Crisis Prevention and Recovery

Strengthen women's security in crisis

With UNIFEM support, the Rwandan police have opened a Gender Based Violence Desk Office, where police personnel are specifically trained to address sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The Gender Desk includes an interview room to enable women to speak in confidence with a trained officer; a nationwide toll-free hotline service for reporting SGBV; and a UNIFEM-UNDP-funded adviser. This initiative has managed to prevent and respond to crimes of SGBV, as well as to facilitate data collection across the country. In 2006, the Rwandan Police referred 1,777 rape cases to the judiciary, resulting in 803 convictions. The Gender Desk helped to investigate these cases and ensure evidence was available for court proceedings.
In Northern Uganda, UNDP is working with national institutions to build capacity to prevent gender-based violence as an essential aspect of early recovery and peacebuilding. SGBV prevention officers are working with women's grassroots networks to bring women into the peace process and to strengthen their community-level conflict prevention initiatives, while supporting local government in building more responsive policing and justice systems.

Advance gender justice

Since July 2007, women in Sierra Leone are newly-protected by a legal framework that outlaws domestic violence, entitles them to own property, and recognizes their right to inheritance. A Certificate of Urgency - issued by President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah - fast-tracked the passage of three bills, collectively known as the Gender Bills, which became law on 14 June 2007. After years of discussion and debate, the Registration of Customary Marriages and Divorce Act, the Domestic Violence Act and the Devolution of Estates Act, were unanimously adopted by Parliament in a single day's sitting. Together, these Acts address age-old inequalities women have faced in family relations, inheritance and ownership, bringing customary law and the Constitution into closer alignment with international human rights standards.
As of February 2007, over 25,000 judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police, security, displaced persons, traditional leaders and civil society representatives have undergone training on sexual gender based violence. Over 400 cases (mostly SGBV) have received legal representations before Darfurian courts - the majority leading to acquittal of raped women wrongly accused of "adultery" and convictions of culprits.

Expand Women's Citizenship, Participation and Leadership

In Nicaragua, female Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) members struggled to increase the number of women holding elected office. In 1994, FSLN women succeeded in persuading the party to allocate 30% of all party positions to women; they also ensured the quota was observed in the selection of departmental and municipal candidates. The Women's Coalition was formed in 1996 with the aim of combating discrimination against women and supporting women's rights in the political arena. The 1996 elections resulted in the election of 64 women, 35.6% representation.
In 2001, Rwandan women represented 27% of elected councilors at the district level. The May 2003 constitution calls for 30% (24 out of 80 seats) representation in decision-making posts and in the Chamber of Deputies. Women in parliament, civil society, and government have developed cross-sectoral initiatives and are playing significant roles in post-conflict governance.

Build Peace with and for women

In Northern Ireland, women's groups spent a decade building the trust between Protestants and Roman Catholics that was the foundation for the ultimate agreements.
Women from Kosovo's new Assembly have banded together across party lines to form a women's caucus - a non-partisan effort in a community traumatized by conflict and ethnic strife.
During the peace negotiations, Somali women presented themselves as a 'sixth clan' that reached beyond ethnicity to a "vision of gender equality". The women ultimately helped create a National Charter that guaranteed women 25 seats in the 245-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA), and protected the human rights of women, children, and minorities. Most of the commitments in the National Charter remain, however, empty promises.

Ensure gender-responsive recovery

Female survivors of an Indian earthquake in 1993 in India's Maharahstra state rose from the rubble to rebuild their lives, homes and communities. In turn, they reached out to involve women in post-disaster relief and rehabilitation projects in Turkey and Bam, Iran. In the village of Ambulga in India, a women's collective already existed before the earthquake. A local rehabilitation programme was able to help raise awareness among women about their rights and government entitlements at community meetings. The women were also provided with basic training in simple, low-cost earthquake-resistant building technology. With this knowledge, the women of Ambulga demanded that the financial aid provided to families by the government be deposited in joint bank accounts, so that, they could have a say in how the money would be spent. Women in the area started to set up savings and credit groups to manage their money and invest in longer-term employment opportunities. Soon, women were able to advance modest loans to help the community begin small businesses. These women saving and credit groups came together to form the Sakhi Federation, which helped local women to pool resources to provide better financial services and promote entrepreneurship.

Transform government to deliver for women

In Ecuador, the Vice Mayor of the municipality of Cuenca, Ms. Doris Carrion, fought for the creation of Cuenca's Equal Opportunities Plan, which provides for gender equality in all areas of Cuenca's public policy. The plan includes strengthening the system of social, legal and health services for battered women, implementing education and sensitization campaigns for law-enforcement agencies, and drafting municipal laws committing the local government to eradicating violence.
Partnerships between UNIFEM and Ministries of Finance in countries like India, Morocco, Senegal, Ecuador and Nepal around gender-responsive budgeting also mark a qualitative shift to effectively mainstream gender in public sector budgeting processes.