Outcome TUN_D_7.2

By 2025, health, education and social protection systems are resilient and ensure equitable access and quality services, especially for the most vulnerable, and effective engagement of the population (UNSDCF Effect 3)

UN Women Tunisia made progress towards an effective engagement of the population. Four multisectoral and innovative approaches are dedicated to priority issues of health and well-being are implemented by the Scouts, the Institute of Higher Commercial Studies, and UN Women with the active engagement of the population and the participation of all stakeholders. Over 200 young men and women have increased their awareness about women's empowerment and positive masculinities through a series of gender-responsive initiatives led by the Tunisian Scouts, with support from UN Women. For example, the NUBADER campaign actively engaged the male scouts, the inhabitants of the regions of Kef and Kebili to foster positive masculinity and support female leadership through various activities aimed at combating discrimination and gender-based violence. Six initiatives were designed and implemented within this framework (the EMNA project, the AMAL, NAJET, REFKA, Women's Football, and the Haryer Tejerouine Singing Club), significantly impacting Kef communities by adopting an inclusive approach involving men, boys, women, girls, and people with special needs. Over 1,000 participants benefited from the initiatives, with the majority being young people aged 15 to 17. Awareness-raising efforts reached over 1,000 additional people indirectly through social networks and high schools, amplifying the initiative's impact within communities. The NUBADER initiative broke new ground by deepening understanding of gender concepts, social relationships, and tools for protection against gender-based violence through participatory activities such as music, cinema, digitalization, and sports. This has positively influenced their attitudes and behavior in high schools and society at large. Beneficiaries also acquired communication and leadership skills, strengthening their ability to promote equality and contribute to community development.

By 2025, health, education and social protection systems are resilient and ensure equitable access and quality services, especially for the most vulnerable, and effective engagement of the population (UNSDCF Effect 3)

The outcome is partially achieved. UN Women Tunisia made progress towards an effective engagement of the population. Four multisectoral and innovative approaches are dedicated to priority issues of health and well-being are implemented by the Scouts, the Institute of Higher Commercial Studies, and UN Women with the active engagement of the population and the participation of all stakeholders. One-hundred and seventy (170) Tunisians, including 30% men and young men, have increased knowledge of positive masculinity, social norms underlying gender inequality in Tunisia as well as equity in accessing quality services. During a 2-days conference, the first edition of the International Conference on Gender Studies – ICGS, men and young men were immersed in the concept of positive masculinity and other gender equality norms supporting women, young women, and girls in accessing health services and combating gender-based violence. According to the evaluation made by participants and included in the report, 94% of attendees felt that the objectives of the conference had been achieved, and 99% felt that the topics covered were relevant to them. UN Women contributed by co-organizing this multidisciplinary conference in partnership with the Institute of Higher Commercial Studies. In addition, UN Women provided all participants with the knowledge products presented by the researchers. the Institute of Higher Commercial Studies contributed by inviting the most relevant profiles to the conference, managing the communication with local media, and supporting logistics. In addition, 194 participants from the Scouts of Kef and Kebili regions, including 165 men (77.58% of them under 30 years), enhanced their capacities on gender equality, positive masculinity, and addressing gender discrimination. By the end of the four-day bootcamp entitled “Positive Masculinity: men and boys as strategic allies in female leadership”, participants improved their knowledge of gender discrimination (including its causes and consequences), the characteristics of male domination in society, fair social relations, and positive masculinities, and were ready to take action to prevent discrimination against women and girls, combatting gender-based violence and promoting positive masculinity in their communities. The results of the evaluation questionnaire reveal that almost 94% of participants fully understood the training objectives. These figures testify to a remarkable understanding on the part of learners, who were able to assimilate the key concepts presented during the activities. The evaluation questionnaire results also reveal that an impressive 75% of participants expressed their commitment to putting what they had learned into practice. UN Women contributed to this by co-organizing this bootcamp in partnership with the Tunisian Scouts and providing the needed expertise to accompany young men in a process of learning, changing attitudes and even becoming agents of change themselves. In addition, UN Women provided the participants with a toolkit designed especially for them on the theme of "Positive Masculinity", which will enable them always to remember the concepts they learned and to follow the design-thinking process to establish impactful projects in their communities. The Tunisian Scouts contributed to this by supporting the moderation of the different sessions. Furthermore, during the Tunisian Book Fair on 3 and 4 May 2023, 32 participants (half of them men and 56% young people) raised their awareness of online violence and its impact on the lives of women and girls. Through a collaborative image-creation workshop (Roboteca), the participants expressed their perception of masculinities and shared among each other examples of masculine domination and gender inequality in their sphere and get their awareness raised about the difference they can make by adopting positive masculinity, notably in the online sphere. Finally, nearly 500 young men and women (2/3 of them are young men) from 19 Arab countries, including Tunisia, deepened their knowledge of gender equality and shared their comparative experiences on the subject. This 3rd Arab scout camp entitled "Scouting is a sustainable approach" was an opportunity to disseminate the experience of the Tunisian scouts detailed above and expand their networks to strengthen their role as strategic allies in women’s leadership. According to the on-site evaluation carried out at the end of each session, 70% of the total number of participants were very satisfied with the content of the sessions and the knowledge they gained from interacting with their peers and taking part in the various activities, 20% were satisfied. UN Women contributed to this by providing knowledge products and facilitating 5 sessions on December 16 and 18, 2023 with young people on Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Arab Scouts, a strategic partner of UN Women, contributed to the logistical organization of the sessions and communications coverage. Based on the progress made, the strategy and theory of change are largely still applicable.

