Outcome WCA_D_3.1

More women and girls are protected from violence in West and Central Africa through normative, legal and policy frameworks and strengthened regional and national institutions that promote positive social norms.

In 2024, one law was upheld, resisting threats of repeal. In The Gambia, advocacy efforts successfully mobilized a diverse coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs), government representatives, and religious leaders. Notably, a roundtable event held in May resulted in a strong government stance against repealing the law criminalizing FGM. This represented a pivotal moment in protecting the physical and mental well-being of survivors and reaffirming the nation's commitment to gender equality. The event also prioritized community sensitization and the documentation of nationally representative data to address FGM effectively. A key highlight was the strengthened capacity of the African Commission on People and Human Rights (ACHPR) and the African Committee of Experts on the Welfare of the Child. These bodies were instrumental in engaging national stakeholders to oppose harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). Additionally, UN Women facilitated dialogues that strengthened advocacy efforts by regional and national stakeholders. A virtual Expert Dialogue on April 22 fostered coordinated action among CSOs to prevent legislative regression in The Gambia. Strategic alliances with organizations like UNICEF and UNFPA bolstered evidence-based advocacy against harmful practices. Overall, while no new laws were explicitly adopted or repealed during this reporting period, significant progress was achieved in resisting legislative rollbacks and reinforcing the legal framework supporting women’s rights. Continued efforts are underway to maintain momentum and achieve more tangible legislative outcomes in upcoming quarters.

More women and girls are protected from violence in West and Central Africa through normative, legal and policy frameworks and strengthened regional and national institutions that promote positive social norms.

In West and Central Africa, UNWOMEN has made significant progress on normative framework both at regional and country levels. At regional level, partnership with ECCAS resulted to the drafting of the first biding regional EVAW Convention if adopted in 2024 it will have a real impact on the lies and right of estimated hundred million women and girls in the region of Central Africa that are currently subject to SGBV. At country level CAR developp the law on sexual harassment in school to protect girls rights and access to education on post-conflict environnment.

More women and girls are protected from violence in West and Central Africa through normative, legal and policy frameworks and strengthened regional and national institutions that promote positive social norms.

Normative frameworks and the institutional environments have been strengthened to provide a multi-action approach to EVAWG by: A State of Play of EVAWG has been conducted in 11 countries of Central Africa and is to be extended to the rest Central African Countries, for the elaboration of the ECCAS Regional Convention on VAWG for Central Africa. A Regional VAWG Prevention Strategy has been validated and tested in four countries, to be published in 2023 and is being tested in four countries, with the purpose of translating it into National Action Plans. Commitments to provide technical support to ECCAS and governments on EVAWG legislation have been made, in particular regarding the organization of a regional Ministers' conference on EVAWG Engaging with Ministers in charge of GEWE portfolios, who attended UN Women High Level Forum on strengthening women’s movements Two sets of recommendations and engagements arose from the organization of two High-level Forums that gathered over 180 participants, including CSO, Traditional Leaders, Ministers and regional organization.