New online resource seeks to prevent, respond to GBV
The Respect Women website homepage. The platform promotes prevention of and response to violence against women and girls.
What you need to know:
- The Respect Women website has been implemented by the WHO, in conjunction with UNFPA, UNDP and UN Women.
- It outlines a set of action-oriented steps to support policymakers and implementers to design, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate programmes.
Women and girls across the world now have a new digital resource at their disposal to help sustain the war on gender-based violence (GBV).
The Respect Women website, a one-stop online platform, promotes prevention of and response to violence against women and girls. It aims to drive concrete actions through policies and programmes.
The user-friendly, interactive platform provides practical support and has briefs on how to implement successful programmes, training and multimedia materials for advocacy.
The website has been implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO), in conjunction with UNFPA, UNDP and UN Women.
“Violence against women and girls remains one of the gravest human right violations, and has been accelerated, thanks to Covid-19, conflict, climate change, and economic challenges,” stated Maxime Houinato, UN Women regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Action-oriented
The website outlines a set of action-oriented steps to support policymakers and implementers to design, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate programmes.
It is an evidence-based framework that strengthens and scales up efforts, building on an increasing body of evidence on what works to prevent violence against women. It also contributes to delivering the six Action Coalition’s commitments to violence prevention.
The six are: GBV; economic justice and rights; bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights; feminist action for climate justice; technology and innovation for gender equality; and feminist movements and leadership.
GBV continues to affect millions of women and girls around the world, devastating their health, wellbeing and full participation in society. Globally, almost one in three women experience physical and/or sexual violence, mostly at the hands of an intimate partner.
As the United Nations entity committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women has been partnering with governments, other UN agencies, activists, civil society organisations and other institutions to fulfil commitments to GBV eradication.
The agency supports member states to review and reform discriminatory laws and policies, and to design and implement multisector coordinated national strategies to address violence against women and girls.
Through the UN Joint Global Programme on Essential Services, UN Women works to improve the quality of, and access to, comprehensive essential services for survivors of violence, and provides technical guidance on how to develop and implement global norms on quality services and responses.
The organisation has also played a key role in developing evidence-based policy and programming guidance on prevention of violence, guided by the Respect framework.
As part of its prevention strategy, the agency focuses on early education, respectful relationships, and working with men and boys, especially through, and in, the media, sports industries, religious institutions, and the world of work.
