UNFPA, UN Women, UNDP and IOM have strengthened their resolve to prevent and respond to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and support implementation of Timor Leste’s National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence with USD 7.7 million funding from KOICA.

The UN agencies jointly reiterated their commitment during the launch of a four-year project held on February 16 in Dili, Timor-Leste. The Project christened “Together for Equality: Preventing and Responding to Gender-Based Violence in Timor-Leste” aims to provide support to key health and justice services, improve monitoring and reporting on violence in public and private spaces while addressing GBV in the context of disaster risk reduction.

The project signed on November 23, 2020 is implemented in three municipalities; Dili, Baucau and Covalima and the Special Administrative Region Authority of Oecusse Ambeno -- reaching approximately 200,000 direct beneficiaries with an aim of enhancing efforts for all women and girls in Timor-Leste to access quality essential services and live a life free from gender based violence.

“Different government institutions together with many partners have good collaborative efforts, but we still witness and hear many cases around the country.

“The additional support from the Government of Korea through KOICA will provide great support to complement the efforts of Timor-Leste’s government to end GBV and promote gender mainstreaming with line ministries to ensure that state budgets are gender-responsive,” Her Excellency Hon. Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus, State Secretary for Equality and Inclusion said.

The Project will use tested approaches shown to be effective to prevent GBV from happening in the first place and will target vulnerable groups including youth,  and support families and communities to gain the knowledge and skills to be agents of change and stand up against sexual harassment and other forms of GBV.

The joint Project will also support key government institutions to improve the reach and quality of essential support services -- to reach more survivors of violence and encourage others to seek support and contribute to better monitoring and stronger accountability to translate commitments into actions -- working with civil society and government and media and reach the wider public.

“UNFPA is looking forward to working together with the Government of Korea -- KOICA -- and our sister UN agencies on this exciting program to end violence against women and girls.

“UNFPA contribution to the program focuses in two areas: One, supporting the health sector and health sector response to gender based violence. We will work at training health personel and heath officials to support survivors of violence and ensure that they get proper referals and treatment.

Two, we will also work on prevention with young people in school and out of school to ensure that gender based violence is a component of comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education programs and healthy relationships that we that we support,” said Dr. Ronny Lindstrom, UNFPA Representative - Timor Leste.