Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict (OSRSG-SVC)

1. How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the priorities of your organization?

The OSRSG-SVC has recognized that unequal gender relations and patriarchal norms have considerably exacerbated the impacts of the COVID-19 on women and children, particularly survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The restrictions associated with the pandemic have impeded survivors’ ability to report crimes and seek justice and care. They have also hampered United Nations entities monitoring, reporting and outreach work. In this light, the OSRSG-SVC has recalibrated its priorities to ensure that survivors of CRSV are included in response and recovery efforts, that comprehensive and life-saving services for survivors continue uninterrupted, and that monitoring of CRSV data including collection and analysis continues through the MARA.

2. In 2020/2021, how has your organization endeavored to support Member States to build back better from COVID-19 while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda? Please select up to three high-impact initiatives to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs. How has your organization cooperated with other UN system organizations in those efforts to achieve coherence and synergies?

Initiative	Equipping gender-based violence response services to meet the needs of women and girls within the COVID-19 outbreak
Partners	UNFPA, UNICEF and UNHCR
Relevant SDGs	SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 16
Member States benefiting from the initiative	Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon
Description	This project seeks to strengthen the quality and accessibility of life-saving psychosocial and health services for CRSV and GBV survivors and those at-risk, while building the capacity of psychosocial case managers to provide quality services and use innovative technological solutions to safely manage, analyse, and share data on incidents of violence. Where existing capacities are available and deemed safe, activities are implemented in close partnership with local and national women-led, grassroots organisations. The project builds on previous efforts and UN Action grants that had previously adopted joint analysis and prioritisation among UN entities. As elaborated under e), this project works closely with multi-stakeholders including national institutions to support their commitments to preventing and responding to CRSV, builds on GBV prevention and response priorities. UNFPA and UNHCR, play leading roles in inter-agency GBV sub-working groups/clusters coordination across the Middle East region (UNICEF being an active member). The three entities also play a leading role in the GBVIMS Taskforces in the region. Both coordination structures work to support service-delivery, accurate collection and analysis of data, and coordination of local prevention and response services to survivors. By aligning activities under this project with the strategic frameworks of these taskforces, the joint action of these three entities removes the risk of duplication and enhances impact on the project outcomes.

Initiative	Focus on COVID-19 Pandemic and its repercussions on CRSV in the 2020 Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-related Sexual Violence
Partners	United Nations Secretary-General
Relevant SDGs	SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 16
Description	The OSRSG-SVC structured the 2020 Annual report to encompass key findings on the impact of COVID-19 on CRSV prevention and response. Specifically, the report revealed concluded that addressing conflict-related sexual violence has been made more complex by intersecting crises and inequalities, yet the dire effects of sexual violence on human rights, public health and peacebuilding makes collective responses more urgent than ever. The needs of sexual violence survivors cannot be put on pause and neither can the response. The pandemic demands a paradigm shift: to silence the guns, amplify the voices of peacebuilders and invest in service-delivery. The report noted that the current crisis is a test of collective resolve to translate commitments into results, through the inclusion of survivors in an intersectional and gender responsive pandemic recovery.
Website	https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/…

3. Has your organization published or is it planning to publish any analytical work or guidance note or toolkits to guide and support recovery efforts from COVID-19 while advancing SDG implementation at national, regional and global levels? Please select up to three high-impact resources to highlight, especially those that address interlinkages among the SDGs.

Resource	Policy Brief on the Implications of COVID-19 for the Prevention of and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Publishing entity/entities	Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflicts
Relevant SDGs	SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 16
Target audience	Decision-makers, diplomats, journalists, administrators, researchers
Description	This policy brief gives an overview of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on data monitoring, access and reporting, which usually serves as a basis for remedial action, particularly service provision to survivors; on the rule of Law and accountability processes for CRSV and on the increased risks of sexual and gender-based violence on vulnerable groups of like survivors of CRSV, particularly in the context of migration and for children.
Link to access	https://stoprapenow.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/20200602-OSRSG-SVC-P…
Language	English

Resource	Conflict-Related Sexual Violence - Report of the United Nations Secretary-General
Publishing entity/entities	Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflicts
Relevant SDGs	SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 16
Target audience	Decision-makers, diplomats, journalists, administrators, researchers and wider public
Description	The Secretary-General’s report on CRSV gives an overview of patterns, trends and emerging concerns around CRSV in different countries affected by conflict. It draws on this analysis to provide recommendations addressed to specific governments, including the reinforcement of Joint Communiqués’ and National Action Plans’ implementation, the request to guarantee humanitarian access to certain areas like detention centers etc. It then concluded by formulating recommendations addressed to the UN Security Council.
Link to access	https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/…
Language	English