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EVAW Programme Activities in 2004

Regarding the follow-up activities in EVAW, participants in the Regional DV legislation Workshop suggested as follow:

• Regional training and exchange of ideas.
• Continuation of UNIFEM EVAW Programme (multiple attendees)
• Donor support and process sharing
• Publicity about event through national TV.
• Regular meetings/workshops in the future. (multiple attendees)
• Build national networks on VAW (particularly DV legislation)
• Draft/plan act
• Issue collection of papers. (multiple attendees)
• Training to enhance awareness of DV.
• Train government officials.
• Support for data gathering.
• Support for sub-regional meetings.
• Assessment of DV situation in each country.
• Support for legislative advocacy.
• Regular newsletters and correspondence between participants.
• Build regional networks, and organize a regional campaign. (multiple attendees)
• More chances for countries to exchange, share experiences, and learn from each other through local visits.
• More information exchange.
• Invite more government departments.
• Use of reconciliation and mediation in communities.
• Facilitate/organize regional networks for DV legislative advocacy (for EVAW) such as regional/bilateral consultation between countries in process of passing bills.
• Periodic meetings on legislative situation and implementation should be held with a small number of participants to facilitate full and intense discussion.
• Monitor member country activity.
• Email contact and information transfer.
• Study visits between & among countries with and without DV legislation.
• Inter-country exposures and exchanges.
• Assist in maintenance of newly established relationships between countries and different organizations.
• Follow up on ideas and strategies that have been generated—see to it that countries are working on them and offer help.
• Follow-up forum to see how DV legislation has progressed.
• Get together judges and law enforcement to share experiences and learn a rights-based perspective.
• Public campaigns on the regional level.
• In-depth research on DV legislation and implementation in the region.
• Share experiences and good practices in the region, especially with regard to community involvement in prevention and intervention in DV.
• Workshops should be held regularly, particularly in countries without DV legislation or whose DV legislation is poorly implemented.
• Monitor countries’ commitments. (multiple attendees)
• Networking.
• Encourage more cooperation among NGOs, government, and legislatures to work together on DV law and VAW. (multiple attendees)
• Take action in countries lacking expertise or budget through capacity building, advocacy, and lobbying.
• Additional workshop, such as workshop on regional planning for DV campaigns.
• Continuing to meet to share experiences, lessons learned, and training information.
• Continued consultation among countries on how to improve EVAW efforts.
• Organize a seminar among countries without DV legislation.
• Maintain communication with all participants through mailing list or newsgroup.
• Pass a DV bill and implement it.
• More regular regional seminars to share experiences.

2. Trust Fund Programme 2004 update -UNIFEM’s global Trust Fund Programme awarded Lao Women’s Union to further support and extend the drop-in center project –the first of its kind in the country for 2004. Under the phase II of the 2-year Trust Fund project, LWU will draft and disseminate Domestic Violence Legislation Bill, construct an independent shelter and counselling service center in Vientiane which was funded by Japanese Embassy in Lao PDR. It will also replicate its counselling service center in other provinces.

3. Fund-raising Strategy Project, Thailand - With the recognition of under-utilization of the substantial funds available from the Thai government, UNIFEM supports the National EVAW Action Network of Thailand to formulate fund raising strategies for implementing activities related to the passage and implementation of Domestic Violence Bill. Hotline Center Foundation has been nominated as a representative organization of the EVAW Network.

4. Up-coming issue on VAW in Cambodia-ADHOC Cambodia Human Rights and Development completed a national survey on rape issue in Cambodia, which is becoming one of the up-rising issues in the country that deserve attention.

5. Hotline service to tackle sexual harassment cases in the government sectors in Thailand -National Sub-committee on VAW, which is an advisory body for the Office of Women’s Affairs and Family Development under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand fagged Sexual Harassment issue to be a new focus area. The Office of Women’s Affairs and Family Development will take initiative in establishing a hotline service provided for government officers to bring complaints and to receive advice from qualified counsellors.  

6. 3-year UNFIEM EVAW Programme comes to an end at the end of March 2004. Currently it is working on fund raising for the implementation of the phase II, which focuses on men’s involvement in EVAW. 

7. A 4-year project on CEDAW is now under operation since the beginning of 2004, which is supported by CIDA. The programme initiates 4 model projects in 4 countries, 3 out of which focusing on VAW issues: Cambodia will run project focusing on Violence against Women;  in Thailand, the focus is on empowering women to use political process to advance women’s rights to life without violence; Indonesia focus will be on trafficking issue. For further information, see CEDAW page.  

Updated 9 Mar 2004