Project profile — Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls in West Bank and Gaza

The project aims to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls in West Bank and Gaza to all forms of violence and from the threat of such violence. Project activities include: (1) putting in place prevention initiatives that support targeted households and communities for decreasing harmful practices, attitudes and behaviours toward women and girls; (2) fostering innovative approaches to improving service providers’ capacity to provide gender-responsive services for victims and survivors of violence; and (3) building the capacity of civil society actors and human rights advocates to advocate for policy and legal frameworks to protect women and girls’ rights. A consortium led by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women implements this project, including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) decreased harmful practices and attitudes that perpetuate and validate violence against women and girls within targeted households and communities; (2) increased access by women and girls to gender-responsive services such as economic, medical, psychosocial, security and shelter free of discrimination; and (3) strengthened institutional capacity to develop and implement legal and policy frameworks that promote and protect women’s and girls’ rights concerning violence against women and girls.

Results achieved as of December 2024 include: (1) achieved significant progress in changing attitudes toward gender-based violence, with 75.2% of respondents rejecting any justification for beating women and 54.7% affirming that violence is never acceptable, surpassing programme targets; (2) enabled over 14,000 women and girls to access gender-responsive services, including health care, psychosocial support, legal aid, and shelter, while 360 service providers are trained as first responders under the National Referral System; (3) improved public safety through the rehabilitation of 2 major public spaces and the institutionalization of a national Public Space Policy, benefiting thousands; (4) supported policy and legal frameworks advancement with 2 policy papers, 2 adopted instruments, and the endorsement of a new National Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women by the Cabinet; and (5) distributed 25,000 dignity kits amid the Gaza crisis, reopened shelters, and delivered mobile psychosocial and legal aid to tens of thousands of displaced women and children.