Vienna (Austria), 20 May 2021 – Because Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW) is still happening every day, everywhere, UNODC is implementing several initiatives around the world in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, through trainings with police, reviewing legislative initiatives, promoting essential services for survivors, or coaching judges to improve criminal justice systems, to name a few.What is Gender-Based Violence Against Women (GBVAW)About 1 in every 3 women worldwide have experienced sexual and other form of violence, and women are more likely than men to being killed by intimate partners or family members.
GBVAW consists of several types of abuse, including physical, sexual, physiological, and economic abuse, consequently harming families and communities on a socio-economic scale.
Women struggle accessing justice whether they are victims, witnesses, alleged offenders or prisoners, a true key challenge because of discriminatory criminal laws and procedures. This is also portrayed in the lack of gender diversity among criminal justice professionals and the presence of gender bias, highlighting the importance of developing methods to strengthening crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women.
Covid-19 impact
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately witnessed a great surge in gender-based violence, further reducing contact with the police and justice services. Lockdown policies made victims live with their abusers 24/7 without any privacy or means to access police stations. UNODC conducted a Global Review on the impact of COVID-19 on Criminal Justice System Responses to GBVAW, highlighting evidence-based findings and ways forward
