UN TRUST FUND TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Today, the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) remains the only global multilateral grant-making mechanism specifically dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls, irrespective of the type of violence and context in which it takes place.

A powerful symbol of the commitment of UN Member States to implement their legal and policy promises to end violence against women, the UN Trust Fund was established in 1996 by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166. The UN Trust Fund, together with various international instruments that call for ending this pervasive and often invisible human rights violation, represents a key benchmark for making gender equality a concrete, lived reality for millions of women and men, boys and girls.

The UN Trust Fund is an inter-agency mechanism made up of 18 UN agencies and experts from a range of civil society and intergovernmental organizations. Administered by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) on behalf of the United Nations system, the UN Trust Fund brings synergy and coherence to the UN’s work in this critical field and bolsters its capacity to deliver as one.

Guided by its 2010-2015 Strategic Vision, the UN Trust Fund supports programs led by civil society organizations, governments and United Nations country teams aimed at preventing violence, expanding support services to survivors and strengthening the institutional response to violence against women and girls.

THE UN TRUST FUND IS:

• A mechanism for translating government commitments to ending gender-based violence into concrete action.

• A critical source of support for civil society organizations, governments and United Nations country teams seeking to eliminate violence against women & girls.

• A tool for empowering men & women to challenge norms, practices & beliefs that fuel violence.

• A driver of change, pioneering & nurturing innovative approaches to preventing and addressing violence against women & girls.

• A generator and hub of evidence-based knowledge on how to prevent violence against women & girls.

• A platform for mobilizing key actors and constituencies to advance national strategies to end violence against women & girls.

• An investment in the future of all women & girls.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE UN TRUST FUND

• Engaging Schools in Violence Prevention Efforts

• Mobilizing Communities to Prevent Violence

• Harnessing the Power of Television to Transform Social Norms

• Equipping Migrant Women with the Tools to Prevent Victimization

• Expanding Survivor Access to Support Services

• Developing Integrated Models of Service Delivery

• Providing Critical Services to Survivors in Conflict and Post-Conflict Countries

• Connecting Marginalized Woman to Essential Services

• Strengthening the Institutional Response to Violence

• Building Responsive Justice Systems

• Empowering Communities to Stop Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

• Building Government Capacity to Develop Comprehensive Anti-violence Legislation

UNWFPA School for Syrian Refugee Girls

The UNWFPA School for Syrian Refugee Girls is an educational and vocational school for 160 students who face serious challenges in their daily lives such as the need for healthcare, safe water, adequate sanitation, proper hygiene, and substantial shelter (most live in nearby informal tented settlements).     

The UNWFPA School for Syrian Refugee Girls is nonreligious and apolitical.  It will teach the official Lebanese curriculum which includes science, mathematics, Arabic and English.  The students will also learn vocational and skills training in nurse’s aide, computer literacy, sewing and embroidery, hairdressing and cosmetics.  They will receive important child and women protection programs that strengthen their resilience against various kinds of exploitation and increase their opportunities to find jobs and avoid early marriages.  Upon graduation students will receive a certificate of accreditation from the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

UNIVERSITY FOR PEACE

Headquartered in Costa Rica, the United Nations-mandated University for Peace was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the UN General Assembly. As determined in the Charter of the University, the mission of the University for Peace is to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress.

To ensure academic freedom, the University was established under its own Charter, approved by the General Assembly. UPEACE is not subject to UN regulations and is directed by its own Council of renowned personalities with expertise in peace and security matters. This has allowed the University to move rapidly and to innovate, focusing its new, rigorous academic program on the fundamental causes of conflict through a multidisciplinary, multicultural-oriented approach.

The wider mission of the University is to focus on the importance of education, training and research to build the foundations of peace and progress; and to reduce the prejudice and hatred on which violence, conflict and terrorism are based.

To date, the UNWFPA has funded twelve scholarships to underprivileged women.

BE A PART OF THE CHANGE.