By 2025, health, education and social protection systems are resilient and ensure equitable access and quality services, especially for the most vulnerable, and effective engagement of the population (UNSDCF Effect 3)

The outcome is partly delayed due to a delay in a community health programme whose start date had to be moved from 2022 to 2023. Nevertheless, progress was made towards better policies and services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), particularly in the relatively neglected areas of economic and online GBV. First, progress has been made towards better qualitative data and statistics on GBV. The National Statistics Council (CNS) increased current access and also laid the foundation for future improvements in access to gender-sensitive statistics. First, it published the Gender Equality Profile , which presents available gender data and gaps for six Sustainable Development Goals, including statistics on economic GBV – particularly regarding prevalence and judicial proceedings. Moreover, in September, it developed the first draft of an Action Plan for the elaboration of the National Strategy for Statistical Development (NSSD). It did so in a workshop in September including key stakeholders from ministries, the National Statistics Institute, and the Central Bank of Tunisia. In a second workshop in October, participants discussed the draft Action Plan focusing on the following themes: women's economic empowerment, violence against women, women's education and training, women and health, and women and decision making. These results were achieved with the financial and conceptual support to provide knowledge products and workshops from UN Women under a project financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. In addition, decision-makers and service providers have access to new data for the improved implementation of the Organic Law No. 58-2017 on Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) and women and girls can access an important measuring tool as a result of two (2) new knowledge products. First, decision-makers and service providers can access the ‘Analysis of Law 58 with a focus on economic violence’, finalised by a Tunisian GBV expert hired by UN Women which incorporates data from extensive consultations and in-depth interviews with stakeholders from justice and service institutions as well as civil society. While the evaluation highlights the truly progressive nature of the law, it also identifies gaps and challenges, including in terms of prejudices in a patriarchal society, procedural gaps, and data gaps, particularly due to the lack of data collection and analysis around economic violence. It provides recommendations on how to address these challenges at the level of the legal text and in terms of data collection and institutional set-up of the justice and service systems. Plans for a wide range of stakeholders to discuss the evaluation are set for 2023. Second, regarding the new tool, UN Women completed the preliminary concept for the “Violentomètre,” a measuring tool for women and girls which captures the toxicity of behaviours in economic relations in the domestic and work sphere – be it formal or informal. Its dissemination in 2023 will also contribute to awareness-raising for economic GBV. Finally, the National Observatory to Combat Violence against Women Helpline should soon produce better statistics on GBV thanks to the increased capacity of 12 responders from the Observatory. In a workshop provided by UN Women, the Observatory’s responders learned to better collect and utilise the data they collect when receiving calls from women affected by violence, including economic violence. Second, women and girls as well as key stakeholders increased their awareness of GBV, particularly about online and economic violence, and their commitment to combat it. Regarding online violence against women (OVAW), 292 women and girls now have information and tools to combat online violence and stand up for their rights, to express themselves freely and to be active in the virtual space as in any public space. This result is based on reports from the 16 women who trained these women and girls (themselves participants in a training of trainers -ToT- offered by UN Women). The material from the ToT was made available by UN Women as a replicable training package. Moreover, throughout the ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence,’ OVAW was a priority topic, including in a campaign for better services led by eight (8) representatives from civil society. In May, 28 participants in a roundtable discussion on OVAW from public institutions and civil society, including from the LGBTIQ+ community and people with disabilities, agreed on priority interventions to combat online violence. Among them were 24 women (three younger than 24). UN Women organized the roundtable to ensure inclusivity in its OVAW programming. According to the event report, the priorities include working on improving the legal framework, social norms, and services. In July, nine (9) authorities (6 women and 3 men) developed an action plan on ending OVAW. They included representatives from the Ministry of Interior and the National Agency on Computer Security and experts in the areas of law, cyber-crime, and sociology. The action plan, based on the criteria of relevance and feasibility, contains five (5) outputs and 14 actions to protect women from online violence. UN Women supported them by providing an expert in strategic planning and disseminating the priorities identified during the roundtable mentioned above. Moreover, 65 representatives from civil society, public institutions and the international community showed their interest in addressing OVAW by attending a seminar about the results of UN Women’s OVAW programming in Tunisia and Libya, funded by the Government of Finland. An awareness-raising campaign on economic GBV highlighted this key issue to the Tunisian general public through an innovative artistic debut in Diar Lemdina, a popular tourist village. For three weeks, clear messages on economic GBV appeared on four giant canvases on the central esplanade of this domestic tourist town. The topics addressed on the canvases ranged from the labour market and decision-making to the too-common death of female agricultural workers and the management of financial resources within the household. Nineteen (19) youth leaders from the Tunisian Scouts, including 14 women created these giant pieces of art during a three-day session under the supervision of two painters and a psychologist. These youth leaders were the winners of the first drawing competition on GBV , drawn from a pool of almost 200 youth, which took place in 2021. In addition, university students across the country will soon see a short film on economic GBV and the burden of care work, developed by UN Women in partnership with the Women’s Ministry. Additionally, the general public will soon receive norm and behaviour change messages related to GBV as part of an upcoming national campaign to end GBV, including economic GBV. Data from 22 focus group discussions with 221 participants across Tunisia in 2021 was analysed and organized to create the basis for the campaign. UN Women supported all these results in the framework of a joint programme on GBV funded by the Government of Canada. Specifically, it hired experts on GBV, psychologists, trainers, and facilitators and conceptualised and organised the various activities. Based on the progress made, the strategy and theory of change are largely still applicable and impact-level changes in the lives of women and girls through better systems to address GBV are expected in five (5) years.