LocationsUnite to eliminate violence against women in the Arab region
December 10, 2023
Women and girls in the region face multiple forms of discrimination and violence based on age, ability and marital status. Violence against women negatively affects women’s physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health, and can also prevent them from full and active participation in society. Violence against women in the region is exacerbated due to violent conflict and displacement. Conflict induced violence impacts heavily on women’s lives, well-being, dignity and bodily integrity. Violence against women is a violation of human rights and a breach of the women, peace and security agenda.
Despite the urgency and criticalness of violence against women, and its impact on achievement of the sustainable development goals, the data highlighting this problem in the region is still unreliable or lacking especially in conflict contexts. Estimates suggest that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 37 percent of ever-partnered women in the eastern Mediterranean region have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence at some point in their lives.
The campaign of 16 days of activism “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”. calls on citizens to act to end violence against women and girls. Moreover, it calls on governments to share their tangible action to invest in gender-based violence prevention.
Arab states have been working to combat gender-based violence (GBV). Around half of the countries in the region have legal and policy frameworks to address violence against women. Campaigns to end violence against women and girls and reduce the prevalence of violence are also growing. However, systematic allocation of budgetary resources for addressing all forms of gender-based violence is still inadequate and more investments are needed.
UNDP has been supporting countries in ending violence against women across the region. UNDP implements specific GBV activities, while investing and advocating higher integration of GBV prevention in sectoral programmes on livelihoods and economic empowerment, elections, the environment, social cohesion, and more.
Which countries in the Arab region are taking the lead in preventing violence against women and girls?
Artificial intelligence enhances women's electoral participation
In 2022 – 2023, UNDP Regional Electoral Support for MENA and UNDP Promoting Elections for the People of Libya (PEPOL) projects launched eMonitor+ in Libya. The system is being used to identify online violence against women in elections – in the form of online misinformation and hate speech.
Online violence obstructs women from exercising their human and legal rights – to think freely, express ideas, explore perspectives, raise questions, associate with others, form groups, make informed decisions, influence decision-makers, garner support and affect change. In 2023, a UN fact finding mission to Libya documented “online vitriol” against female Ministers, citing attacks against women holding political office and effectively discouraging women’s political participation.
Recognizing the importance of women’s engagement in social spaces and the impact that online discourse can have on electoral participation, addressing online violence against women is critical. To this end, UNDP Libya has supported Libya’s High National Elections Commission (HNEC) to use customized technology, developed by experts at the UNDP Regional Bureau of Arab States (RBAS), and to train in-house professionals to develop and apply methodology for quantifying and identifying patterns in online violence against women in elections. By producing and tracking tangible data, the HNEC is better equipped to raise awareness of the issue; develop public messaging to prevent and mitigate its impact; and to design strategic action plans for addressing the root causes of violence and hate speech.
UNDP’s eMonitor+ is a suite of innovative digital tools leveraging AI to promote access to reliable information and reduce the impact of harmful content. The platform is being deployed to support UNDP national partners, including governments, media, and civil society organizations in Lebanon, Mozambique, Peru, and Tunisia.
Empowering female Iraqi police to respond to domestic violence cases
Gender equality in law enforcement is crucial to protect citizens, and promote the principles of equality, and the rule of law.
Domestic and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is a challenging problem in Iraq. Enhancing rule of law is a major element to build peace at the local level in Iraq and achieve a gender balance to address and prevent violence against women.
UNDP Iraq supported 24 female police officers from across the Ministry of Interior in Iraq to learn about the role of female police within the Public Services Directorate of the Kingdom of Jordan. A visit was conducted to Jordan to exchange experience and knowledge about Jordan's policies to respond to domestic violence cases. The visit was conducted through the generous support from the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The first three days of the visit was focused on learning from the family protection and Juvenile Department and the Princess Basma Training Institute of Jordan.
The Iraqi delegation received an extensive information on Jordan’s policies and practices in responding to Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including domestic violence against women and children and the integrated model of ensuring protection and prevention measures.
