“Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls” was the priority theme of the 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) held at United Nations Headquarters from 4 to 15 March. At this apt venue, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and UNV presented the latest research from their Partners for Prevention Regional Joint Programme at the side event “Why do men use violence and how do we stop it?

The International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is on 6 February. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 120 to 140 million women have been subject to this harmful and dangerous practice and 3 million girls continue to be at risk each year. Although in many countries this practice has been radically prohibited, there are places where genital ablation is still practiced, as it is considered an ancient ritual linked to cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities.

From 25 November to 10 December 2011, UN agencies, civil society organizations, universities, governments and volunteers in Darfur joined efforts to fight gender-based violence (GBV) during the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” campaign.   On the theme “No violence - Speak out - Protect”, the 2011 campaign created a solidarity movement to raise awareness around gender-based violence and highlight the connections between women, violence, and human rights.  

From 25 November to 10 December 2011, UN agencies, civil society organizations, universities, governments and volunteers in Darfur joined efforts to fight gender-based violence (GBV) during the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence” campaign.   On the theme “No violence - Speak out - Protect”, the 2011 campaign created a solidarity movement to raise awareness around gender-based violence and highlight the connections between women, violence, and human rights.  

Thanks to UN Online Volunteer Dominique MacNeill from France, the website of the Gender-Based Violence Information System (GBVIMS) (www.gbvims.org) is now available in French. The GBVIMS is an inter-agency partnership of various UN agencies and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and enables humanitarian actors responding to incidents of gender-based violence to effectively and safely collect, store, analyze and share data reported by GBV survivors.

PULIH Aceh collaborated with the New Men’s Alliance, Rifka Annisa and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to initiate the project, Working with Men and Boys to Prevent Violence Against Women in Indonesia. It is supported by Partners for Prevention, which is a regional joint programme on the prevention of gender-based violence for Asia and the Pacific implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

PULIH Aceh collaborated with the New Men’s Alliance, Rifka Annisa and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to initiate the project, Working with Men and Boys to Prevent Violence Against Women in Indonesia. It is supported by Partners for Prevention, which is a regional joint programme on the prevention of gender-based violence for Asia and the Pacific implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Women and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme.

Making a difference: An assessment of volunteer interventions addressing gender-based violence in Cambodia (Partners for Prevention, 2010) highlights the crucial role and the far-reaching positive effects that community volunteers play in the prevention and response to gender-based violence.