Campaigns

Independent Commission for Aid Impact: Engage with their work

ICAI has agreed that the terms of reference for ICAI studies will be published on the Commission’s website, so that interested parties can inform ICAI final reports and recommendations. Once the terms of reference for each report have been drawn up, interested parties may then submit views on the programme or area of the aid budget under review based on the published terms of reference. These submissions will be used to inform the final report and recommendations. If you would like to submit views to ICAI please email them. ICAI ask that your views should be presented as concisely as possible and submissions should be no longer than 2,000 words long. Your submission must include the name and contact details of the person or organisation. Submissions must be made by the deadline stated. Submissions made earlier than the deadline, however, will assist ICAI in the development of thinking for each area. Submissions will not be published. ICAI may quote from submissions in reports unless there is an explicit request for information to remain confidential. Please note, ICAI will not respond to your submission.

UN Trust Fund's 2011 Call for Proposals

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women is accepting applications for its 16th grant cycle (2011) from government authorities, civil society organizations and networks - including non-governmental, women's and community-based organizations and coalitions, and operational research institutions - and UN Country Teams (in partnership with governments and civil society organizations).

The 2011 UN Trust Fund Call invites proposals in the following areas of action:

1.  Closing the Gap on the Implementation of National and Local Laws, Policies and Action Plans that Address Violence against Women

2.  Addressing Violence against Women in Conflict, Post-conflict and Transitional Settings

Applicants are invited to submit grant proposals for a minimum of US$100,000 up to a maximum of US$1 million for a period of two to three years. The application deadline is 19 January 2012.

The complete Call for Proposals detailing criteria, eligibility requirements and application guidelines is available here or via the UN Women homepage webpage.

 

UNCTAD XIII: Civil society hearings and reminder for accreditation.

Two hearings with civil society will be organized in Geneva as part of the Intergovernmental Preparatory Committee for UNCTAD XIII. They will provide civil society organizations with opportunities to contribute to the preparatory process and to provide inputs to the pre-conference negotiating text.

Pursuant to a decision taken by member States, the two hearings will take place on Friday, 20 January 2012 and on Wednesday, 7 March 2012 (hearings will last half a day).

Accreditation to UNCTAD XIII and the preparatory hearings:

Please note that only CSOs with observer status and those who will be accredited to UNCTAD XIII will be able to contribute and participate to the preparatory hearings, the Civil Society Forum and the other events at the Conference itself in Doha.

To apply for accreditation to UNCTAD XIII and its preparatory activities, please complete the questionnaire and return it with a copy of the requested supporting documentation. The completed application for accreditation should be received no later than 15 January 2012. Please do not hesitate to contact the CSO Unit if you need additional information on the accreditation process. Or visit their website, for more information.

You can read the preface to the Report of the Secretary-General to UNCTAD XIII here.

 

Invitation to Tender to undertake research on incidence of sexual violence against women residents of faith-based drug rehabilitation centres in the Russian Federation, for Tearfund

Experience of sexual violence is linked with substance abuse, high-risk sexual practice and other harmful behaviours. In Russia the majority of sexual abuse is unreported and because most victims either do not seek support services or these support services are simply unavailable, sexual abuse becomes a precursor of further physical and psychological problems, including HIV. In Russia, dramatic increase in substance abuse in the 1990’s was happening at the same time as unfolding of religious freedom gained after the break-up of the Soviet Union. The Protestant church has taken root in the communities where drug abuse and HIV were rife. Following that, faith-based organisations have pioneered the provision of community based rehabilitation services for drug users, including women. Currently, they provide these drug-free services to an estimated 10,000 drug users per year. Most staff and voluntary workers of these organisations are former drug users, and a high proportion of them are also living with HIV. Some Protestant Churches draw members almost exclusively from among former drug users, including ex-sex workers and ex-prisoners. Thus these faithbased organisations have direct access to the high-risk groups who cannot be reached by the government or other agencies because of high levels of social exclusion.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many women resident at the rehabilitation centres and later church members have been victims of sexual violence in the past. Often sex work becomes the main means to obtain drugs. Yet the issue of overcoming the consequences of sexual violence is not directly addressed in treatment due to sensitivity of the topic and lack of professionally trained staff in these grassroots community organisations. Many women relapse and complete the rehabilitation course only from the second, third or even fourth attempt. Because opioid-substitution therapy is illegal in Russia, undergoing drug-free treatment is hard. It requires high level of motivation and adherence to discipline which is not achievable for everyone. However, the issue of whether the structure and/or content of the programme are part of the reason for relapse and drop out of women is yet to be explored

