| Project Detail |
In September 2015, the new constitution of Nepal was promulgated. The process of federalizing the state will lead to a drawn out, highly conflictive negotiation process. In spite of the instable political situation of the past years, poverty levels have decreased, mainly due to the high influx of remittances, but indicators consistently confirm the disadvantaged position of women in Nepal. Various studies show that 50% of women have experienced violence at least once in their lifetime, of which 75% of victims have never sought support and 60% not even disclosed the violence to anyone. While the legal framework is commendable, the laws and national action plans are not implemented due to weak capacities and lack of resources. Despite strong support by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW), an initial Project Document, based on an earlier EP approved by the OpCom in September 2013, was rejected by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). The MoF argued that international technical assistance was not required to implement a GBV project with a budget of a mere CHF 3 million. The MoWCSW requested SDC to continue engaging in the issue of GBV. The project will support the Government of Nepal (GoN) to implement its Plan of Action to end GBV and is in line with the Swiss Cooperation Strategy (2013-2017) and the SDG 5.2. While maintaining the same outcomes and a similar focus, the new intervention will be implemented by UNFPA and thus will not require formal approval by the MoF. UNFPA collaborates with the MoWCSW and the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) in line with national priorities. The goal of the proposed intervention is to reduce GBV in the project working areas. The intervention aims at supporting GoN-initiated women’s cooperatives to establish GBV watch groups and adolescent girls groups. The project will also engage men and boys in the fight against GBV thus enabling communities to reflect on gender norms and to understand the rights of women. For improved services, the project will support hospitals to establish One Stop Crisis Management Centers which will provide medical and community-based psychosocial services to victims of GBV, and to link them to legal support and safe houses if required. The project will enable the district line agencies of the MoWCSW, the police and the local authorities to better address GBV. At the national level, the project will strengthen referral services and the capacities of the MoWCSW and the MoHP. Initially, the project will be implemented in three districts but the geographical coverage will be substantially increased over the next two project phases. In the first phase, during which the country will go through a transition to a federal structure, accompanied by uncertainties over the changing roles of government agencies at all state levels, the project will focus on empowering community-based organizations and services of hospitals and the police. Investments in the better performance of GoN line agencies will be intensified in the subsequent phases, when their mandate at national, provincial and local level will be clearer. |
