Women’s Affairs Technical Committee implemented the three-year project “Gender Justice to End Violence against Women and Girls” across four governorates in the West Bank of the State of Palestine with the support of the UN Trust Fund from 2018 to 2021. The project aimed to address violence against women and girls by improving access to formal and informal justice systems for survivors of violence, focusing on refugee and internally displaced women and girls. The final evaluation found that key judicial actors as well as community-based women leaders and practitioners had gained enhanced capacity to detect and respond to cases of gender-based violence and provide referral services, and media advocacy campaigns increased the visibility of such violence and promoted the agency and rights of women and girls to access justice.

In Kenya, the Centre for Rights, Education and Awareness and its partner Kenya Women Parliamentary Association implemented the “Wajibika project” for three and a half years from September 2018 with the support of the UN Trust Fund. The project aimed to better protect women and girls against gender-based violence through implementation of effective national legislation, policies, accountability structures and national action plans. The final evaluation found that, despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was successfully implemented. 

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.

ALAFIA received funding from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women to implement the project “Eradication of harmful customary widowhood practices that can lead to HIV/AIDS infection” in 24 villages in Togo. The final evaluation showed that the project ended degrading and humiliating widowhood rites against women in these villages and established the principle of equal sharing of inheritance between women and men.

From January 2014 to January 2017, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women funded SOS-Esclaves’ initiative “Justice for Women Leaving Slavery” in Mauritania. The project was built on interconnected activities and international advocacy. The final evaluation found it had been particularly successful in providing legal and educational support for women and children through training, access to legal services and work with government institutions.

Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice received a grant from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women for its project “Advancing Gender Justice in Countries under ICC investigation” from January 2013 to December 2015. The evaluation found that the project improved medical and psychological documentation of sexual assault, strengthened police investigations and increased the likelihood of justice and reparations for women and girl survivors of sexual violence.

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women funded Physicians for Human Rights’ three-year initiative “Formation of a Medico-Legal Network to Address Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict in Central and Eastern Africa” from September 2011 to August 2014. The project aimed to provide professionals with the resources, knowledge and skills needed to support survivors of sexual violence. The final evaluation concluded that a survivor-centred approach enabled the programme to achieve positive change in the targeted areas.