A/HRC/17/23
with technical and financial assistance to facilitate work on simultaneous levels: policy and
decision-making; institutional service providers; and civil society and grassroots
communities. As a result, victims of domestic violence have gained access to particular
State-provided services not previously available, such as shelters, legal counselling, and a
country-wide helpline. To ensure the sustainability of the services established in the
framework of the SHiEld project, UN-Women concluded a memorandum of understanding
with Georgia which foresees a commitment to maintain services and products established in
the framework of the SHiEld project.
2.
Awareness-raising campaigns
33.
The Division for the Advancement of Women affirmed that public awarenessraising campaigns are critical to prevent violence against women. They serve not only to
inform on what constitutes violence, expose and convey its unacceptability and raise
awareness about existing laws and available protection measures and remedies, but also to
uncover the underlying causes of violence and challenge the attitudes which support it.9
Such campaigns can take a variety of titles, have different themes, target specific groups of
persons, involve different types of stakeholders and activists, and include the use of many
different tools, such as conferences, trainings, the media, production and dissemination of
support material, and the organization of contests.
34.
New Zealand’s long-term campaign entitled “It’s not OK” focused on action against
family violence. The campaign used an audience-driven approach to challenging and
changing attitudes and behaviours that tolerate any kind of family violence, and was
grounded in thorough research and continuous evaluation. The campaign used tools such as
television advertisements, media advocacy, a community-based action fund supporting
community-led activities, new partnerships, and the voices of repenting perpetrators or
survivors of violence. Three tracking surveys have been conducted since the campaign was
launched (with another already undertaken in November 2010) to measure the reach of the
campaign messages. A community study exploring the impact of the campaign in four
communities and a face-to-face study measuring attitude change of more than 2,000 people
were conducted. These evaluations evidenced that family violence is no longer considered a
private issue, media coverage is more accurate and responsible, raising family violencerelated issues is easier for police, health and social agencies, and there had been a
significant increase in people, particularly men, seeking help to change behaviours. The
campaign has reportedly had a strong impact on Maori and Pacific Peoples communities.
35.
In Belgium, an awareness-raising campaign on “dating violence” entitled “Love
without Violence” and directed at youth was launched in 2007 using the Internet, a shortfilm contest and a rap video clip. The campaign was aimed at enabling youth to recognize
signs of psychological, verbal, physical and sexual violence in their relationships, and
providing them with advice and contacts for support and help. In Singapore a “dating
violence awareness week” was organized in 2008, and in Mexico, the Reinas Chulas
Theatre-Cabaret sensitizes teenagers about dating violence through a monologue play and
group discussions. In France, the organization Filactions has been leading a campaign of
prevention and awareness-raising on dating violence using workshops, films and
discussions in schools, universities and other youth-oriented structures targeting boys and
girls aged 15 to 25.
36.
In 2008, Mauritania organized an awareness-raising campaign on female genital
mutilation, targeting three cities where the practice was prevalent. In Spain, an awareness9
10
See also the report of the Secretary-General, entitled “In-depth study on all forms of violence against
women” (A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr. 1), para. 339.
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