UN Women Transparency Portal

Region:Asia Pacific Current UN Women Plan Period Afghanisthan:2018-2022

World Bank Income Classification:Low Income

Least Developed Country:Yes

Gender Inequality Index:0.575

Gender Development Index:0.723

Population:209,497,025 Male:19,976,265 (9.5%) Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)

Disclaimer

outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECU_D_2.1

National and local institutions improve legal and policy frameworks with adequate budget allocation, to promote decent work, social protection, and livelihoods for women, particularly those from priority groups. (SP Output 8)

UN Women had a strong progress in this Outcome in 2022. In 2022, 1 law approved and 2 proposals under discussion to promote women´s rights were supported by UN Women. Also 3 Ministries have tools and knowledge to improve their legal, regulatory and policy frameworks, 5 Local Governments and 4 private companies have tools and knowledge that improved their legal, regulatory and policy frameworks to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. UN Women provided technical assistance in the formulation of the Violet Law, approved in November; and 3 law proposals (Equal Pay Law and Care Law) submitted to the National Assembly. These legal frameworks were worked with the Parliamentary Group on Women's Rights of the Assembly, teams of advisors and women's organizations convened by the Group to obtain data and information that allowed the development of these legal frameworks. Important advances to develop a foreign policy with a gender perspective with the Ministry of Production. The Productive Alliance for Gender Equality has baseline on the conditions of women's participation in the productive structure, a proposal for public policy guidelines, a mapping of priority actors and sectors, and the project profile for the implementation of a Gender Equality and Competitiveness Observatory. Furthermore, a portfolio of impact investments with a gender perspective for the country, which includes baseline indicators on financing gaps and investment needs was delivered. Additionally, UN Women developed an Employability Strategy for the Economic Empowerment of Women that will be implemented by the Ministry of Labor in 2023 also with the support of the Office to increase and improve employment conditions for women. UN Women developed a protocol for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, and a guide for its implementation, as well as left the methodology installed to implement the protocol for the prevention, action and elimination of all forms of harassment or intimidation at work with sexual connotation, with this, the Ministry will apply the regulations internally with its national officials and abroad, contributing to the implementation of Convention 190 In relation to the work with the private sector, UN Women developed a Guide for Diverse and Inclusive Change with a focus on human mobility, the WEPs Principles and ILO Convention 190; and generated knowledge in 261 people, including managers and administrative staff of four private companies: ENCUBA, KUBIEC, Chubb Insurance Company and AVON, who were also accompanied in the construction of a roadmap and a short and medium-term work plan that contributes to the protection of people working within the entity against violence and harassment in the workplace, including those who are in a situation of human mobility and/or refuge, especially women. On the other hand, 200 women in Quito and Guayaquil (cities with the highest number of women in a situation of human mobility) received seed capital to open their businesses as well as knowledge and skills in e-commerce, social network management, economic empowerment and soft skills for the sustainability of their businesses. In addition, 204 women in situation of human mobility have skills in non-traditional topics such as economic empowerment with a gender focus, co-responsibility in care, digital violence, security tools and a gender focus in the social and labor sphere to improve their employment profile. In October 2022, the Executive Board visited the UN Women office in Ecuador, where counterparts from Government, Civil Society and the Private Sector recognized UN Women's contribution to its work in benefit of gender equality and women's empowerment in the country. In this context, the theory of change continues to be valid for this Outcome. However, in the framework of the new strategic note of UN Women Ecuador 2023 - 2026, among the drivers for change is the strengthening of the development of norms and standards on gender equality and women's empowerment in line with intergovernmental processes, through technical support and policy advice to inform norm setting and gender mainstreaming in existing sectoral and national norms and standards, this includes strategies that enable compliance with laws and that UN Women's technical assistance and advocacy leads to the implementation of legal frameworks and the application of the tools and knowledge delivered to the different branches of government. In terms of impact on the lives of women, UN Women has contributed with the construction, generation and technical assistance for different State entities such as the Employability Strategy and the Rural Women's Agenda, which are expected to have effects in the medium term and has also continued with the support it has been providing since 2021 to the National Government's Socioeconomic Recovery Plan, which has contributed to the economic recovery of women after the COVID 19 pandemic. However, the recovery must continue, although there is evidence of an improved employment situation in the country, access to employment and income generation for women is still lower than for men and at least 5% of women are more likely to not have access to employment due to the low coverage of care systems, directly affecting their economic autonomy. Within the country, there has been an improvement in the conditions of financing and access to credit for women, but progress is limited, as well as in terms of decent work where the figure has not improved and it is evident that the gender gap in precarious employment remains, especially among the youngest women. In terms of lessons learned in 2022, it is important to highlight that plans for similar legal reform interventions should integrate strong advocacy components from the outset. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen advocacy at the highest level as UN Women has developed knowledge, tools and it is necessary to achieve their implementation and compliance, as well as to improve the follow-up to the processes managed. In this sense, it is also necessary to increase awareness and training actions with public institutions beyond those in charge of gender issues since the lack of knowledge is high. These actions can be managed in an inter-agency manner and thus maintain the same discourse and positioning on the issue. On the other hand, it is important to base interventions on the needs of the community, strengthening the work with communities and grassroots organizations and having clear lines of intervention as an offer of services that contribute to positioning and maintaining the focus of our actions.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECU_D_2.2

