WUNRN
Direct Link to GRANTEES LIST of 15th
Cycle (2010) UN Trust Fund
to End Violence Against Women:
UN
Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Announces USD 17.1 Million in Grants
to Groundbreaking Efforts to Protect Women and Girls
United Nations, New York — September 28, 2011 - The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) today announced USD 17.1 million in grants to 22 initiatives in 34 countries, including, for the first time, Iraq and South Sudan.
“Violence against women is a human rights and public health emergency,” said Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women. “But it is not inevitable. With sufficient political will, funding, and carefully developed and targeted programmes, violence against women can be significantly reduced. Through its support, the UN Trust Fund helps key stakeholders do just that.”
This year’s announcement marks the 15th annual grant cycle of the UN Trust Fund. Grants will support innovative and practical work at the grassroots level. They cover a range of strategic interventions, such as increasing the access of women survivors of violence to medical and legal services in Iraq, supporting HIV-positive women to connect with traditional leaders in Malawi to counter widespread stigmatization and abuse, reducing workplace violence in export-oriented garment factories in Bangladesh and India, and accelerating the channels of justice and health services for survivors in Uruguay.
Other 2011 UN Trust Fund grantees spearheading cutting-edge approaches worldwide include:
The UN Trust Fund is the only multilateral grant-making mechanism exclusively devoted to supporting local and national efforts to end violence against women and girls. The majority of its grantees are nongovernmental organizations, with grants also awarded to governments and UN Country Teams. Applications to the UN Trust Fund continue to increase. This year alone, it received more than 2,500 applications requesting nearly USD 1.2 billion for projects in 123 countries. In order to meet the growing need for resources to translate global and national commitments into action, the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign has set a target to raise USD 100 million for the UN Trust Fund’s annual grant-making by 2015.
“Over the years, the UN Trust Fund has established itself as a leading source of support for innovative and catalytic projects, combating violence where it matters most — at the local and community levels,” said Ms. Bachelet. “If not for the tireless efforts of its grantees, tens of thousands of women and girls would not see justice for the abuse they suffer, nor would they know that they don’t have to live in fear.”
The new grants are made possible with generous support from the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. The Fund is also grateful for the vital support of its partners in the private and nonprofit sectors: Avon and Avon Foundation for Women; Johnson & Johnson; the United Nations Foundation; M*A*C AIDS Fund; UN Women National Committees in Canada, Iceland, Japan, and the United Kingdom; and Zonta International and Zonta International Foundation.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 1996, the UN Trust Fund is managed by UN Women on behalf of the UN system. Since it became operational in 1997, the UN Trust Fund has delivered more than USD 78 million to 339 projects in 127 countries and territories.