2007 Annual Report

UNIFEM: Ending violence against women

Administered by UNDP, UNIFEM is the UN’s fund for promoting gender equality and women’s rights. Its programmes aim to reduce feminized poverty, end violence against women, reverse HIV and AIDS among women and girls, and achieve equality in democratic governance.

The UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women marked its 10th anniversary in 2007. The Trust Fund invests in practical steps to stop the global epidemic of violence against women. It brings together 16 UN partners, eight international and regional organizations, and a wide range of women’s groups and donors.

Violence against women has traditionally been ignored, even though it affects a large percentage of women in every society—up to a third on average. Trust Fund grants have helped fuel an upsurge in activism to address the problem. For example, while only 45 countries had laws against domestic violence four years ago, today 89 states have some form of legislative provision, including 60 nations with specific domestic violence laws.

Since it began, the Trust Fund has awarded over $13 million to more than 230 initiatives in 100 countries. Grants support innovative efforts by women activists, lawyers, researchers and public policy makers who stand a good chance of catalysing broader changes. Projects help revise laws and policies, and then assist in implementation that fully protects women’s rights. Other priorities include improving women’s access to justice, advocating changes in public attitudes, strengthening social services, and initiating research that brings to light the true dimensions of violence against women.

Trust Fund grantees have worked to prevent human trafficking in the Ukraine, advocated for the improvement of domestic violence complaint centres and shelters in 13 Chinese provinces, and helped the Government of Laos draft and pass its first domestic violence law. They have put a spotlight on the so-called honour killings of Palestinian women and supported female ex-combatants in Rwanda in learning ways to manage trauma. Around the world, projects have trained judges and law enforcement personnel, and linked activists against violence with groups working on poverty, conflict, and HIV and AIDS, given the connections between all of these issues.