Salam Al-Alo, 27, sought refuge in Jordan in 2013. After working as a site supervisor at the UN Women Oasis Centre in Za’atari Refugee Camp, she continues to volunteer at the place that she believes helped her find herself.

"My name is Salam Al-Alo and I am 27 years old. I am from Daraa, Syria and arrived in Jordan in 2013. I came with my husband and his family. I did not have children at the time, but I was pregnant. I had a miscarriage on the way to Jordan because of the difficult circumstances we suffered from. We have been here at the camp for 9 years and I now have two daughters and a son." Read more >

Women migrant workers face additional barriers in accessing essential services when they experience gender-based violence. Ensuring accessible, safe, survivor-centred services is key to the principle of “leave no one behind”. To be able to provide quality services, it is crucial to have gender-responsive policies and capacities to implement these policies. Therefore, strengthening the policies and the capacities of foreign service officials in providing survivor-centred services for women migrant workers has been identified as one of the strongest entry points. UN Women Regional Office has supported the governments in the region to use the operational guidelines on quality services and develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that promote higher quality services from front-line workers for survivors of violence, including and especially women migrant workers.

In the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has developed SOPs for referral mechanisms among the embassies, which are currently under review. The SOPs are expected to be guiding documents for foreign service officials to support Filipino migrants abroad. This is a result of the training organized for foreign service officials, as well as advocacy for survivor-centered and gender-responsive protocols in response to violence against women.

In Thailand, the Department of Women’s Affairs and Family Development, under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is drafting multi-disciplinary and national-level SOPs. In Indonesia, UN Women Regional Office continued its work with the Ministry of Manpower in developing SOPs and gender guidelines for implementing the Decree No. 294/2020 on the Implementation of Placement in the New Normal Period.

In Viet Nam, the government adopted four national-level SOPs for front-line workers.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) adopted the “Standard Operating Procedures for Supporting Overseas Vietnamese Women Victims of Violence, Abuse, Sexual Harassment and Trafficking in Persons”. The SOPs are a practical tool to guide Vietnamese foreign service officials and diplomats, institutionalizing the trainings that have been organized since 2019 by UN Women. Thereby becoming a regular curriculum for newly appointed foreign service officials.

“Since MOFA staff and officials rotate regularly, these SOPs will support a consistent approach in supporting survivors of violence.” – A speaker from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the launch event in December 2022.

The Ministry of Justice in Viet Nam adopted the “Standard Operating Procedures for Front-Line Justice Officials on Providing Gender-Sensitive Legal Aid and Referral Support to Other Services for Survivors of Violence and Human Trafficking”. UN Women Regional Office supported the Ministry by organizing a series of consultations and with technical assistance. The SOPs are designed for legal aid officers in all provinces and relevant officials for providing legal aid support, including referrals to other essential services. The Ministry organized trainings to utilize the SOPs with legal aid officers.

The Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam formalized coordinated quality service provisions for survivors of violence and trafficking in persons through the adoption of the “Standard Operating Procedures for Front-Line Public Security Officials on Providing Coordinated Support to Survivors of Violence and Human Trafficking”. UN Women provided technical advice on gender-sensitive, survivor-centred and migratory-inclusive service provisions and facilitated consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society and women’s organizations. The SOPs will be applied to the service provision of public security officials through trainings in 2023.

The Viet Nam Women’s Union, which plays a significant role in addressing violence against women through their shelters and resources for survivors, developed and adopted the “Standard Operating Procedures for Viet Nam Women’s Union Members to Provide Coordinated Support to Survivors of Violence”. The SOPs will be applied by the members of the Viet Nam Women’s Union across the country through trainings.

Additionally, six local-level referral mechanisms were established through SOPs, Memorandum of Understanding (related to referrals), or informal agreements in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. The established referral mechanisms formalize and systematize coordinated service provision in response to violence against women, including women migrant workers. Through these efforts, women migrant workers could access reliable information on safe and fair labour migration, violence against women, available services through peer networks, civils society organizations and networks, and other stakeholders.

Further SOPs are being drafted and will be released in 2023 in the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The adoption of these SOPs will support the governments in the region and relevant stakeholders in bolstering their laws to align more closely with normative frameworks and improve the quality of their services. This includes the adoption of rights-based and survivor-centred approaches in responses, improved service provisions for survivor protection and support, and greater clarity in roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in the prevention and response to violence against women migrant workers.

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The sounds of laughter, singing and clapping emanate from a small event space deep in Mamelodi township on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa. Inside, a group of girls are excitedly preparing to begin a group dialogue session. The participants, whose ages range from 15 to 25, have been brought together by their desire for change—and their belief that they can drive it themselves by speaking directly to powerful groups and decision-makers. This is the Young Women for Life (YWfL) movement. Read more >

The 2018 baseline study on Public Perceptions of Gender Equality and Violence against Women in Western Balkans and Turkey revealed that nearly one third of respondents in Kosovo* perceived domestic violence as a ‘normal’ part of any relationship. In order to promote a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and encourage reporting, the Kosovar Gender Studies Center implemented a behavioural change campaign entitled “Say something,” under the EU-funded regional programme “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds.” In this interview, Dafina Prekazi, Programme Manager for the Kosovar Gender Studies Center, reveals the campaign’s powerful impact and how responses to violence against women can be improved with everyone’s cooperation. Read more >

* For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the International Court of Justice Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UN Women, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).

María Nelsy Contreras Garzón es trabajadora del cuidado y hace poco más de un año se graduó de la secundaria. Sus estudios fueron postergados debido a las labores de cuidado que desde siempre priorizó en su familia. Ella es cuidadora de su madre de 75 años y de su hijo de 16 años, con quienes vive en el barrio Jerusalén Bellavista, en la localidad de Ciudad Bolívar, en Bogotá, Colombia. Leer más >

Rural women vendors and farmers trading at Nausori Municipal Market will have a safe place to sleep at the new Nausori Market Women’s Accommodation Centre which was officially opened today by His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley, AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and Fiji’s Minister for Commerce, Trade and Tourism, and Transport, and acting Minister for Local Government, Honorable Faiyaz Koya. 

The accommodation centre will provide a safe space for women who travel from the provinces of Rewa, Naitasiri, Tailevu and from as far as Rakiraki and Ba, to sell their produce at Nausori market. The centre will include a lift to ensure access for vendors with reduced mobility and can also be used as a training and meeting facility. Read more >