Plans underway for Pacific UNiTE Campaign to End Violence Against Women and Girls

The Asia Pacific UNiTE Campaign Strategy was launched in Bangkok on 25 November - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women - as part of the global Secretary-General's UNiTE Campaign aimed to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

In order to ensure the UNiTE Campaign is designed to respond to the context and priorities of violence against women and girls in the Pacific, the three United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) serving the Pacific region (Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea) are working together to develop a Pacific UNiTE Campaign (2011-2015) that will further develop the existing Asia Pacific UNiTE Campaign Strategy, by tailoring it specifically to the Pacific context.

UN Agencies in the Pacific are contracting two violence against women and communications specialists to develop and design a Pacific UNiTE Campaign Strategy and Communication Plan to End Violence Against Women and Girls.

The specialists will conduct extensive consultations with governments, civil society, faith-based organizations, the private sector, media and with United Nations (UN) agencies to develop strategies for key development partners and stakeholders to communicate and coordinate effectively to eliminate violence against women and girls in the Pacific and to discuss recommendations for an effective, large-scale, multi-media campaign.

The Pacific UNiTE Communication Action Plan to end violence against women and girls will partner with key regional, national and local level organizations to develop common key messages around ending violence against women and girls in the region. The Pacific UNiTE Campaign will enhance and strengthen important work implemented by well established violence against women organizations in the Pacific to eliminate violence against women and girls.

The UNiTE Campaign will support all regional efforts to adopt and enforce national laws to address and punish all forms of violence against women and girls; adopt and implement multi-sectoral national action plans; strengthen data collection on the prevalence of violence against women and girls; increase public awareness and social mobilization; and address sexual violence in conflict. It is a UN system wide effort to partner strategically to accelerate efforts to end violence against women and girls in our region.