More women play a greater role in adaptation, mitigation and conservation initiatives and projects promoting sustainable development and climate change resilience. (Frontier Issue).

UN Women had a strong advance in this Outcome in 2022, the project Gender Mainstreaming in the Proamazonia Program, implemented with UNDP, culminated its implementation leaving important advances for women and Indigenous leaders to play a more significant role in initiatives and projects that promote sustainable development and resilience in the face of Climate Change. In addition to important advances for rural women in Ecuador through technical assistance, capacity building and advocacy in policies and regulations that promote and guarantee the participation and leadership of women in decision-making spaces. As part of the Gender Mainstreaming project in the ProAmazonia program, UN Women strengthened leadership of 289 Amazonian women who completed the Amazonian Women Training Program for Climate Change environments at the "Antisuyu Warmikuna" Amazonian Women's Leadership School. In addition, Amazonian community communicators have tools for the were trained in the application of the Guide for Amazonian Communicators with a gender focus, a tool that supports a more inclusive and democratic approach to communication. Within the framework of this project, UN Women managed the participatory monitoring of the implementation through which 81 people were interviewed (69 women and 12 men) who recognized the positive impact of the project on the improvement of women's leadership and participation in decision-making spaces and the generation of knowledge on women's rights. On the other hand, UN Women provided technical assistance to the Association of Women of Rural Parish Councils -AMJUPRE with the participatory updating of its Political Agenda in which 52 rural women leaders from the coast, highlands and Amazon participated in its construction. This Agenda is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the 2030 Agenda and the National Agenda for Gender Equality 2022-2025, and is a working tool and a guiding document for the management and national and territorial citizen advocacy of rural women in Ecuador that will enable dialogue and management with public authorities and international cooperation. In addition, UN Women, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, as part of the implementation of the National Agricultural Strategy for Rural Women, provided technical and logistical assistance for the creation of the Rural Women's Interinstitutional Roundtable in Cañar, a platform for dialogue and decision-making for rural women in that province. In this context, the theory of change continues to be valid for this Outcome. However, in the framework of the new strategic note of UN Women Ecuador 2023 - 2026, among the drivers for change is the strengthening of national and local policies and other mechanisms that allow women's access to productive resources such as land, credit and technology by developing coordination and enforceability processes with civil society networks and strengthening women's capacities with rural emphasis for the enforceability of their economic rights and participation; develop innovative practices for production, sustainable consumption and adaptation to climate change with a gender approach and based on the recovery of ancestral knowledge; promote associative processes of women producers in partnership with the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of Production, Ministry of Environment and other agencies of the United Nations System such as FAO, WFP. This includes strategies that enable compliance with laws and that UN Women's technical assistance and advocacy leads to the implementation of legal frameworks and the application of the tools and knowledge delivered to the different branches of government. Thanks to the work developed in this area, the UN Women Ecuador Country Office is recognized as a "pioneer" in the women and climate change agenda at the regional level. In 2022, an important lesson learned is that the work done on climate change resilience issues has been an important opportunity for resource mobilization and for the expansion of the office's partnerships in line with the guidelines of the United Nations System and other cooperation actors, the work in this area represents an important opportunity for the next Strategic Note, in addition to the importance of strengthening the office's capacities in this area.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECU_D_3.1

National and local institutions deliver multi sector responses to address violence against women and girls in development and humanitarian settings

