Beirut-Cairo, 18 October 2019 (ESCWA)--In many Arab countries, there is still a lack of data on the prevalence of violence against women. To remedy this, ESCWA and partners gathered to discuss means to measure violence against women in line with globally agreed methodological and ethical standards.
The meeting, held in Cairo from 15 to 17 October in partnership with UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO), brought together experts from statistical offices, women’s ministries and machineries from Arab States, to improve prevention of, and response to, violence against women and girls.
There has been an increasing interest in Arab States in conducting specialized prevalence surveys on violence against women as part of broader efforts to mainstream gender in national statistical systems and frameworks.
ESCWA and partners worked closely with member States in the Arab region to ensure that quality, comparable data on different forms of violence against women and girls are available and collected over time to address national data gaps and to meet policy and reporting commitments under the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, the Convention on the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action.
Violence against women is recognized as a serious human rights violation worldwide, whereas nearly four out of ten women in the Arab region experience physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partners at some point in their lives. It is a barrier not only to gender equality and women’s empowerment, but also to sustainable and equitable development.
For more information:
-Ms Rania Harb, Public Information Assistant, +961-70-008-879; email: harb1@un.org
