Nepal Disabled Women Association implemented a three-year project, “Inclusive Partnership Against Violence Among Women and Girls with Disability’ (InPAV)”, with the support of the UN Trust Fund. The project aimed to increase community awareness and capacity to combat violence against women and girls with disabilities (WGWD), strengthen governance and gender-based violence mechanisms, and improve knowledge and evidence on violence against WGWD to influence policies and programmes. The final evaluation found that the project helped service providers and decision-makers to sensitively address the needs of WGWD survivors of violence, and influenced policymakers to promote WGWD’s access to support and resources.

This independent, final evaluation presents the findings of the cluster evaluation of three small grant projects implemented between March 2017 and February 2020 and funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women:1. “Improving Access to Life With No Violence for Women Survivors in Central and Northern Montenegro”, implemented by SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Violence, Niksic;2. “Empowering Survivors of Domestic Violence in the Tetovo Region”, implemented by Women’s Forum–Tetovo in Montenegro; and3. “Actively and Publicly Combating Discrimination – Gender Based Violence”, implemented by the Center for Girls in Serbia. The final evaluation found that the empowerment and awareness-raising strategies implemented by the projects were effective, innovative and well adjusted to the target groups.

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women funded “Addressing Violence Against Syrian Refugee Women in the Kurdistan Region of Northern Iraq”, a project implemented by Women for Women International . The project aimed to support women affected by conflict, including Syrian refugees, members of the host community, and internally displaced populations in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. The evaluation found that the project was effective and improved the lives of the intended beneficiaries.

From March 2017 to February 2019, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women provided funding to Asuda for Combating Violence against Women for its initiative “Improving the Response Mechanisms to Sexual and Gender-based Violence against Syrian Refugee Women and Girls in Iraqi Kurdistan”, which was run in partnership with the Ceasefire Center for Civilian Rights. The initiative included all actors involved in the issue of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of a displaced population. The final evaluation found the project had improved community and stakeholders’ responses and social attitudes towards sexual and gender-based violence in Syrian refugee communities, and that the project’s strategy should be used as a model for other initiatives in a similar cultural and humanitarian context.

The project “SAAHAS (Courage) for Justice: Sharing and Amplifying Her Allegorical Stories for Justice”, implemented by The Story Kitchen, was funded from January 2015 to December 2017 by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The final evaluation found that participants of the project’s storytelling workshops believe they can live dignified lives and work towards redefining justice.

The project “Kick against Violence”, implemented by Skillshare Nepal, was funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women from January 2016 to December 2017. The final evaluation concluded that the project contributed to behaviour change in girls and boys, specifically by increasing confidence to report gender-based violence and encouraging cooperation and respect among students.

The project “Abolition of Chhaupadi in the Far- and Mid-Western Regions of Nepal”, implemented by Restless Development Nepal, was funded from January 2015 to December 2017 by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The final evaluation found the project had significantly increased rejection of chhaupadi practices and that the national law that criminalizes such practices was contributing to the sustainability of the project’s results.

The project Transitional Justice: Addressing Gender-Based Violence and Ensuring Women’s Participation was implemented by the International Center for Transitional Justice from November 2012 to October 2015, and received a three-year grant from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. The final evaluation found that this complex project in six countries achieved some results despite of a range of implementation challenges.

The Multi-Sectoral Gender-Based Violence Response at the District Level in Nepal – led by the UN Population Fund and supported by the UN Children’s Fund; UN Women; and Nepal’s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare – was funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women and implemented from August 2009 to July 2013. The final evaluation concluded that increasing the awareness of existing information about rights, legal provisions and services related to gender-based violence has helped to address the issue effectively.