Strengthening the prevention and care for victims of gender-based violence in Ecuador, a shared challenge between UNODC and UNOWOMEN
Quito, June 28 2021- In order to strengthen the prevention and care for victims of gender-based violence in Ecuador, UNODC has formalized a partnership with UN Women in Ecuador. (Read more)

UNODC Gender Equality Forum
Vienna, June 2021 - The UNODC Gender Team with the support of the Government of Ireland, hosted the first ever UNODC Gender Equality Forum, a virtual conference held from the 22nd to the 24th of June to discuss the future of gender equality and women's empowermnet in UNODC's mandated areas. (Read more)

How UNODC Wants to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence Against Women
Vienna, Austria, 20 May 2021 - 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 suvivors, or coaching judges to improve criminal justice systems, to name a few. (Read more)

Female Police Officers Step into the Frontlines as First Responders in Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan, 26 April 2021 - UNODC Pakistan has readily taken initiative through its Rule of Law programme and trained the first-ever cadre of female police officers in Balochistan as first responders for Gender-Based Violence. (Read more)

Making the Streets Safer for Women & Girls in Mexico
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, 22 April 2021 - Girls and women have the right to feel safe everywhere yet all too often, cities and public spaces are not designed with women’s safety in mind. The Spotlight Initiative in Mexico worked with municipal institutions on plans to improve the city’s public spaces in the city of Ciudad Juarez. (Read more)

UNODC Programme Office Ethiopia Launches Gender Newsletter
Ethiopia, April 2021 - The UNODC Programme Office in Ethiopia is pleased to share its first Gender Newsletter that focuses on the work delivered to advocate for the empowerment of women in the criminal justice sector in Ethiopia. (Read more)

New Handbook on Gender-Responsive Police Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence
Cairo, Egypt, 21 April 2021 - A new global Police Handbook aims to provide guidance and practical knowledge for police middle managers in addressing some of the most difficult challenges that women survivors of violence face when accessing police services around the world was presented to representatives from law enforcement entities in the Arab States. (Read more)

Training of trainers: Enhancing expertise in the criminal justice system in Ethiopia
Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 12 April 2021 - The UNODC Programme Office in Ethiopia partnered with key training institutes and academies in Ethiopia to deliver 3 weeks of training to 77 personnel (57 men/20 women) who train prison wardens, police officers, and prosecution personnel, in order to sustain capacities in the criminal justice system. (Read more)

Interview with Lelise Terfasa: Women leading the way towards gender equality within UNOV/UNODC
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8 March 2021 - Prior to joining the UNODC Programme Office in Ethiopia, Lelise worked as a Team Leader of a special prosecution unit for crimes against women and children in Ethiopia and was Deputy Head of the Federal Attorney General branch office. Please read about her motivations, her achievements and how she commemorated International Women's Day 2021. (Read more)

Palestine: Promoting Gender-Sensitive Reporting in the Media
West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestine, 8 March 2021 - Media plays a vital role in shaping perceptions of violence against women and girls and its impact. As part of the HAYA Joint Programme, journalists and media professionals are receiving training on ethical and non-discriminatory reporting on gender justice and violence against women. (Read more)

UNODC ranked as high performing in the 2021 Global Health 50/50 report
Vienna, March 2021 - Gender equality is fundamental to everyone’s health, dignity and livelihoods. The work of UNODC in advancing gender equality in global health has recently been recognised in the 2021 Global Health 50/50 report, “Gender equality: Flying blind in a time of crisis”.  (Read more)

UNOV/UNODC celebrates International Women's Day 2021
Vienna, March 2021 - This International Women’s Day, UNOV/UNODC is celebrating the leadership shown by women across the organisations. Through a series of interviews, inspirational women from Field Offices and HQ are celebrated for their efforts towards advancing gender equality commitments and promoting these aspects across the Offices’ mandated areas of work. (Read more)

Vienna Based Organizations celebrate International Women's Day 2021

Vienna, 8 March 2020 - For International Women's Day 2021, the Vienna Based Organizations have come together to celebrate female colleagues throughout the organizations. Colleagues from UNOV/UNODC, IAEA, CTBTO, UNIDO and IOM describe the women leaders who inspire them.
(Read more)

Interview Artifical Intelligence and Gender in the Judiciaries
Vienna, February 2021 - In 2020, the Global Judicial Integrity Network won an award for its project focusing on gender bias and discrimination in artificial intelligence (AI) systems used in judiciaries. The project is a continuation of the Network’s previous work on gender-related issues in the judiciary as well as their work on the ethical use of AI. (Read more)

Interview Container Control Program Women's Network
Vienna, February 2021 - The Container Control Program (CCP) Women’s Network, established in 2015, aims to actively promote women’s roles and foster an inclusive dialogue around female participation, leadership, empowerment and freedom from discrimination in a sector often dominated by men. The network was one of the first of its kind within UNODC and continues to empower women working in law enforcement. (Read more)

UNODC Celebrates its Enduring Commitment to Fighting Gender-Based Violence & Discrimination
Vienna, 30 December 2020 - UNODC remains strongly comitted to the task by promoting gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls through its programmes, while fighting against gender-based disrcimination in the criminal justice system and gender-based violence. (Read more)

Vienna Discussion Forum 2020: The future is gender-inclusive: Global responses in crisis management and recovery
Vienna, 27 November 2020 - UNODC and UNIDO, together with the Permanent Missions of Finland, Norway and Sweden in Vienna, hosted the second annual Vienna Discussion Forum (VDF), a platform to discuss gender equality in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. [Read more]

