Historic election result for Rwandan women

Progress for Women Is Progress for All

The UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women, which is managed by UNIFEM, is the leading global mechanism supporting local, national and regional efforts to tackle violence against women, one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. It is a catalyst for new ideas and a source of expertise on emerging good practices. Over the past ten years 263 initiatives in 115 countries have received funding. Grants are used to broaden awareness, to support the introduction and implementation of legislation, to promote access to legal and health service providers, and to develop the capacity of local communities to sustain progress. The Trust Fund strives to build local partnerships through its projects – bringing together, for example, government departments, civil society organisations, women’s and men’s groups, community leaders and the media. Grantees have shown that strategic and concerted action has the power to uproot entrenched patterns of violence and gender discrimination.

In 2007 the Trust Fund awarded nearly US$5 million to 29 initiatives in 36 countries and UNIFEM has reviewed the progress made. Here are just a few of the many highlights:-

• In Botswana the Trust Fund supported the Department of Women’s Affairs in preparing for implementation of a Domestic Violence Bill with training for the judiciary, police and other service providers. There was a particular focus on links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS and the need to ensure that cases are handled by trained police officers. A gender specialist has been appointed in the Botswana Police Service
• In Bulgaria the Gender Research Foundation was supported in developing a strategy for bringing together the police, judiciary and service providers in an area to deal with domestic violence. Training sessions were then provided in 11 localities. Local authorities have agreed to cooperate to manage cases and create counselling centres.
• In Liberia projects to review the application of new anti-violence laws were funded and significant barriers to implementation of the 2007 law against rape were identified. Through work with the Women in Peacebuilding Network, awareness of the need to report rape as a crime has been raised in community and youth groups. As a result some local leaders have made a public commitment to treat rape as a criminal offence.
• In Paraguay the Trust Fund supported the creation of mechanisms to monitor women’s access to justice. The Secretary for Women and the relevant government departments have now agreed to develop a better system for compiling statistics on violence against women and to amend the current law on domestic violence to reflect all forms of violence against women.

This year the Trust Fund expects to award $20 million in grants and if its resources continue to grow, so will its ability to meet the growing demand for vital initiatives around the world. Executive Director Ines Alberdi has written to the UNIFEM National Committees in the UK and 15 other countries thanking them for the work they do in raising money for the Trust Fund.

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