UNW made considerable progress on this Outcome in 2022, national and local institutions have generated instruments and developed capacities to respond to violence against women and girls in humanitarian and development contexts. Regarding women's right to political participation and the elimination of political violence, UNW worked jointly with the National Electoral Council to strengthen the Political Training School for Women that promotes the participation of women in the political arena, strengthening the leadership of 330 women politicians who are part of the candidates to sectional elections in 2023. In Galapagos, UNW coordinated with the Government Council to conduct workshops on Masculinities with 35 officials of the entities of the System for the Protection of Victims of Violence (National Police, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion, Ministry of Human Rights, Prosecutor's Office, Council of the Judiciary and the Government Council of Galapagos), which generated individual and institutional commitment to replicate the information in their communities and entities. UN Women, with the support of UNW Regional Office, developed appropriate conceptual and methodological tools for the incorporation of gender approach in the foreign policy agenda in foreign relations and human mobility, through training modules adopted within the Diplomatic Training School. Finally, UNW and the Ministry started the design of the National Action Plan for the implementation of UNSCR 1325, training Ministry's staff in this normative framework. Within the framework of Safe Cities program, UNW developed a prevention and attention to victims of sexual harassment procedure for Quito Subway. In Cuenca, worked with three parish governments: Victoria del Portete, Quingeo and Sinincay in the geo-referencing and digital labeling of spaces identified as unsafe for women on community roads. In 2022, men in intervention territories, public officials, technicians of social organizations, cooperation agencies have the knowledge and tools to implement practices in non-violent and co-responsible masculinities, becoming allies for the prevention of gender-based violence. Under the methodology of Masculinities in Movement developed in “Caminando” Project, 58 men from Ibarra, Esmeraldas, Lago Agrio and Tulcan strengthened their knowledge in gender and human mobility, human rights, and became trainers of other men using a cascade methodology, thus achieving a community-based replication. Also, 92 community communicators have knowledge and skills on gender approach, violence prevention and non-violent and co-responsible masculinities. Masculinity in Movement was also part of UNW Executive Board Agenda where Board Members played the tools developed and recommended to present the Initiative to UN member countries, given that they consider it an example of transformation and learning. In this context, the theory of change is applicable for this outcome. By 2023, within the framework of UN Women Ecuador's new strategic note 2023 - 2026, drivers for change include strengthening the development of norms and standards on gender equality and women's empowerment in line with intergovernmental processes, the production, analysis and use of gender statistics and knowledge, as well as women's voice, leadership and action, and positive social norms including engagement with men and boys, through technical support for the implementation of national policies on gender-based violence including prevention, care, protection and reparations to victims. According to Aldea Foundation in 2022 the civil society registered 332 cases of violent deaths of women for gender-based reasons, of these. It´s necessary to make visible and name these other feminicides in contexts of criminal economies, territorial disputes between narco-criminal gangs and high prevalence of criminal contexts. Of the total registered in 2022, at least 48 women reported a history of violence and 9 had an emergency call; 57 femicides could have been prevented if a protection system had been activated by the State. The youngest victim was 3 months old, and the oldest victim was 84 years old, demonstrating that gender-based violence against women crosses the entire life cycle. 14 women were pregnant, 4 out of 10 victims were mothers, at least for which information is available, meaning that at least 245 children were orphaned in 2022. Source http://www.fundacionaldea.org/noticias-aldea/mapa2022 . In 2022 there was an emblematic case that shocked the entire Ecuadorian society, Maria Belen Bernal was murdered by her spouse inside the Police National Former School, her body was found 10 days later buried in the Casitagua hill. This event activated several women's organizations and feminist activists who raised their voices to demand a response from the State to the dangerous situation of women and girls in Ecuador. Despite this difficult scenario, UN Women has obtained several results that support the task of eliminating violence against women, including technical assistance and political advocacy for the creation of the Ministry of Women and Human Rights, an entity that received support for the definition of a functional structure, a consolidated institutional vision and the prioritization of issues relevant to girls and women in Ecuador the strengthening of systems for the prevention, protection and care of victims of gender-based violence; inter-institutional coordination for the construction of the national care system, in conjunction with other institutions of the executive branch; strengthening, together with the Gender Equality Council, the incorporation of the gender perspective in public policies in relation to the executive function; the effective incorporation of the human rights approach in national and local public policies, in addition to the important results obtained through the Safe Cities program, the Spotlight Initiative and the actions framed within the framework of humanitarian aid have made it possible to support the State and women in recognizing their diversity, the different types and areas of violence, as well as recognizing territorial differences, focusing on the situation in areas of violence that are not made visible, such as violence in public spaces and migrant women. The year 2023 is a year in which local government candidates will be selected and electoral campaigns will take place so these tools will be essential to support women's right to participate on equal terms. In 2022, this Outcome has several lessons learned, such as the need to strengthen the joint work between the State and Civil Society and to identify the role of the United Nations System Agencies as facilitators of these spaces. In addition, it is vital to have evidence to show the extent of the problem of violence in all areas to take measures and decisions in the medium term. On the other hand, it is important to work at different levels within the branches of government, in addition to the work being done with the National Assembly, because although it is the body responsible for enacting and overseeing laws, it is the Executive and Local Governments who implement them and there must be adequate coordination, especially in the provision of quality care services to victims, which is still deficient despite the existence of tools and learning channels, and more specialized capacities must be strengthened. Finally, to highlight the importance and necessity of the context for collaborating with men to reflect on the urgency of changing socio-cultural patterns focused on the construction of new masculinities.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECU_D_3.2

