Outcome ECU_D_3.2

National institutions and partners develop strategic interventions to contribute to reducing femicide and prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in the country (Spotlight goal)

In 2022, this Outcome had important advances with the completion of the first phase of the Spotlight Initiative contributing to the implementation and monitoring of the Comprehensive Organic Law for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Girls (LOIPEVCM). Women in the framework of this initiative developed the methodology for monitoring the indicators of the National Plan to Eradicate Violence against Women in association with the Secretariat for Human Rights; the instruments generated have been accepted and the first report consolidating the information of the institutions that make up the National System for the Eradication of Violence has been produced. Along the same lines, a regulatory policy was developed for the creation and operation of the Cantonal Boards for the Protection of Rights with minimum standards for compliance with the Law. On the other hand, jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a mobile application has been developed for consultation by the National Police and the authorities in the territory on the execution of urgent actions and the granting of Immediate Administrative Measures of Protection (MAPIS) to victims of gender violence, as set forth in the LOIPEVCM, thus 391 officials have the capacity to execute the procedures, especially from the National Police. https://linktr.ee/mapisyaccionesurgentes UN Women, in partnership with UNHCR and UNICEF, developed a toolkit for the judicial application of standards on human mobility, children and gender-based violence, applied and generated by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and other bodies of international protection systems. This tool was socialized with the Public Defender's Office, the Judiciary Council and free legal clinics to increase the scope of its implementation. In relation to the reform of laws and regulations, three proposals were generated: i) Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization - COOTAD; ii) Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code - COIP; iii) Organic Code of Planning and Public Finance - COPFP, for the prevention and eradication of violence against women and femicide. This proposal was generated in consultation with 35 experts on the subject from institutions, academia and civil society, at the national and local level, including the National Reference Group of the Spotlight Civil Society which identified critical issues, difficulties, opportunities and good practices that were presented and discussed by the Parliamentary Group for Women's Rights of the National Assembly. This year, UN Women strengthened the implementation of the Protocol for Prevention and Action in Cases of Harassment, Discrimination and Violence Based on Gender and Sexual Orientation in higher education institutions by supporting three local universities (San Gregorio - Portoviejo, Amazon State University and University of Cuenca) in the development or updating of their protocols and the construction of a work plan to implement it. Additionally, a document was developed with recommendations that was delivered to the Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Council for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and the Council of Higher Education for its implementation. In relation to the strengthening of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), UN Women as part of the Spotlight Initiative developed a Public Expenditure Monitoring Guide for CSOs that provides an understanding of the functioning of the Public Expenditure Classifier on Gender Equality and the role of civil organizations as observers of the budgets allocated to this issue by national institutions and local governments. In addition, tools were developed for the formation and operation of the LOIPEVCM User Committees (CUS) for women leaders, organizations, and service users. As a result of the process, 12 user committees have been registered with the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS) in the six intervention cantons. 179 Indigenous and Afro-descendant women from the Antisuyu Warmikuna and Afro-Andean schools put into practice knowledge and skills through training exercises and tools that allowed them to strengthen their leadership capacities to address violence against women and girls (VAWG) and femicide. This training included the participatory development of two interculturally relevant pedagogical and recreational tools to address gender-based violence in their communities. The first tool, called Wituk Warmi from the Antisuyo Warmikuna school, was developed in two languages: Spanish and Amazonian Kichwa. The second, titled Wanawake from the Afro-Andean school, was developed in Spanish. To improving women survivors' access to essential services, UN Women developed participatory instruments, protocols and left capacities installed in shelters with guidelines and standards of care for indigenous, Afro-descendant and rural montuvian women survivors of gender-based violence and another for care in scenarios of humanitarian crisis, natural disasters and health crisis, in addition to a standard procedure to strengthen the autonomy capacities of women users and former users, which included the delivery of inputs for 150 women to strengthen their autonomy process. UN Women, as lead agency in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative in Ecuador and with the involvement of the National Civil Society Reference Group, promoted the design and piloting of a participatory monitoring and evaluation system to contribute to the eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls. These systems help to improve accountability, decision-making, and learning processes based on evidence and data. At the last meeting of the Spotlight Steering Committee, the contribution of the United Nations to the results of the Initiative was recognized, as was the recognition of the European Union delegation in the country, as well as that of the State bodies with respect to the results obtained. Regarding the contribution to the prevention protocol in higher education institutions, the ESC has requested the participation of UN Women in the Committee for the development of the policy for the prevention and eradication of harassment in university institutions because of the process of implementation and adaptation of the Protocol. By 2023, within the framework of the new 2023 - 2026 Strategic Note of the Ecuador CO, the drivers for change includes strengthening the development of norms and standards on gender equality and women's empowerment in line with intergovernmental processes, strengthening regulations, institutional strengthening, changing social norms, strengthening essential services, generating data for decision making and strengthening civil society to provide a comprehensive proposal to provide a comprehensive response to violence against women. The implementation of this Outcome has generated some lessons learned, including the importance of having focal points of intervention in the territories to strengthen coordination and articulation mechanisms. In addition, strategies should contemplate a longer-term horizon, mainly because the problem requires a comprehensive approach, which requires coordinated actions with civil society to promote behavioral changes at the level of individuals and institutions. In this regard, it is important to consolidate the visibility of the Initiative over time and ensure a longer implementation period. Finally, regarding the involvement of civil society in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative, it is important to have an advisory group such as the GNR-SC since it generates differentiated results according to the scope of the Initiative and the work plan. The collaboration and advice provided by the GNR-SC should be adapted according to differentiating criteria such as the size of the project or the scope of the joint work. compete and obtain their own resources.

National institutions and partners develop strategic interventions to contribute to reducing femicide and prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in the country (Spotlight goal)

This Outcome has been partially achieved in this 2021period. Certain strategies have been implemented to reduce and prevent femicide; however, it is necessary to highlight that the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences have negatively affected this task, as well as at the global level, the rates of violence have increased and it has affected the national economy. The Spotlight Project in Ecuador focuses on the implementation of the Law for the Eradication of Violence against Women in the country, in this sense, progress has been made in important inputs that this rule raises; for example, the Protocol for the investigation of violent deaths of women (1) has been adapted to national legislation, which has been approved by the State Attorney General through Resolution No. 066 – FGE – 2021 and establishes the execution of said resolution by all prosecutors in the country. https://ecuador.unwomen.org/es/noticias-y-eventos/articulos/2021/12/protocolo-investigacion-femicidios An evaluation mechanism (2) for judges in the field of violence against women has been developed in order to improve the capacities of said officials. Additionally, the data from the survey on family relations and violence against women has been disaggregated in a provincial manner, in such a way that they become instruments that contribute to the construction of public policy based on evidence. In addition, civil society has been strengthened, two observatories for non-sexist communication have been developed, which allow for a collective analysis of messages from the media that tolerate or promote gender inequality and violence against women. There are tools to strengthen civil society, especially women's organizations. This strengthening includes elements for the incidence and enforceability of the right to a life free of violence at the local level. UN Women has directly intervened in obtaining these results, which are still partial in terms of the globality of products that must be achieved with the implementation of the Spotlight Project in Ecuador. However, the will of several fundamental instances to prevent, care, protect and repair victims of violence against women has been achieved, such as instances of justice, the Human Rights Secretariat, the Ministry of Government and local governments.