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UNIFEM   UNIFEM is the women’s fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality.

UNIFEM Mission UNIFEM is the United Nations Development Fund for Women. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women’s empowerment and gender equality. Placing the advancement of women’s human rights at the centre of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on four strategic areas: Reducing feminized poverty; Ending violence against women; Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and girls; Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war. Having started in 1999 in three Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan), in 2001 UNIFEM Regional Office in Almaty expanded its activities to the whole Commonwealth of Independent States, and now is implementing programmes and projects in 12 countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan).

UNIFEM INTERVENTIONS

Promoting gender equality in national development programmes and strategies

The Swedish International Development Agency SIDA financially supported UNIFEM activities directed at implementation of the programme, Promoting Gender Equality in National Development Programmes and Strategies in Moldova, which was launched in November 2007.

The aim of the programme is to render assistance to the government of Moldova in order to implement the international and national obligations on poverty reduction and to develop gender-sensitive governance and leadership.
 
The programme includes the following activities:

• conducting a gender  analysis of government policy, developing recommendations in order to increase  the efficiency of state mechanisms in the sphere of employment and social security, and integrating gender priorities in the National Development Strategy of Moldova and participating in the development of the country’s  first National Strategy on Gender Equality and Enhancement of Women’s Rights and Opportunities;
  
  
• providing support to the National Statistics  Agency in order to improve the system of collecting and processing of data related to gender  issues, to revive the regular statistical publication, ‘Men and Women’   and also to create a manual for gender statistics users; conducting activities aimed at raising interest within government bodies, research centres, civil society organizations  and mass media in  more effective use of  the gender statistics, and developing a harmonised system of gender-sensitive indicators in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and in accordance with the priorities highlighted in the National Gender Equality Action  Plan, the National Development Strategy, the EU-Moldova Action Plan, the National Human Rights Action Plan, the UN Convention on Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the  Beijing Platform of Action (BPA);

• carrying out the activities concerned with gender budgeting, including  conducting  sociological research in  remote districts and analyzing local budgets aimed at financing activities  related to employment and social security; developing recommendations for incorporating a gender approach in the national budgeting process, and developing a training module  on gender-sensitive budgeting for inclusion in a course on gender-sensitive budgeting in a postgraduate  study curriculum;
  
  
• strengthening potential through providing  support to  the State Commission on Gender Equality in order to create the national mechanisms for  long-term promotion of gender equality; rendering assistance to the Department of Equal Opportunities  and Prevention of Violence of the Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child(MSPFC)  of the Republic of Moldova in order to carry out a coordinating function in the promotion of gender equality and the functions of the secretariat of the State Commission on Gender Equality;

• raising gender awareness  of the ministry staff responsible for the development of the state policies and decision making, gender educating  of the representatives of  civil society organizations, including research centers, mass media, NGOs and international organizations focusing on  gender equality promotion and broadening women’s opportunities by means of innovative methods of training;

Gender budgeting promotion in the Republic of Moldova

Since May 2007, UNIFEM has been carrying out activities aimed at incorporating gender perspectives at all levels of the budgetary procedure in the Republic of Moldova in order to assess the existing budgeting system, and reveal opportunities for integrating a gender approach in national budgeting, as well as to  provide training to public officers, the representatives of civil society and international organizations in order to  use gender budgeting as the analytical instrument for policy development and monitoring.

The sub-regional UNIFEM Programme on Gender-sensitive Budgeting in Southern Eastern Europe: Promotion of Gender Equality and Democratic Governance through Raising of Transparency and Accountability, was launched at the end of 2006. Programme activity has focused on strengthening democratic governance and on women’s rights promotion through activities aimed at supporting the process of incorporating gender perspectives in the national programmes and budgeting process. The Programme has been implemented in the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Moldova. The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) renders financial support in implementation of the Gender Budgeting Programme in the Republic of Moldova.

UNIFEM combined the activities aimed at implementation of the gender-sensitive budgeting programme with the programme on Promoting Gender Equality in National Development Programmes and Strategies in Moldova, which has been conducted by the UNIFEM Regional Office for CIS with financial support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).

UNIFEM Regional office for CIS countries held a 3-day regional seminar on gender-sensitive budgeting in Almaty on 13-15 May 2008. The aim of the seminar was to develop practical skills in the sphere of gender budgeting. During the seminar the discussions highlighted the main gender problems in the region which need to be considered in the planning process for the regional programme on gender budgeting in CIS. The representatives of government bodies and NGOs from eight CIS countries, including Moldova, participated in the seminar.

Law on Gender Equality

In the framework of the project, Promotion of Equal Rights and Opportunities in Moldova in the Course of the Development of the Law on Gender Equality and the Provision of the Condition of its Implementation, the draft law on gender equality, the Law on Provision of Equal Opportunities for Men and Women, was developed in compliance with national and international standards. This law was approved by the parliament of the Republic of Moldova in March 2006, thus becoming the legal platform for the development of the national mechanism for the integration of gender perspectives at all levels, and also for the implementation of the National Plan of Action on Gender Promotion in 2006-2009, which was adopted in August 2006.

The fact that the law was adopted was in large part due to a wide-ranging information campaign and the united efforts of various women’s NGOs, trade unions and other civil society organizations. Moreover, UNIFEM assisted in the creation of the parliament member’s coalition, consisting mainly of women-parliamentarians, which actively worked at the adoption of the law on gender equality. To support the adoption of the law, UNIFEM also conducted an information and education campaign, which included the production of TV and radio programmes, distribution of various posters and leaflets and the drafting of letters, supporting the adoption of the law, on behalf of governmental bodies and NGOs, among other activities.

