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About Regional Observatory on VAWG

The Regional Observatory on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is an independent civil society mechanism that aims essentially to follow up on the implementation of the 4th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Declaration on strengthening the role of Women in Society, particularly in the area of VAWG, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). Regional Observatory on VAWG also strives to the inclusion of women’s rights and ending VAWG in national legislation and policy debates, and social acknowledgment of women as actors of national security and PVE.

For these purposes and to support informed decisions, Regional Observatory on VAWG works on providing global documentation of the state of legislation and public policies and the alignment with international agreements through communicating with decision makers and civil society, gathering data, and conducting researches by using different quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Regional Observatory on VAWG was established in 2019 under the regional project “Combating Violence against Women in the Southern Mediterranean Region”, funded by the EU and implemented by EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI). Regional Observatory on VAWG is hosted at EFI’s Regional Office in Amman, Jordan.

Vision

South Mediterranean countries in which gender equality is secured and all legislation are zero tolerant towards violence against women and girls.

Main Responsibilities

Develop regional tools to follow up on the implementation of UfM Ministerial Declaration (Cairo 2017) on VAWG, WPS, and PVE.

Develop a set of indicators, taking in account UfM indicators to follow up on the level of implementation of policies and measures to combat/limit/end VAWG by the governments.

Evaluate and highlight gaps between international human rights framework and women’s rights mechanisms (such as The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, on women, peace, and security, Istanbul Convention) and policies, strategies and legal frame at national level.

Provide evidence-based recommendations to policy makers aiming at improving the efficiency of policies and measures in this field.

Prepare guidelines for developing WPSA, supporting the adoption and implementation of further instruments, as national action plans (NAPs) on UNSCR 1325.

Communicate effectively with national CSOs and policy makers.

OUR MEMBERS

The Regional Observatory on VAWG works in cooperation with a consortium of nine national Women’s Rights CSOs in seven South Mediterranean countries composed of representatives from EuroMed Feminist Initiative EFI, Algerian Women Claiming their Rights (FARD) in Algeria, Association for Appropriate Techniques for Development (ACT) in Egypt, Arab Women Organization (AWO) in Jordan, Association Najdeh and Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL) in Lebanon, Union of Women's Action (UAF) in Morocco, Palestinian Federation of Women's Action Committees (PFWAC) and Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) in Palestine, and Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development (AFTURD) in Tunisia.

The Regional Observatory on VAWG has a Coordination Committee (CC) composed of representatives from EFI, seven gender experts on VAWG from the consortium organizations (one from each project country), and three academics working in the field.

ABOUT EFI

EuroMed Feminist Initiative (IFE-EFI) is a policy network that provides expertise in the field of gender equality, democracy building and citizenship, and advocates for political solutions to all conflicts, and peoples´ rights to self-determination. EFI encompasses women’s rights organizations from the two shores of the Mediterranean and seeks to correct the gender power imbalances through ending discrimination and oppression of women and bringing about positive change for the whole society. EFI Headquarters are in Paris, with offices in Amman, Beirut and Erbil.

ABOUT THE UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN (UFM) 4TH MINISTERIAL DECLARATION ON STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY

The 4th UfM Ministerial Conference on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society was held in Cairo on 27 November 2017 in which the countries adopted a strong Ministerial Declaration based on the regional dialogue recommendations. During the conference, the ministers agreed to promote the following action plans:

Raising women’s participation in public life and decision-making.
Raising women's economic participation.
Combating all forms of VAWG.
Challenging cultural and social norms and eliminate gender stereotypes, particularly in and through education and media.
Fostering implementation and strengthening operational cooperation.

The Declaration constitutes an ambitious road map towards achieving gender equality and women empowerment in the Euro-Mediterranean region. In light of these developments, the countries agreed to establish a follow-up mechanism backed-up with indicators to monitor progress, evaluate the gender gap, and provide recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders, in order to improve the impact on women and girls. Ministers recommended that the mechanism be implemented in complementarity and coordination with the existing gender-mechanisms and schemes in the region.