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Globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation. Rooted in inequality, it affects women of every race, class, culture, ethnicity, age and country. Zonta International strives to promote and protect the human rights of all women and girls and reduce the incidence of violence through the Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) Program by:
- Supporting prevention and advocacy strategies locally and internationally.
- Awarding grants to United Nations agencies or recognized NGOs for projects that seek to change personal and/or political knowledge, attitudes and behavior contributing to gender-based violence.
- Increasing awareness and actions related to preventing violence against women by encouraging Zonta club involvement in local and national advocacy initiatives and service projects.
Since the program's inception in 1999, more than US$2 million has been provided to support 40 projects in more than 23 countries.
During the 2010-2012 Biennium, two projects are being supported by the ZISVAW Fund:
- Towards a Comprehensive Strategy to End Burns Violence Against Women in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda
Funding: US$430,000 to the UN Trust Fund, administered by UNIFEM
Acid violence and other forms of burning are prevalent forms of violence against women and girls, especially in countries where regulatory monitoring and controls are weak, and where the judiciary, lawyers and police have limited knowledge on the appropriate laws to prosecute perpetrators. Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI), the only organization working internationally on this issue, will collaborate with national Acid Survivors Foundations (ASF) in Cambodia, Nepal and Uganda to pilot an innovative and holistic community-based approach to address these forms of violence. The project will focus on improving response from the justice, police and health sectors, mobilizing communities to monitor and advocate for the implementation of legislation reform, and encouraging individual responsibility to end this gender-based violence. PROJECT DESCRIPTION | STORIES OF SURVIVAL | PROJECT UPDATE
- Security and Empowerment for Women and their Families: Ensuring a Gender-Responsive Humanitarian and Early Recovery Response in Haiti
Funding: US$200,000 to UN Women (The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women)
Haitian women carry the disproportionate burden of care for children and family; however, rigid gender roles and inequalities make women vulnerable to gender-based violence and exclusion from political decision-making. During times of emergencies, Haitian women and girls have experienced heightened exposure to acts of violence and in particular sexual violence. With the overall objective of ensuring a gender-responsive humanitarian and early recovery response, the project will focus on increasing the capacity to provide services to victims of gender-based violence, to deliver support for women's economic livelihoods and to promote, support and ensure women's empowerment and participation in the recovery process. PROJECT DESCRIPTION | PROJECT UPDATE | SUCCESS STORY DECEMBER 2011
Violence against Women and Girls in Haiti: The Enemy Within
UNIFEM
The Zonta International Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
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