Regional Consultative Meeting on Promotion of Gender Equality in National Strategies for Implementation of the Millennium Declaration

In October 2005, a consultative meeting was organised by UNIFEM, in which more than 60 representatives of governmental bodies, NGOs and international donor organizations from 10 CIS countries, including Moldova, took part. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the strategies for poverty reduction (SPR) within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with a specific focus on gender aspects. Leading CIS gender experts were given the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience in the spheres of gender equality and addressing gender questions in national development programmes. In addition, the meeting gave new impetus to the development of cooperation between CIS countries in resolution of gender problems.

Project on Training Students of the Republic Police Academy

UNIFEM rendered assistance to the Women’s Organizations Forum in implementation of a project, Solving Problems Related to Gender Violence through Raising Awareness and Developing Skills of Policemen, which was conducted in 2006-2007.
The results of the project were the following:

• an increase in  knowledge and improvement of skills related to gender  violence prevention issues and working with the victims of violence demonstrated  by those students of the Republic Police Academy who attended training workshops;
  
  
• improvement of the teaching methodology of the violence prevention course due to  training  teachers  in the  methods of establishing gender-sensitive indicators and the development of a manual in the form of a methodology newsletter for the teachers, psychologists, trainers and other concerned parties;
  
  
• establishment of a pool of gender competent journalists in order to regularly and adequately cover the issues related to gender violence in mass media and the development of  cooperation between the journalists and government bodies, international organizations and other various organizations;
  
  
• increased  access for victims of violence to information and services of special government and non-government organizations, achieved as the result  of the preparation and distribution of leaflets and information booklets, aimed at changing stereotypes, social culture and society’s attitude towards gender violence;
  
• the development of recommendations for the National Statistics Agency (NSA) in order to improve  the collecting and processing of statistical data related to gender violence issues, at national and regional levels and the conducting of themed events, in cooperation with the NSA, aimed at recognising gender violence issues as an indicator in national statistics processes.

The non-governmental Swedish Organisation for Individual Relief (SOIR), which helps individuals who cannot obtain relief in crisis situations through other sources, and the American Bar Association ABA/ROLI, provided the financial support for the implementation of the project.

The Life Free of Violence regional public awareness campaign in CIS

The goal of the regional campaign was to increase public awareness on the issue of violence against women as a crime and a violation of women's human rights and to promote understanding of the social and economic costs, causes and consequences of violence. The campaign was conducted in CIS and Eastern European countries, including Moldova in 2001-2002, and was aimed at reduction of cases of domestic violence as well as sexual harassment at the workplace.

In the framework of the campaign, public events, students’ debates in the universities, various competitions, exhibitions and other events, which were initiated by the regional governmental and non-governmental organisations, took place. In addition, TV and radio programmes, devoted to the campaign, were produced and broadcasted, and also a lot of articles concerning the issue were published in national and local mass media. Various information materials, including posters, educational booklets and calendars, were published and distributed.
 
Various new associations and organisations, such as law associations, national working groups and NGOs, were established in all 9 countries, in which the campaign was taking place. In addition, assistance was rendered to the existing associations of crisis centres, particularly through providing gender resource materials.
 
In the progress of implementation of the project, particular attention was paid to working with the representatives of social services, law enforcement, non-governmental organisations and higher educational institutions. One of the results of the campaign was the broadening of the services for providing legal help and consultations for victims of violence. An assessment of the existing legislation and the procedures related to domestic violence was conducted in 9 CIS countries. The assessment results were presented at the regional conference on domestic violence legislation. At the conference a manual on informing the public about the domestic violence issues in the region and a manual on the development and lobby of the appropriate laws were developed.

In 2002, a report, The Level of the Population’s Awareness of Violence in Families and Sexual Harassment at Work and their Media Coverage, was prepared at UNIFEM’s request. For the first time, comparative regional data on the situation of violence against women in 9 CIS countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Uzbekistan, was collected. The results of conducted sociological surveys of the targeted groups confirmed once again that women experience violence more often than men. The report presented data on perception of violence in the region and its similarities and differences in the various countries.

 International UNIFEM campaigns aimed at elimination of gender violence

Annually, UNIFEM supports different social events in the region, including Moldova, within the framework of the 16 Days against Gender Violence Campaign aimed at addressing the issue of violence against women through developing gender awareness in government and non-government organizations.

UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman launched A Life Free of Violence is Our Right internet campaign calling for global action to end violence against women. Anyone can add their name to support the United Nation’s efforts to ensure the right of women to a life free of violence at the campaign web-site www.saynotoviolence.org.

UNIFEM Regional Events
 
The representatives of Moldova participate in regional conferences, consultative meetings and other events, organised by the UNIFEM Regional Office for CIS.  In particular, the representatives of Moldova were invited to participate in the regional consultative meeting, Gender Equality and Human Rights in National Strategies of Development and Budget Planning in CIS Countries: towards the Ghana World Summit 2008, which took place in May 2007.

Over 100 officials representing the governments, civil society organizations and donor organizations from 10 CIS countries participated in this meeting. As a result of this meeting The Almaty Declaration on the Contribution to the High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Ghana and Accra Plan of Action, was adopted.

At the meeting the participants acknowledged that the fulfilment of obligations towards achievement of gender equality is an integral component of a country’s development process and a precondition for increasing aid effectiveness in the region. At the meeting UNIFEM proposed the creation of a regional basket fund for supporting the initiatives directed at the achievement of gender equality in CIS countries. In general this idea was approved by the meeting participants, and the decision to discuss the principle of the foundation and functioning of such a fund in detail with all concerned partners was made.