In line with UNFPA's mission as well as commitments made by the UN and the International Community, addressing GBV is a priority for the Population Fund. The current Strategic Plan for 2008-2011 (extended to 2013) and the Strategic Plan for 2014-2017 sharpened the organization’s focus on its primary goals: to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, secure reproductive rights and reduce maternal mortality. The Fund believes that the advancement of gender equality and women´s empowerment are worthy goals by themselves and are also central to achieving success in the area of sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), particularly the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) including violence against women (VAW) and other harmful practices widely regarded as violations of human rights. It is the belief of UNFPA that GBV is a global health concern of epidemic proportions with serious implications for the SRHR of all.
The Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally (GBV Strategy)is released by the US government on August 10, 2012, which lays out a framework to strategically combat various forms of violence, including domestic violence, sex trafficking, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation. To support the strategy, USAID worked with Development and Training Services, Inc. and Chemonics to identify best practices and activities with the potential for scale-up into global and/or multi-country interventions.
The purpose of this Policy Brief is to highlight the results of a survey conducted by PCBS on the attitudes and practices of a sample of PLC members towards gender discrimination.