 The overall aims of the research are:

1. Understanding the link between sexual abuse and addiction in women resident at rehab centres and the impact of sexual abuse on their physical, psychological and social wellbeing.

2. Scaling up the range and quality of women’s services provided by faith-based organisations based on increased awareness of the issue of sexual violence

3. Improved collaboration between the faith-based organisations and government agencies and NGO’s in preventing and responding to sexual violence.

The research will provide the following results:

• Data on incidence of sexual abuse among women currently in treatment for substance abuse and those who completed treatment within 3 years at the time of research
• History of their substance abuse and exploration of connections between sexual violence and abuse
• Key drivers of sexual abuse
• Map of services for survivors available in the region
• Types of support most wanted by survivors
•  Levels of stigma and support from community including family, church, rehab centres, friends

Research will also provide recommendations on:

• Potential ways of integrating responses to abuse within the content and structure of the drug rehabilitation programmes implemented by grassroots faith-based organisations
•  Action required from the government agencies

Deadline for Proposals: October 17 2011, for more information please email Galia.Kutranova@tearfund.org

 

CALL FOR PAPERS Gender & Development: Gender and Humanitarian Work

The July 2012 issue of the international journal Gender & Development, (published for Oxfam

GB by Routledge/Taylor and Francis) will look at Gender and Humanitarian Work.

Disasters, whether due to human activity (such as conflict) or the result of uncontrollable natural hazards, whether sudden or with a long gestation, are becoming ever more frequent, extreme, and of larger scale. With increased frequency – particularly of natural hazards – the capacity of people to recover from disaster is being eroded. In addition, the distinctions between disasters brought about by armed conflict and other human activity, and those brought about by natural events are increasingly blurred, complicating efforts on the part of agencies providing humanitarian aid to respond. Those who live in poverty, those who are least able to prepare for and recover quickly from disasters, and often those who are often least responsible for their causes, pay the price of such upheavals and tragedies. Disasters and their impact represent critical barriers to the transformation of gender relations and the achievement of women‘s rights, and to the achievement of development goals more generally.

It is now commonly acknowledged that men and women contribute differently and are affected differently by such events. In addition, other factors such as age, class, (dis)ability, marital status, estrangement from the wider community, and membership of a marginalized ethnic, religious, or economic group also shape the way women and men experience disaster, and how easily they are able to rebuild their lives in its aftermath. In the ten years that have passed since Gender & Development last looked at gender and humanitarian work, humanitarian responses have increasingly come to recognise this, and how women and men bring different resources, capacities, and life experience to a disaster situation, as well as different needs and priorities in terms of the assistance that they feel they need.

Guidelines, toolkits, and comprehensive indicators to integrate a gender perspective have been developed by international agencies involved in humanitarian response. In addition, UN SCR 1325 and other initiatives have brought attention to the role that women do – and should – play in longer term post-conflict reconciliation and peace-building. Finally, there has been an acceptance that in some cases, staff working for agencies in emergency situations have abused their position by engaging in sexual exploitation of women and children, and some action taken on this front.

Despite all these positive developments, gender has remained an under-addressed area in the humanitarian responses to many recent disasters, often seen as something to be dealt with ‘later’, that is irrelevant to the immediate, post-disaster response. In addition, gender-based and sexual violence remain prevalent in post-disaster settings. This issue of Gender & Development seeks to explore some of the reasons behind this lack of progress, as well as how humanitarian work has changed over the past ten years, in regard to meeting the different needs of women and men in disaster situations, and promoting gender equality.

