UNODC helps to eliminate violence against women

25 November 2011 - Today, the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As part of global efforts to contribute to the elimination of violence against women, UNODC develops a series of activities related to data collection, studies, awareness and prevention, among other.

In the Southern Cone, UNODC recently concluded the implementation of the project "Strengthening of Civil Society and Police Stations for Women and to Fight Gender-based Violence in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay". The project resulted in the publication of the " Regional Report on Responses to Violence against Women in the Southern Cone countries" which revealed, for example, that practices of violence against women in the Southern Cone are still protected by silence and discrimination, invisibility in national statistics, by the reluctance of institutions and professionals to recognize these practices of violence as violations of human rights.

According to the report, the attacks related to gender violence exceed the limits of "home" only when they result in the deaths of women murdered by their partners / ex-partners motivated by self-defense 'of honor'.

In a worldwide perspective, UNODC recently released the Global Study on Homicide which gives a gender breakdown of violent crime around the world. The report reveals that women of all ages are the victims of intimate partner and family-related violence in all regions and countries.

UNODC is currently running the  Blue Heart campaign, which raises awareness of the problem of human trafficking and aims to inspire decision-makers to effect change. According to UNODC, nearly 80 per cent of all victims of human trafficking are women and girls, many of whom also experience abuse and gender-based violence. Traffickers often use violence to intimidate and subdue the victims, and once recruited, the women usually find themselves in situations in which their freedoms are severely curtailed. They often suffer extreme physical and mental abuse, including through rape, imprisonment, forced abortions and physical brutality at the hands of their so-called "owners".

UNODC has launched the  United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, which is starting to disburse small grants to grass-roots non-governmental organizations working to provide humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of trafficking.

Related information:

UNiTE to End Violence against Women

Blue Heart campaign against human trafficking

UNODC Global Study on Homicide (pdf)

Regional Report on Responses to Violence against Women in the Southern Cone countries (PDF)

 

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