National institutions and partners develop strategic interventions to contribute to reducing femicide and prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in the country (Spotlight goal)

In 2022, this Outcome had important advances with the completion of the first phase of the Spotlight Initiative contributing to the implementation and monitoring of the Comprehensive Organic Law for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Girls (LOIPEVCM). Women in the framework of this initiative developed the methodology for monitoring the indicators of the National Plan to Eradicate Violence against Women in association with the Secretariat for Human Rights; the instruments generated have been accepted and the first report consolidating the information of the institutions that make up the National System for the Eradication of Violence has been produced. Along the same lines, a regulatory policy was developed for the creation and operation of the Cantonal Boards for the Protection of Rights with minimum standards for compliance with the Law. On the other hand, jointly with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a mobile application has been developed for consultation by the National Police and the authorities in the territory on the execution of urgent actions and the granting of Immediate Administrative Measures of Protection (MAPIS) to victims of gender violence, as set forth in the LOIPEVCM, thus 391 officials have the capacity to execute the procedures, especially from the National Police. https://linktr.ee/mapisyaccionesurgentes UN Women, in partnership with UNHCR and UNICEF, developed a toolkit for the judicial application of standards on human mobility, children and gender-based violence, applied and generated by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and other bodies of international protection systems. This tool was socialized with the Public Defender's Office, the Judiciary Council and free legal clinics to increase the scope of its implementation. In relation to the reform of laws and regulations, three proposals were generated: i) Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization - COOTAD; ii) Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code - COIP; iii) Organic Code of Planning and Public Finance - COPFP, for the prevention and eradication of violence against women and femicide. This proposal was generated in consultation with 35 experts on the subject from institutions, academia and civil society, at the national and local level, including the National Reference Group of the Spotlight Civil Society which identified critical issues, difficulties, opportunities and good practices that were presented and discussed by the Parliamentary Group for Women's Rights of the National Assembly. This year, UN Women strengthened the implementation of the Protocol for Prevention and Action in Cases of Harassment, Discrimination and Violence Based on Gender and Sexual Orientation in higher education institutions by supporting three local universities (San Gregorio - Portoviejo, Amazon State University and University of Cuenca) in the development or updating of their protocols and the construction of a work plan to implement it. Additionally, a document was developed with recommendations that was delivered to the Secretariat of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Council for Quality Assurance in Higher Education and the Council of Higher Education for its implementation. In relation to the strengthening of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), UN Women as part of the Spotlight Initiative developed a Public Expenditure Monitoring Guide for CSOs that provides an understanding of the functioning of the Public Expenditure Classifier on Gender Equality and the role of civil organizations as observers of the budgets allocated to this issue by national institutions and local governments. In addition, tools were developed for the formation and operation of the LOIPEVCM User Committees (CUS) for women leaders, organizations, and service users. As a result of the process, 12 user committees have been registered with the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS) in the six intervention cantons. 179 Indigenous and Afro-descendant women from the Antisuyu Warmikuna and Afro-Andean schools put into practice knowledge and skills through training exercises and tools that allowed them to strengthen their leadership capacities to address violence against women and girls (VAWG) and femicide. This training included the participatory development of two interculturally relevant pedagogical and recreational tools to address gender-based violence in their communities. The first tool, called Wituk Warmi from the Antisuyo Warmikuna school, was developed in two languages: Spanish and Amazonian Kichwa. The second, titled Wanawake from the Afro-Andean school, was developed in Spanish. To improving women survivors' access to essential services, UN Women developed participatory instruments, protocols and left capacities installed in shelters with guidelines and standards of care for indigenous, Afro-descendant and rural montuvian women survivors of gender-based violence and another for care in scenarios of humanitarian crisis, natural disasters and health crisis, in addition to a standard procedure to strengthen the autonomy capacities of women users and former users, which included the delivery of inputs for 150 women to strengthen their autonomy process. UN Women, as lead agency in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative in Ecuador and with the involvement of the National Civil Society Reference Group, promoted the design and piloting of a participatory monitoring and evaluation system to contribute to the eradication of all forms of violence against women and girls. These systems help to improve accountability, decision-making, and learning processes based on evidence and data. At the last meeting of the Spotlight Steering Committee, the contribution of the United Nations to the results of the Initiative was recognized, as was the recognition of the European Union delegation in the country, as well as that of the State bodies with respect to the results obtained. Regarding the contribution to the prevention protocol in higher education institutions, the ESC has requested the participation of UN Women in the Committee for the development of the policy for the prevention and eradication of harassment in university institutions because of the process of implementation and adaptation of the Protocol. By 2023, within the framework of the new 2023 - 2026 Strategic Note of the Ecuador CO, the drivers for change includes strengthening the development of norms and standards on gender equality and women's empowerment in line with intergovernmental processes, strengthening regulations, institutional strengthening, changing social norms, strengthening essential services, generating data for decision making and strengthening civil society to provide a comprehensive proposal to provide a comprehensive response to violence against women. The implementation of this Outcome has generated some lessons learned, including the importance of having focal points of intervention in the territories to strengthen coordination and articulation mechanisms. In addition, strategies should contemplate a longer-term horizon, mainly because the problem requires a comprehensive approach, which requires coordinated actions with civil society to promote behavioral changes at the level of individuals and institutions. In this regard, it is important to consolidate the visibility of the Initiative over time and ensure a longer implementation period. Finally, regarding the involvement of civil society in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative, it is important to have an advisory group such as the GNR-SC since it generates differentiated results according to the scope of the Initiative and the work plan. The collaboration and advice provided by the GNR-SC should be adapted according to differentiating criteria such as the size of the project or the scope of the joint work. compete and obtain their own resources.

