Towards a National Legislative Framework to Protect Women and Girls against All Forms of Violence

On 17and18 June 2014, the National Council for Women (NCW) in Egypt hosted ESCWA’s Regional Advisor for Women’s Issues Wafa Al Dika Hamze, First Social Affairs Officer at the ESCWA Centre for Women (ECW) Lana Baydas, and Egyptian Legal Advisor Ahmad El Naggar in an advisory mission, which included a workshop entitled “Towards a National Legislative Framework to Protect Women and Girls against All Forms of Violence” organized by the NCW and the Egyptian Ministry of Justice in cooperation with ESCWA, UN-Women regional Bureau for Arab States and the Cairo based United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The workshop aimed to support concerned parties in Egypt in their efforts to draft the national legislation on violence against women and girls. It was held in the framework of technical support provided by ESCWA to member countries to strengthen national capacities in combating violence against women (VAW(. Attended by a host of concerned officials from governmental and non-governmental institutions, the workshop succeeded in highlighting the importance of harmonizing national legislation with international instruments and frameworks on combating VAW. It also provided a deeper understanding of the components of international legislation on VAW to the official parties that will modify and follow-up drafting the legislative and procedural framework. Finally, it showcased the experiences of Arab and Islamic countries that already have laws in place to protect women and girls from all forms of violence.