Outcome BOL_D_4.1

The Bolivia UN system coherently and systematically contributes to progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

In 2025, Bolivia achieved measurable progress in strengthening United Nations system coordination on gender equality. UN Country Teams that conducted comprehensive UNCT-SWAP gender equality assessments in the past four years exceeded at least 60% of UNCT-SWAP standards, reflecting enhanced accountability and coherence. UN Women Bolivia solidified its role as the lead entity for gender coordination, providing strategic leadership as Co- Chair of the Gender Theme Group (GTG) and Results Group 3 of the UNSDCF. This ensured that gender equality and the elimination of violence against women remained central to joint planning, implementation, and monitoring. UN Women’s visibility in humanitarian coordination increased, establishing itself as a key gender actor within the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and UNETE. The publication of Bolivia’s first Gender Alert on Disaster Risk Reduction equipped humanitarian actors with practical guidance to integrate gender-responsive measures in contingency planning and crisis response. In partnership with UNFPA and the PSEA Commission (UNICEF, UNODC, UNDP), UN Women co-led the development and rollout of the 2025 Interagency Strategy and Work Plan on Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEA). Endorsed by the UN Country Team, these tools provide a unified framework for preventing and addressing SEA/SH, strengthening survivor-centered standards, institutional accountability, and minimum operational procedures across the UN presence in Bolivia. To enhance gender-responsive planning and financial accountability, UN Women facilitated dedicated training on the Gender Equality Marker (GEM) under the UNSDCF Joint Work Plan. As a result, UN agencies improved their capacity to classify, code, and track gender-related investments, increasing the reliability of data on resources allocated to gender equality. Simultaneously, UN Women and UNFPA advanced the development of Bolivia’s Gender Profile, an interagency analytical product that will inform the Common Country Analysis (CCA). In coordination with UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, and the Resident Coordinator’s Office, two joint programs were implemented with UN Women as the gender lead. These initiatives addressed harmful gender norms using behavioral science and human-centered design, and ensured that early warning, conflict prevention, and electoral risk mitigation efforts were gender-sensitive and rights-based, strengthening institutional safeguards and the inclusion of women and marginalized groups.

The Bolivia UN system coherently and systematically contributes to progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

UN Women plays a leading role in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment within the UN system , drawing on its coordination mandate. Its leadership is recognized in the UN Country Team (UNCT) , where it leads the Results Group 3 on Violence and Vulnerable Groups , ensuring that gender perspectives are integrated into the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). URL UN Women collaborates in five of the seven Results Groups of the UNSDCF and participates in several specialized groups, including the Interagency Communications Group and the Strategic Analysis Unit. This involvement ensures the inclusion of gender analysis in UNCT reports and fosters inter-agency cooperation on gender equality. In its leadership role, UN Women has facilitated cooperation between state institutions and UN agencies , creating shared agendas for coordinated action, such as working with the with the Agency for Electronic Government and Information and Communication Technologies ( AGETIC ) . URL In addition, the Gender Equality Specialized Team, led by UN Women, has focused on implementing the UNCT SWAP Plan, providing technical assistance, and monitoring gender indicators within the UNSDCF. Additionally, UN Women has led the development of the Interagency Strategy for the Implementation of the Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH) Policy , in collaboration with other specialized agencies. This strategy was presented to the UNCT and is expected to be approved soon, creating a framework for context-specific actions. URL UN Women also oversees the annual UNCT SWAP Gender Scorecard Report and has adapted the Gender Equality Marker to the Bolivian context, ensuring its use in the planning process of UNSDCF results groups. URL Moreover, Nidya Pesántez, UN Women Bolivia's representative, successfully served as Acting Resident Coordinator during the year . URL URL Finally, regarding joint programs, UN Women, in collaboration with UN-OHCHR and UNDP, and funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), led the "Supporting Dialogue and Human Rights for Peacebuilding in Bolivia" program (2020-2022 ). The program aimed to prevent violence, reduce electoral polarization, and promote peacebuilding. URL Currently, UN Women has begun implementing the Joint Program "Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and a Life Free from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence for the Most Vulnerable Women and Girls" (2024-2028), funded by the Embassy of Canada and in partnership with UNFPA and UNICEF . This program will be implemented in three municipalities in Bolivia, focusing on improving essential services, strengthening public policies, and promoting changes in social norms in close collaboration with key stakeholders. URL

The Bolivia UN system coherently and systematically contributes to progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

Gender Equality has been positioned within the UN System in Bolivia under the leadership of UN Women. The gender marker has been implemented in the UNSDCF results groups and will be reported on regular basis across the planning cycle in the UN Info platform. UN Women is leading one of the results groups on Violence against women, leads the Operations Management Team - OMT and the Gender Equality Specialized Team. This has allowed to ensure the inclusion of the gender perspective in the planning processes of the results Groups, in the BOS and the implementation of the UNCT SWAP gender Scorecard plan and the PSEA plan. The UNCT Strategic Analysis Unit has included the gender perspective as a key component of the monthly reporting tool, using information of the UN Women`s Early Warning System (SAT for its acronym in Spanish) reports. The SAT constitutes a tool to monitor conflicts and contribute to social and political dialogue by providing inputs and generating risk analyses and briefings to UN personnel and decision makers on the effects on women of violent actions and conflicts in the country.