Outcome PAK_D_3.1

PCO SN Outcome 4.1: Laws, policies and strategies are adopted and implemented to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) (aligned to SP Output 11)

Substantial progress was made during the reporting year towards the realization of this outcome. During the year, UN Women supported Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) to develop a national policy and framework for ending violence against women (EVAW). The support included extending UN Women in-house staff expertise, the engagement of external experts when needed and providing technical input for organizing consultations with a broad range of stakeholders. The terms of reference (TORs) and design for this framework was prepared and submitted for the concurrence of the political leadership. Development of this policy and its framework will be initiated in 2022. This will result in fulfilling the observations from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) committee as well as constitutional obligations of Pakistan. UN Women also initiated discussions with the Ministry of Law and Justice to support implementation of the newly enacted Anti-Rape Law. This will strengthen implementation mechanisms and action on the ground in the context of this law. Additionally, UN Women also led awareness raising activities and the capacity building of duty-bearers, in order to support them to develop oversight and coordination mechanisms. Building upon previous efforts, UN Women continued to work closely with the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) to advance advocacy and build consensus on the issues around Child Marriages. During the reporting year, large scale consultations were held with religious scholars from all sects to get their support for the enactment of the Child Marriage Restraint Act in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As part of its partnership strengthening measures, UN Women held strategic meetings with the Council of Islamic Ideology to develop an annual workplan for 2022 on collaborative interventions to deal with the issues of child marriage and violence against women. This will help garner important support towards the enactment of these laws, as well as towards the implementation of laws already in place to end violence against women. Through the Women's Parliamentary Caucus, extensive advocacy and legislative exercises were undertaken throughout the year on issues of violence against women (VAW). This resulted in an increase in the parliamentary business (through questions raised in the Assembly, Resolutions, amendments, Calling Attention Notices) on bringing violence against women (VAW) related issues to the forefront of the legislative business. Keeping in view the escalating numbers of violence against women cases throughout the country, the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) - supported technically by UN Women - during the Inter-provincial Ministerial group meeting proposed a national taskforce to combat violence against women. The proposal was unanimously adopted and currently a team of 12 gender experts have been notified to oversee the formation of the taskforce that will have representation at the union council level. The objective is to advocate for improved response mechanism and address gaps in the laws and procedures.

PCO SN Outcome 4.1: Laws, policies and strategies are adopted and implemented to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) (aligned to SP Output 11)

The outcome has been achieved during the reporting period. A significant component of this work has been the legislative agenda, both the review of laws with a view to amending them in line with international commitments, as well as implementation of existing laws. Secondary legislation (such as Rules of Business and Standard Operating Procedures) was also drafted for existing laws to ensure their effective implementation. PCO is focusing on a few key laws for review and implementation in order to have a stronger impact. These include Child Marriage, Domestic Violence, Anti-Rape Law, Protection Against Harassment at the Workplace, and Property Rights. UN Women provided technical assistance to strengthen and adopt following laws through legislative drafting, comprehensive review of existing laws/rules and lobbying: 1- Probation Rules for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan: A comprehensive gender review of Probation Rules of KP and Balochistan was conducted in the reporting period. This review helped identifying gaps in rules - areas that were either gender blind or had negative impact on women and other gender minorities. Following this gender review, advocacy continued with relevant departments to incorporate the recommendations. 2- Rules of Business (RoBs) for Domestic Violence Act in KP and Balochistan: The RoBs for Domestic Violence Act in KP and Balochistan were approved and notified. UN Women PCO in partnership with Social Welfare and Women Development Departments advocated and lobbied for the adoption with the provincial Law Departments. Rules of Business were essential to address the major hurdle and ensure effective implementation of Domestic Violence Laws in both provinces. 3-Service Rules for Criminal Justice Institutions in KP and Balochistan: Towards the end of the reporting period, a gender review of Service Rules of KP and Balochistan, with the objective to make the rules more gender-responsive and bring forth proposals for enhancing gender parity in the provincial government service. After this review, the proposed revisions are shared with the provincial Services and General Administration (S&GA) Departments. UN Women PCO plans to lobby with these departments, with support of other relevant stakeholders, to adopt these proposals for making the Provincial Service rules more gender inclusive.