UNB, Dhaka :
Governments, civil society and the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific are strengthening the roll-out and implementation of a multi-sectoral response to urgently address gender-based violence against women and girls across this diverse region.
More than 100 delegates representing a range of government and civil society partners from a dozen of countries are attending a three-day meeting in Bangkok this week.
The meeting is convened by the Asia-Pacific regional offices of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
It draws participants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
A collaborative and coordinated response is needed in every country, which brings together several key sectors, including the police, the legal and justice system, social services and health.
To that end, a joint UN programme was established last year on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, with the participation of UNFPA, UN Women, UNODC, and WHO.
The Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence sets out concrete guidance for services that should be available to every survivor, no matter where she lives in or who she is. It builds on existing standards and applies to the health, social services, police, and justice sectors, as well as to overall governance and coordination.
The Essential Services Package facilitates the implementation of several global and regional commitments made by Member States to address violence against women and girls, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the 2016 WHO global plan of action on health systems’ response to violence against women and girls, and the 2013 Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women.
WHO estimates that globally one in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. According to UNFPA’s 2016 Regional Snapshot on prevalence of violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region between 15 percent to 68 percent of women have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
“Violence against women and girls is a significant public health concern and human rights violation in our region,” noted Yoriko Yasukawa, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “
“Violence has multiple impacts on the lives of women and girls including their physical and mental health,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In Asia-Pacific, the pilot countries are Cambodia, Kiribati, Pakistan, Viet Nam and the Solomon Islands.
“Implementing the essential services package helps fill the gap between agreements UN Member States have made at the international level to address violence against women and girls and the actual work done at country level to put in place quality services and responses,” said UN Women’s Miwa Kato. “
“The SDGs at heart are about building more caring, equal and democratic societies,” concluded UNFPA’s Yoriko Yasukawa.
Governments, civil society and the United Nations in Asia and the Pacific are strengthening the roll-out and implementation of a multi-sectoral response to urgently address gender-based violence against women and girls across this diverse region.
More than 100 delegates representing a range of government and civil society partners from a dozen of countries are attending a three-day meeting in Bangkok this week.
The meeting is convened by the Asia-Pacific regional offices of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
It draws participants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
A collaborative and coordinated response is needed in every country, which brings together several key sectors, including the police, the legal and justice system, social services and health.
To that end, a joint UN programme was established last year on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence, with the participation of UNFPA, UN Women, UNODC, and WHO.
The Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence sets out concrete guidance for services that should be available to every survivor, no matter where she lives in or who she is. It builds on existing standards and applies to the health, social services, police, and justice sectors, as well as to overall governance and coordination.
The Essential Services Package facilitates the implementation of several global and regional commitments made by Member States to address violence against women and girls, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the 2016 WHO global plan of action on health systems’ response to violence against women and girls, and the 2013 Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women.
WHO estimates that globally one in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. According to UNFPA’s 2016 Regional Snapshot on prevalence of violence against women in the Asia-Pacific region between 15 percent to 68 percent of women have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
“Violence against women and girls is a significant public health concern and human rights violation in our region,” noted Yoriko Yasukawa, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “
“Violence has multiple impacts on the lives of women and girls including their physical and mental health,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In Asia-Pacific, the pilot countries are Cambodia, Kiribati, Pakistan, Viet Nam and the Solomon Islands.
“Implementing the essential services package helps fill the gap between agreements UN Member States have made at the international level to address violence against women and girls and the actual work done at country level to put in place quality services and responses,” said UN Women’s Miwa Kato. “
“The SDGs at heart are about building more caring, equal and democratic societies,” concluded UNFPA’s Yoriko Yasukawa.
