
Stories
- Laws, legislation (51)
- Ending violence against women and girls (50)
- Access to justice and legal protection (25)
- Anti-violence interventions (21)
- Domestic violence/interpersonal violence (13)
- Legal assistance (11)
- Primary prevention (11)
- Human rights (7)
- Executive Director (7)
- Rape/sexual assault (6)
- UN Women administration (5)
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What happened after COVID-19 hit: Lebanon
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Meserat Hailu, was 29 years old when she travelled to Beirut, Lebanon as an Ethiopian migrant domestic worker. For more than eight years, she suffered abuse by her employer until Legal Action Worldwide received word of her situation and took up her case and demanded her release.
Reforming the laws that forced women to marry their rapists
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Years of collective mobilization, strategizing and innovation by women’s rights groups culminated in the repeal or reform of archaic laws across the Northern Africa and Western Asia region
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Justice Anisa Rasooli was recently appointed as the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Afghanistan. She has been a powerful advocate for bringing more women into judicial positions, including as a leader of the Afghan Women Judges Association.
Statement: Appeal for clemency for Noura Hussein
Sunday, May 13, 2018
UN Women, UNFPA and the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa join the people of Sudan who are appealing for clemency in the case of 19-year-old Noura Hussein of Sudan, who has been sentenced to death for killing her husband. Reports indicate that she was forced against her will into marriage at the age of 16. She was raped by her husband while his three male relatives held her down. Speaking as the voices of women and girls of the world, we plead with the government of Sudan to save the...
Putting laws into action, police officers respond to violence against women in Moldova
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
With generous funding from the Swedish Government, UN Women has been working with police officers across Moldova for the past two years, to build their knowledge and improve their capacity to respond to domestic violence cases effectively. The programme, titled “Promoting and multiplying good innovative practices in preventing and combating violence against women”, also encourages police officers like Zglavoci to share good practices with their peers and other service providers through trainings and interactive platforms.
Central America and the Caribbean make historic strides to end child marriage
Friday, September 15, 2017
Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador and Guatemala abolish discriminatory legislation which allowed this harmful practice against girls and adolescent women
The Supreme Court of India bans instant divorce in a move to protect Muslim women’s rights
Friday, August 25, 2017
The Supreme Court of India gave a landmark judgment on 22 August, declaring the practice of unilateral and instantaneous triple talaq under the Muslim personal law unconstitutional by a 3:2 majority. The triple talaq is a practice under which a Muslim man can instantly divorce his wife by uttering the word “talaq” three times.
Historic day for women in Lebanon as Parliament repeals rape law
Friday, August 18, 2017
On the heels of Jordan and Tunisia scrapping discriminatory rape laws, the Lebanese Parliament agreed on 16 August, to abolish the Penal Code Article 522, the infamous “rape law” or “rape-marriage” law, which exempted a rapist from punishment if he married his victim.
Tunisia passes historic law to end violence against women and girls
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Tunisia made historic strides by passing its first national law to combat violence against women on 26 July, 2017.
Malawi Parliament adopts amendment to end child marriage
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
The country with one of the highest rates of child marriages in the world has taken a major step to end the practice by adopting a constitutional amendment on 14 February that raises the minimum age of marriage to 18 years.
In Timbio, Colombia, youth take a stand against street harassment
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
A workshop organized by UN Women to prevent violence against women and build non-violent masculinities led to the development and adoption of a Municipal Decree by the Mayor, to sensitize the public and prevent all forms of violence and discrimination against women, including street harassment.
Young people in Viet Nam organize to end dating violence
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
The first survey conducted by youth activists on dating violence in Viet Nam shows almost 59 per cent of young women have experienced violence. Presented with the findings, the CEDAW Committee recommends revision of the national law to penalize all forms of violence against women, including dating violence.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
With these bills, Pakistan joins a vital growing momentum around the world in the adoption of legislation explicitly protecting women’s and girls’ rights.
Coordinated response gives Kosovo* domestic violence survivors hope
Monday, July 18, 2016
UN Women-supported project leads to Municipal Coordination Mechanisms and a more effective response by Kosovo’s police, judiciary, NGOs, shelters and other institutions working with domestic violence survivors.
Gender Violence Bill presented in Uruguay
Friday, April 15, 2016
Uruguay’s Council of Ministers has just approved a Government bill that aims "to guarantee women a life free of gender-based violence." The bill, which will now go to the Senate, not only defines gender violence and how it manifests itself but would also bring about a change to current criminal law and create an institutional response system as well as specialized courts.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Speech by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the Ending Violence against Women: Building on Progress to Accelerate Change meeting in Istanbul, Turkey on 9 December.
Press release: High-level global UN meeting to focus on ending violence against women
Monday, December 7, 2015
On 9-10 December, over 150 high-level representatives from over 40 UN Member States and the Council of Europe (CoE), UN agencies, academia and NGOs plan to attend Ending Violence against Women: Building on Progress to Accelerate Change, a high-level global UN meeting in Istanbul to assess progress, identify challenges and renew global political commitments to end the pandemic of violence against women and girls.
"Violence against women and men should not be inevitable" — Executive Director
Monday, November 9, 2015
Speech by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the Colloquium on Violence, Intervention, and Agency at Yale University on 6 November.
New draft law to combat human trafficking brings hope in Morocco
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Experts believe adopting the new anti-trafficking law will make it easier for authorities to investigate and prosecute this widespread crime.
In Palestine, specialized prosecutors ensure women survivors’ access to justice
Thursday, November 20, 2014
UN Women is working with the Attorney General’s Office in Palestine on a human-rights-based approach to handling cases of domestic and gender-based violence, by training public prosecutors in line with international standards and developing operating procedures.