Outcome PAL_D_3.3

Palestinian national actors are better able to prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services to victims and survivors

Critical efforts have been exerted during 2020 for the achievement of this Outcome. The quality of prevention and protection services to women survivors and victims of violence has improved in Palestine in 2021. The Justice and Security institutions in Palestine have enhanced their policy framework to better serve women, through the UN Sawasya II JP technical assistance. As such, The Family and Juvenile Protection Unit developed and launched a Hotline available 24 hours seven day a week for crisis help, safety planning, emotional support, and help finding resources including safe shelter, advocacy, counseling, and legal assistance. The hotline is available in each governorate in the West Bank and has already received more than 1 400 up to 20 December 2021. UN Women provided technical to put in place the procedures for the hotline and the development and implementation of the capacity development plan for staff operating the hotline. Furthermore, PALCO supported the establishment and the launching of the first e-Service for the automation of alimony payments. As women had to previously multiply commutes to justice and financial institutions to access their alimony rights, the digitalized transfer of information by family courts directly to banks using the Mizan II technology resolves frequent payment delays, strengthens follow up by enforcement departments, and facilitate women’s access to alimony payment . This work has included coordination and collaboration between different parties, including the Sharia court, the Alimony Fund, Banks and the judiciary police. As a result, thousands of women have benefitted from this service, and are now able to get their alimony payments by directly accessing their bank accounts. Further to that, PALCO supported Court monitoring to hold the justice and security sectors accountable to the rights of women survivors of violence and women’s access to justice: UN Women Sawasya programme has joined forces with UNDP and UNICEF in an attempt to enhance women, children and other vulnerable groups access to justice, through supporting a coalition of organizations, under the leadership of Istiqlal to conduct court monitoring in the West Bank and Gaza. This is a new approach that UN Women is taking part in to increase the accountability of the justice and security sectors, and enhance women’s access to justice and fair trial principles. UNW and UNFPA supported the government to review the National referral System for women victims and survivors of GBV and those at risk of violence. The review, informed by the Essential Services Package analyzed the operating procedures for police, health and social services sectors and the screening procedures for organizations that do not focus on GBV but are traditional entry points for survivors. A unified intake, referral and confidentiality forms, has been developed so that a survivor does not have to repeat her story to different providers. The review process went through numerous consultations and engaged about 130 bodies and stakeholders engaged in the referral pathway. The work was supported through the UN HAYA Joint Programme, implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, UNODC, and UN Habitat.

Palestinian national actors are better able to prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services to victims and survivors

Palestinian national actors are better able to prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services to victims and survivors. This outcome was mostly achieved as planned. Palestinian national actors were better able to prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services to victims and survivors. These results are evidenced by the increase in the VAW cases managed by the Palestinian Family and Juvenile Protection Department and by the One Stop Centre. Moreover, there is increase in the number of transferred cases by the Public Prosecutors to the Palestinian courts. UN Women continued to lobby and advocate with the relevant ministries and actors for the adaptation of the Family Protection Bill; and the amendment of the Penal Code and the Personal status law. In addition, UN Women developed/ amended/ and customized Five protocols, SoPs and manuals used by the justice, security and social sectors in managing cases of women victims and survivors of violence.