This is the plenary presentation of Sujata Tuladhar of UNFPA Asia Pacific regional office, which was made as part of the 13th session of 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (#APCRSHR10 Virtual), on the theme of "Sexual and other forms of gender-based violence & SRHR in Asia and the Pacific". Chair: Prof Thein Thein Htay, former Deputy Health Minister, Myanmar; and honorary Professor, University of Public Health, Myanmar and University of Oslo, Norway; and visiting Professor, SEISA University, Yokohama, Japan Plenary Speaker: Sujata Tuladhar, Technical Specialist, Gender-based Violence, UNFPA Asia-Pacific | "Promising practices in addressing gender-based violence during COVID-19" Abstract presenters ************************ * Sovananry Tuot | Gender-based violence experiences and sexual and reproductive health among female entertainment workers in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study * Melania Hidayat | Rapid Assessment of the Gender-Based Violence During the Emergency Situation in Palu, Sigi and Donggala - Central Sulawesi * Sagar Sachdeva | Re-Evaluating Masculinities for SRH and GBV Programming * Ajay Kumar Singh | Does asserting Sexual and Reproductive Rights Prevents Married Women from Marital Rape: An Exploratory Study from India Voice from the frontline: Prameswari Puspa Dewi, National Coordinator, KITASAMA (Koalisi Indonesia untuk Seksualitas dan Keberagaman/Indonesia Coalition for Sexuality and Diversity) For more information on the session, please visit www.bit.ly/apcrshr10virtual13 Official conference website: www.apcrshr10cambodia.org Thanks

1. Addressing GBV
during the COVID-19
pandemic in Asia
and the Pacific
region
Promising practices
and challenges
©ArvindJodha/UNFPA
Sujata Tuladhar
GBV Technical Specialist,
UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office

2. 01 02 03 04
Presentation
outline
©UNFPANepal
05 06
Addressing GBV
in the COVID-19
context
Prevention &
risk-mitigation
initiatives
Services &
innovative
delivery models
Research &
data collection
Collaboration
and coordination
Challenges

3. Violence against women in
Asia and the Pacific
15 to 64 percent of women have
experienced physical and/or sexual
violence at the hands of an intimate
partner over their lifetime.
4 to 48 percent of women have
experienced intimate partner violence in
the last 12 months.
The highest recorded rates of violence
against women and girls in the world are in
the Pacific.

4. Impact of COVID-19 on
Gender-based Violence © UNFPA Asia and the Pacific
Pre-existing GBV and harmful practices
exacerbated and gender inequalities
deepened.
Most cases of GBV remain unreported due to
lack of available, safe, ethical and quality
response services; fears of stigmatization and
reprisal; and lack of access to appropriate
information on seeking help.
Survivors have limited ability to distance
themselves from their abusers and to access
services and support.
Longer term negative consequences on
women’s health and well-being, safety and
security, and economic participation and
empowerment.

5. Responding to GBV in the context of
COVID-19
Strengthening systems
Building on established systems,
partnerships and collaboration for
delivery of essential and life-saving
GBV response services.
Adapting to COVID-19 context
Strengthening capacities of
frontline service providers,
government and partners to deliver
adapted GBV services in line with
global guidance.
Advocacy
Continuing to advocate necessity of
services and policies to ensure GBV
is a priority in COVID-19
preparedness and response.
GBV/VAW data
Providing guidance on collecting
GBV service data ethically and
safely to strengthen evidence-
based programme and policy
interventions, where possible.
Capturing knowledge
Documenting promising practices,
lessons learnt and lived
experiences.
Capturing stories of GBV frontline
workers.
Engaging with media as a thought
leader.
Strengthening coordination &
collaboration
Leading inter-agency coordination
mechanism for GBV response.

6. Prevention & risk-mitigation initiatives
- Community-based radio, TV, SMS and social
media messages that integrate COVID-19 and
GBV awareness and available services.
- Emergency card distribution to communities
providing information on GBV services and
mental health and psychosocial support.
- Ensuring GBV risk-mitigation measures are
included in national contingency, preparedness
and response plans.
- Engaging faith-based organizations and
religious leaders on GBV prevention messaging.

7. Life-saving, essential GBV response services
- Advocacy to make GBV response services essential
- Creative shelters/use of non-traditional access points to reach survivors
(e.g. pharmacy and grocery)
- Innovation in service provision modalities
- Virtual capacity building on adaptation of GBV response services

8. Life-saving, essential GBV response services
- Use of social media to
showcase the lived
stories of frontline
GBV service providers

9. Research and data collection
- Guidance on GBV data collection during COVID 19, including “Decision Tree”
- Technical support to national socio-economic impact assessment
- Mapping/assessment of GBV service provision and linked challenges

10. Collaboration and coordination
- UN, government, civil society collaboration to strengthen GBV services through GBV
coordination mechanism at national and sub-national levels.
- Collaboration on mental health and psychosocial support working groups.
- UN inter-agency collaboration for Secretary General’s strategy on GBV and COVID-19: fund,
respond, prevent, collect.

11. Capacity Advocacy &
partnerships
Service delivery
Increased needs for training of local,
frontline service providers emerging.
Reduced GBV response workforce;
overwhelmed and under-resourced
service providers.
Strengthened strategic and advocacy
partnerships and coalitions crucial.
GBV-support services not considered
essential or life-saving.
Overwhelmed and under-resourced
service providers.
Increased demand for GBV response
services as lockdown measures ease.
New forms of violence and harmful
practices; new means of perpetrating
violence.
Funding Prevention GBV/VAW data
Continued and heightened needs for
funding for GBV prevention, mitigation
and response.
Increased investment in prevention
across the region.
Evidence-based approach to social norm
change.
Methodologies for safely and ethically
gathering prevalence data in different
settings and with different population
groups, including in the context of
COVID-19.
Challenges & gaps
.

12. Thank you!
©Arvind Jodha/UNFPA