outcome XM-DAC-41146-ECU_O_2

Increased engagement of partners in support of UN-Women’s mandate

Increase WEPs suscribers and application of the Principles. In 2022, as a result of the alliance between UN Women and the Global Compact, the achievement of 100 signatory companies of the Principles for the Empowerment of Women is celebrated, and 22 are participating in the Target Gender Equality second generation program in the country. On the other hand, 4 enterprises ENCUBA, KUBIEC, Chubb and AVON have a roadmap and a short and medium-term work plan that contributes to implement ILO Convention 190 aligned to WEPs. Thus, 261 people including managers and administrative staff of these companies strengthened their capacities and received technical assistance for the application of the Guide for Diverse and Inclusive Change with a focus on people in a situation of human mobility, the WEPs Principles and ILO Convention 190. In this year, an Advisory Assessment for Banco Pichincha was signed to pilot the Weps 2.0 "Business Accelerator" tool. This is the first agreement signed by UN Women to provide technical assistance to the Private Sector, especially to the private banking sector. Expansion of the UNiTE Campaign: In 2022, as a result of the work and alliances promoted through the implementation of non-core projects, this year the campaign had a greater presence in several provinces in which the UN Women projects were implemented. It is important to noted that at the local level the management and coordination was carried out by civil society organizations and local goverments, demonstrating the impact and ownership of the campaign by local actors. This year we have increased exponentially the local initiatives (55 events totally) and the participation of the beneficiaries of the programs in the territory, as well as a greater involvement of partners and local governments with whom we work. Additionally, we coordinated the Illumination of public buildings in orange on November 25: The Government Palace, Junta de San José, Municipal Palace, the monument of the Virgen del Panecillo, The National Assembly. Developing promotional material for the UNiTE campaign. 3. Growth of the presence of UN Women in the media and social networks. To December 2022 the UN Women Ecuador´s social media profiles have 22000 organic followers. 20000 organic followers from twitter, and the facebook fan page has 2000 fans. 4. Increase in the mobilization of resources in new contracts signed for the implementation of “Capacities for peace, security and violence reduction in Ecuador” project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund ($613,000), and “Strengthening of rural women's identities in the Metropolitan District of Quito” project ($300,000).

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