priority as governments play an essential role in leading, coordinating and promoting accountability in the field of prevention
• a better understanding of the multiple causes of gender-based violence, the intersections between different types of violence and trajectories of change must be built
• Services need to be more broadly distributed, and preceded by comprehensive outreach to women on their rights and the services available, and more work must be done to change mindsets
• More training and gender-sensitisation must be in place for frontline service providers and police officers
• Services must be better designed for children and girls, and for women subject to multiple forms of discrimination
French http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EVAW-Online-Discussion-Report_FR.pdf
Spanish http://www.unwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/EVAW-Online-Discussion-Report_SP.pdf
