UN Trust Fund Supports Efforts to Stem
Deadly Intersection of Two Pandemics
United Nations, New York — The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women is providing a total of US$1.3 million in grants to nine organizations working in 12 countries targeting the links between HIV and AIDS and violence against women. The grants are provided through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, a multilateral funding mechanism administered by UNIFEM, and will expand services and change policies to improve the lives of women survivors of violence coping with HIV and AIDS.
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, 1 December, Joanne Sandler acting UNIFEM Executive Director said:
“Government and community-based leaders are creating innovative strategies to address the links between violence against women and HIV and AIDS with support from the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women that UNIFEM manages ... . In 2007, the Trust Fund is supporting nine programmes in Africa, Latin America and the Russian Federation that are involving faith-based leaders, health professionals, public authorities, paralegals, judges and prosecutors at national and community level to take action with women’s networks and community-based organizations to address these twin pandemics.”
Globally, nearly 50 percent of people living with HIV and AIDS are women. Available data suggests that one in three women will suffer abuse in her lifetime. Violence against women is both a cause and consequence of HIV and AIDS: A cause because rape and sexual assault are vectors for HIV transmission — a consequence because HIV-positive women often suffer abuse when disclosing their status.
Nine Groups Receive Grants to Target Links between HIV and AIDS and Violence against Women
*In Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, women infected or affected by HIV and AIDS in seven rural settings with a high prevalence of gender-based violence, will benefit from medical care, psycho-social support houses and microfinance initiatives to improve their economic security, health and well-being.
*To foster a law enforcement environment responsive to the concerns of women victims of violence, a project will build the capacity of paralegals, police representatives, judges and prosecutors in three areas of Ethiopia afflicted with a high rate of HIV and AIDS.
*To help women living with HIV to access their rights, a project in Ghana will provide them with legal assistance, build their capacity to mobilize resources, and engage students in efforts to transform behavior to end violence against women.
*A project in Mozambique will help open doors to essential services for survivors of gender-based violence. As part of a dialogue with community leaders about traditional beliefs and practices that increase women’s exposure to HIV infection, a nation-wide “men-to-men” campaign will be launched.
*To reduce sexual violence and unsafe sex in Guinea’s mining zones, a project will help establish peer support groups to raise women’s rights awareness and advocate for State protection.
*To reduce the stigma and discrimination faced by HIV-positive women in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire, public authorities and traditional leaders will be trained on women’s rights, and women will receive counselling support.
*In response to the violence and discrimination faced by HIV-positive women — especially those pregnant or with young children — a project will be developed in Russia to address their needs and transform family and community attitudes.
*To influence public policy on HIV and violence against women, a project in Argentina will conduct research — including interviews with victims — and share the findings with the media, government and women’s groups.
*In an effort to promote safe behaviour among at-risk women and youth, a project in Peru will train them, together with teachers and service providers, to better identify and prevent high-risk situations. In addition to promoting change at the policy level, the project will strengthen the capacities of two local health centres that care for women and youth affected by violence and HIV and AIDS.
*The inability of women and girls to negotiate safer sex and refuse unwanted sex is linked to the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, as is the violence too many women and girls experience in conflict situations. Violence against women during or after armed conflict has been reported in every international or non-international war zone.
UNIFEM’s Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman said:
“Sexual violence is a weapon of war, an instrument of terror that hurts and punishes women and men of the other side, fractures communities and forces women to flee their homes. Silence and shame shroud the survivors of rape or other forms of sexual violence. Many become infected with HIV and AIDS — they face disease, stigma and social rejection.”
To help break the silence and make ending violence against women a top priority of governments, Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman was the first to sign on to UNIFEM’s recently launched Internet-based global advocacy campaign “say NO to violence against women”: www.saynotoviolence.org
In addition to raising public awareness, the Internet site highlights the work of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, which supports innovative initiatives by governments and non-governmental organizations around the world. Advocacy to strengthen political will for change is a critical component, but equally important are programmes that prevent violence and provide services for survivors.
The UN Trust Fund also supports initiatives that focus on implementing policies and laws that strengthen efforts to prevent violence against women and bring essential legal and social services to survivors. This year the Fund awarded nearly US$3.4 to 20 projects in 25 countries throughout the developing world.
Over the past 10 years, the Trust Fund has awarded more than US$18 million to 250 groups working in 120 countries. Donors to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women include: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mauritius, Norway, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and United States of America. The UN Trust Fund also received support from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, individual donors as well as initiatives of UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman. Contributors include Johnson & Johnson, Macy’s, TAG Heuer, Omega, Zonta International, UN Foundation, World Day of Prayer, Conrad Hilton Foundation, McArthur Foundation as well as the National Committees for UNIFEM in Australia, Austria, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom and United States of America.
Media Inquiries
(1) Joan Libby Hawk, Public Affairs Specialist
UNIFEM Headquarters
+1 212-906-6390, joan.libby-hawk [at] unifem.org
(2) Letitia Anderson, Media Consultant
UNIFEM Headquarters
+1 212 906-6506, letitia.anderson [at] unifem.org