UNODC Celebrates Fifth Anniversary of CCP Women's Network
Vienna, 19 November 2020 - Aware of the added value that women bring to law enforcement, as well as the global disparities in terms of women’s participation, the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) endeavoured in 2015, to increase the number of women officers working in its Port Control Units (PCUs) and Air Cargo Control Units (ACCUs) around the world. Today they celebrate their fifth anniversary. [Read more; see also here]

UNODC Participates in 'Enabling Environment Guidelines Week'
Vienna, 23 October 2020 - The Enabling Environment Guidelines (EEGs) address inclusivity and diversity within the UN by changing the organisational culture and engaging in a corporate transformation. Read more on the event marking the one-year anniversary of the EEGs launch, hosted by the Vienna-based Organisations’ Gender Focal Points and Focal Points for Women (VBO GFPs). Listen to the opening remark of UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. [Read more]

Guterras to Security Council: Women leaders 'essential to peace and progress for all'
New York, October 2020 -  Women continue to be under-represented in key decision-making over the battle against COVID-19, the chief of the UN gender empowerment agency said on Thursday, addressing the Security Council, adding that the situation is even "worse for women in conflict areas". [Read more]

Enabling Environment Guidelines - Interview with Katja Pehrman (UN Women Senior Adviser)
Vienna, October 2020 - The EEGs provide UN system-wide guidance on the creation of an enabling environment that promotes a more diverse, inclusive and respectful work environment. Marking the one-year anniversary of the EEGs launch, the Gender Team interviewed Katja Pehrman, Senior Adviser and Gender Focal Point at UN Women, on the process of developing, their role in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic and her personal vision for the future. [Read more]

Gender-based violence in times of the pandemic-Interview with Claudia Baroni and Sven Pfeiffer (Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officers)
Vienna, October 2020 -During the pandemic there has been a dramatic increase of violence against women and girls, particularly of domestic violence. As the UNODC takes the lead in the UN system in developing model strategies, model policies and practical measures for the elimination of violence against women, we interviewed Claudia Baroni and Sven Peiffer (Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officers) on their perspective. [Read more]

Interview with Cristina Iampieri (Sahel Programme Coordinator) on Gender Equality in the G5 Sahel Programme
Vienna, September 2020 -The UNODC supported the Bureau of Defense and Security of the G5 Sahel Programme in developing and operationalizing the police component of the Joint Force and was tasked with mainstreaming gender throughout the programme. We interviewed Cristina Iampieri, Sahel Programme Coordinator, on her work. (Read more)

 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from a gender perspective: Tunisia's post COVID-19 Priorities

Tunis, Tunisia 27 August 2020 - The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind. Achieving gender equality and women's empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. Through this vision, the Tunisian Ministry of Women, Family, Children, and Elderly Affairs organised the international forum "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from a gender perspective: Tunisia's post-COVID-19 priorities" in Tunis, Tunisia. (Read more)

"Society may judge what we did,  but it cannot judge what we will become": Providing a new chance to female prisoners in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia 11 March 2020 - This week in Indonesia, a new project was opened in the Semarang Female Correction Facility, situated about  400km's east of the capital, Jakarta. Aimed at transferring knowledge around the ancient technique of batik dyeing, the idea is to train  inmates, with commercially viable skills that they can use post-release. (Read more)

UNODC holds all-female interregional training to strengthen response against Cocaine Production and Trafficking in Colombia
2-5 December 2019 - Colombia -  The underrepresentation of women in criminal justice institutions, as is the case in many countries, has a negative impact on numerous aspects of drug responses. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the framework of the CRIMJUST Project with the support of the " Integrated System  for  Monitoring Illicit Crops" (SIMCI) took this issue front-on, by implementing a capacity building course for female law enforcement officers and prosecutors in order to enhance women's participation, leadership, empowerment and non-discrimination in a sector that is often dominated by men.  [Read more]

UNODC, Uzbekistan Work Together to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children through Educational Tools, E4J
Samarkand City - Uzbekistan - Poor educational attainment, child maltreatment or exposure to violence in the family, harmful use of alcohol, attitudes condoning violence and gender inequality are risk factors for intimate partner violence. [Read more]

Food for Thought session: UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security and its link to UNODC mandates
22 November 2019 - Vienna, Austria - To better inform UNODC Member States and staff on the relevance of  UNODC's mandate for United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (2000) and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, UNODC's Gender Team invited Miki Jacevic, Vice Chair of Inclusive Security and Senior Fellow at Our Secure Future, to speak on said link. [Read more]

Vienna Discussion Forum 2019
21 November 2019 - Vienna, Austria - The first ever Vienna Discussion Forum debuted on 21 November with experts from all over the world coming together to discuss how to end violence against women through crime prevention, criminal justice responses, and women's economic empowerment. [Read more] 

UNODC invited to partake in the International Congress on Gender Equality in the field of Security
8 November 2019 - Toledo, Spain -   United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) participated in the "International Congress on Gender Equality in the field of Security", held in Toledo, Spain on 6-8November 2019. The event focused on Spain's 40-year experience of incorporating women into the police force as well as discussing how police services and law enforcement agencies can increase the number of women working in these sectors. [Read more]

UNODC in Tajikastan: Addressing the Specific Needs of Women Who Inject Drugs
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime conducted a training on "addressing the specific needs of women who inject drugs" for 25 NGO workers of the Republic of Tajikistan. The event hosted representatives from the AIDS Foundation East-West in the Republic of Tajikistan (AFEW), public organizations "Swon plus," PO "HIV Center," PO "Equal opportunities," "Amali nek," "Jovidon," "Tajikistan network of women living with HIV," and Republican Center of HIV.  [Read more]