During the last two days of the visit, Iraqi delegations reviewed existing policies of the Ministry of Interior in Jordan to better understand the gaps and challenges to implement comprehensive gender responsive reforms.
The UNDP Iraq has played a vital role in supporting provincial governments through its Stabilization Programme, focusing on capacity building for officials across different directorates. The three-day programme, designed to enhance the capabilities of individuals in key sectors such as Health, Education, Municipality, Water, Electricity, and Women's Directorate, as well as Governor's offices, has successfully trained a total of 512 officials. Notably, the program maintained gender balance with 261 females and 251 males participating. The primary objective was to empower officials to effectively address gender-related challenges and proactively respond to issues, particularly in promoting gender equality and preventing gender-based violence (GBV). Participants, including Directors and Deputy Directors from various line directorates, ensured a diverse representation, fostering a comprehensive and inclusive approach to gender issues. Additionally, the programme aimed to establish a cadre of highly skilled trainers within these departments, aiming to sustain and advance efforts to combat gender-based violence.
Syria
The lack of economic resources generally makes women particularly vulnerable to violence and addressing it in a gender-responsive, do no harm approach, would contribute to prevention.
Syria is experiencing a deep economic crisis after more than 12 years of conflict. Over 90% of the population lives below the poverty line and around 15.3 million people inside Syria require assistance. March 2022 witnessed the highest rate of inflation in the past 30 years.
Gender-based violence (GBV) continues to be a major element in the Syrian humanitarian crisis and affects the lives of millions of women and girls.
Economic empowerment for women is pivotal in mitigating Gender-Based Violence. It plays a crucial role in lifting women out of poverty, thereby reducing stressors that may contribute to violence within households. Through enhanced independence, minimized power imbalances, and increased access to resources, women are less likely to be financially dependent on their partners. This empowerment enables them to make decisions about their lives, including the choice to leave abusive relationships.
Hala from Hama is a survivor of Gender-based violence (GBV) who left her home in the dark of night when the devastating earthquake hit Syria in February 2023. UNDP Syria’s Women Safe Space mobile teams visited her in the shelter to provide her with psychosocial support. She was selected to be part of Youth Empowerment Programme, and this helped her to start her own business after she received an entrepreneurship and business development training to develop her skills and capacities. Moreover, UNDP Syria provided her as well with needed productive assets to open her own women’s hair salon. Establishing her own business was a way to depend on herself and become economically independent from her husband. Hala said “before opening the hair salon, I was a woman like any other one, but after I opened it, I became a practical woman and this has changed my social life. She added: “now, I have positive energy because I have my own business, and I learned how to challenge life and myself to support my family.”
UNDP Syria has adopted a new approach to reduce Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by transforming societal attitudes and changing deeply ingrained norms and beliefs that perpetuate gender inequalities.
Aya is a 25-year-old woman from Aleppo, Syria decided to take up welding as a profession. In less than four months at the Metal Centre in Aleppo, and despite her young age, she mastered the skills needed to work as a blacksmith, a job that has long been male-dominated. UNDP Syria provided at the Metal Training Centre responded to the specific needs of the job market with support from the Government of Germany, through its Development Bank KfW.
Aya said “there is no difference between a man and a woman as long as we live in one society. You and I complement each other, and this applies to work.”
Creating an environment that fosters respect and equality can help women to become more visible in economic roles and reinforce societal attitudes towards women's capabilities and roles.
Way forward towards eliminating violence against women
Investing to prevent violence against women and girls nowadays cannot be understated. Prevention of violence against women should be integrated across all development interventions. It should also be dealt with in full tandem with efforts to address violent conflicts in the region. To this end, working with partners and at multiple levels is crucial. Innovating new solutions and approaches, higher engagement of women in policies, raising their voices and grievances, and ensuring accountability for acts of violence and human rights violations across all levels are key to both the response and to prevention of future violence.
Let’s unite to #endviolence against women and girls across the Arab region.