For full guidelines and more information on the journal click here

 

 

Call for proposals: 16 Days of Activism against GBV, 2011

The African Women’s Development fund (AWDF) has issued a call for proposals to grantees in Africa seeking to organise activities to mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender based Violence in 2011. The maximum grant is $1000 and the deadline for applications is 12 August 2011.

AWDF is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. Through institutional capacity building and programme development, AWDF seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement.

For more information and details, please visit the AWDF’s website.

Egypt: Ensure women’s rights are integrated in post-revolution

Women of Egypt played a prominent role in the revolution of early 2011.  They were essential organizers, leaders and spokespersons during all phases of the revolution and demonstrated in large numbers in the streets.  They were also beaten and some even sacrificed their lives during the protests.  However, post-revolution events, such as fundamentalists calling for sex segregation in public transportation and for women to be veiled, have made women’s rights activists anxious that women may be sidelined.  Please write to the Egyptian authorities urging them to take steps to meet the demands laid out in the Women’s Charter.  

Read more and Take Action Now!

Invitation to join Right of Women’s ‘Women’s Migration and Asylum Network’

The network already has nearly 200 members and exists primarily as virtual ‘e-group’ with occasional seminars and events being organised as and where necessary. The objectives of the Women’s Migration and Asylum Network are to:

• facilitate communication between and strengthen the understanding of network members on legal and policy issues that effect migrant and asylum-seeking women;
• improve the participation of network members in the legal and policy formation process;
• positively influence law and policy that affects migrant and asylum-seeking women;
• promote gender equality and work towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of gender, as well as discrimination against women where it intersects with age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or any combination thereof; and,
• to promote the human rights of all women in the UK.

The Network will focus on improving gender equality in relation to the following thematic areas:

• asylum;
• economic migration;
• family migration (including family formation and reunion);
• settlement and routes to citizenship;
• violence against women issues (including trafficking);

 The network is open to individuals and representatives from:

• charities, not-for-profit and voluntary organisations working on migration or asylum issues and / or women’s or other equality issues;
• statutory sector organisations;
• individuals involved in immigration law and policy issues (such as activists, academics and legal professionals).  

If you are interested in joining please Cate Briddick with your name, position and organisation/affiliation with ‘join the Women’s Migration and Asylum Network’ in the subject line. The creation and facilitation of the Network has been made possible by UNBOUND Philanthropy.

Amnesty International More candidates must be put forward for the next International Criminal Court Prosecutor

Male candidates from western countries and Africa dominate the current list of candidates being considered for the next International Criminal Court Prosecutor.

A Search Committee for the next International Criminal Court Prosecutor reported that after more than five months of seeking potential candidates for the forthcoming election in December 2011, 26 persons are under consideration. Of those only five are women. Only two are from Latin America and the Caribbean, one is from Eastern Europe and no candidates are being considered from Asia.

The election of the Prosecutor will determine the success of the Court in the next decade. It is vital that a broad pool of highly qualified candidates is considered covering all regions of the world and including a fair representation of men and women.

With the search for new candidates to close on 9 September, urgent measures are required to address the serious imbalances.

More must be done to reach potential candidates. Although outreach efforts have been conducted by the Search Committee and civil society, new strategies and additional resources are required to advertise the process in all regions of the world and ensure that it is brought to the attention of qualified women.  

Amnesty International especially calls on the 116 governments that have ratified the Court’s statute to disseminate information about the process within their national legal communities and civil society.

Candidates must be “of high moral character, be highly competent in and have extensive practical experience in the prosecution or trial of criminal cases. They shall have excellent knowledge of or be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the Court.”  

Expressions of interest or recommendations of qualified individuals should be sent to the Search Committee:

Secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties
International Criminal Court
Maanweg 174, 2516 AB The Hague
The Netherlands
Fax: +31 70 515 8376
Email: rene.holbach@icc-cpi.int
Additional information on the Search Committee is available  here