Commitment to ending gender-based violence in fragile contexts
Around the world, increasing instability, displacement and conflict are increasing people’s vulnerability to gender-based violence and HIV.
“Gender-based violence is an egregious human rights violation. It is also a driver of the AIDS pandemic, especially in fragile states. Combating gender-based violence is essential to upholding the right to health and life for all,” says Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
Despite normative commitments at the global level, efforts to prevent and respond to HIV and gender-based violence in fragile settings remain incomplete, isolated and unstable.
Fragility is described by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as: “… the combination of exposure to risk and inadequate state, system and/or community capacity to manage, absorb or mitigate those risks.”
The new report, The missing link: Rethinking and reprioritizing HIV and gender-based violence in fragile contextspresents the results of a study on the links between HIV and gender-based violence in fragile contexts. This topic is examined from the perspective of peace support operations. The work was partly funded by the generous contribution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to UNAIDS.
The study examines the mandates and objectives of peace operations and shows that HIV and gender-based violence remain low priorities and peace operations’ responses are often disjointed. It identifies several challenges in translating agreed principles into actionable outcomes and provides recommendations to overcome these obstacles.
“This report provides important guidance for strategic decision-making on HIV and gender-based violence in peace operations and will be an important tool to effectively address these urgent challenges,” says Sihaka Tsemo, Director of the UNAIDS Liaison Office with the African Union and UNECA.
The report provides guidance to duty bearers in the areas of development, peace and security, and humanitarian aid.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO is in an active process of disengagement and transition. UNAIDS Country Director Susan Kasedde reflects on the crucial role of the Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS in addressing the complex linkages between HIV and gender-based violence in fragile contexts:
“The joint programme brings together invaluable expertise for a holistic response and plays a critical role in strengthening government leadership and capacity by supporting strengthened systems of accountability and governance and facilitating broad partnerships, including with communities, to enable transformative and sustainable change and implement effective models for integrated implementation of HIV interventions on the ground at scale.”
In Mali, the ten-year-old Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission recently completed its withdrawal. UNAIDS Country Director Marc Saba explains the role of the United Nations Gender Thematic Group in supporting internally displaced people in areas affected by insecurity and humanitarian crisis.
“Over the past 8 months, the UN Country Team in Mali, led by UN Women, has provided capacity building, food assistance and funds to implement income-generating activities for over 1,000 women, young girls and men in vulnerable situations. In addition, the Joint UN AIDS Team plans to launch a study on HIV and Gender in Humanitarian Contexts, with the aim of collecting and analyzing data to better understand these issues in the humanitarian response.”
The Missing link The report highlights the urgent need for well-coordinated, multisectoral approaches to effectively address HIV and gender-based violence in fragile settings. It contributes to a broader discussion that requires further research, collaboration and cross-sectoral engagement. It provides recommendations for building a more holistic, human rights-based and gender-transformative approach to addressing and eliminating gender-based violence in all its forms in fragile settings.
“Ending gender-based violence and AIDS requires concerted efforts across sectors, survivor- and community-centered approaches and sustained investment,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
The issues raised in the report will be discussed with stakeholders at a roundtable discussion scheduled for September 10, 2024.
The Webinars will be via Zoom on September 10, 2024, 1:30 p.m.–3:00 p.m., Geneva time, Switzerland. It will be 11:30 a.m. in Dakar, SenegalAnd 2:30 p.m. in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Simultaneous translation into English and French will be provided.
Please click on the link below to register and participate, and feel free to share information about the webinar with your networks.
→ Meeting Registration – Zoom
