Outcome RAS_D_9.1

More women and girls are protected from violence, particularly domestic violence and violence in the public sphere

UN Women Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) advanced regional efforts to strengthen normative and policy frameworks to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) through its strategic partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS). In 2025, UN Women provided both technical and financial support to LAS for the development of a regional strategic framework on ending violence against women and girls. This framework was initiated after Member States were unable to reach consensus on adopting a legally binding convention, prompting LAS to pursue a comprehensive, non-binding strategic instrument instead. To lead the development process, UN Women ROAS contracted an international consultant, ensuring that the framework was grounded in global best practices and informed by rigorous analysis of regional gaps and opportunities. The framework aims to provide Arab States with an integrated strategy to combat violence against women and girls by assessing existing legal and policy gaps, identifying promising practices from across the region, and translating these into actionable recommendations and an accompanying implementation plan for Member States. Its formulation builds on prior regional work, including the LAS Ending Violence against women and girls Gender-Responsive Budgeting report launched in November 2024. Throughout the drafting process, UN Women ROAS provided extensive inputs to strengthen the framework’s alignment with international standards, including CEDAW and Beijing+ commitments, the UN Essential Services Package for survivors, and the RESPECT Framework for prevention. UN Women also ensured that the framework incorporated a robust “leave no one behind” approach, with explicit attention to the rights and needs of women and girls with disabilities and those living in conflict-affected settings. Contributions further drew on UN Women’s internal comparative analysis of existing regional frameworks to ensure coherence and relevance. In late 2025, League of Arab States circulated the draft framework to Member States for review, with finalization scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. Adoption is anticipated at the February 2026 meeting of the Arab Women’s Committee. UN Women also used the regional knowledge-sharing conference held in Amman in December as a platform to advocate for the framework’s adoption and to encourage Member State engagement. Collectively, these efforts strengthened regional consensus-building and advanced the establishment of a unified strategic approach to ending violence against women and girls across the Arab States.

More women and girls are protected from violence, particularly domestic violence and violence in the public sphere

Limited change in the reporting year

More women and girls are protected from violence, particularly domestic violence and violence in the public sphere

Limited change in the reporting year

More women and girls are protected from violence, particularly domestic violence and violence in the public sphere

ROAS developed an implementation plan against this outcome