The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has issued its first anti-domestic abuse advert. The advert features a hijab-clad woman – with just her eyes visible through the slits in her veil – one of which is blackened.

The slogan simply reads: “Some things can’t be covered – fighting women’s abuse together.”

Read more at Huffington Post. More articles at Al Bawaba and Al Arabiya.

The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women gathered in New York March 4-15 for its 57^th session. As we wait for the final version of the agreed conclusions, here’s a chance to read the almost-final one.

Read more at UN.

More than UN member states 130 states have agreed on a roadmap to eliminate and prevent violence against women and girls. It urges governments to start concrete action to protect and promote women's human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Read more at UN News Centre.

The Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU) is in the final stages of obtaining official approval of its shelter for abused women.

The shelter provides security for abused women along with their children, and it offers vocational training and social, psychological, family, legal, health and religious counselling.

The shelter has helped over 1,000 women and their children since its establishment in 1999.

Jordanian Women’s Union is a partner organisation to KVINFO.

Read more at Jordan Times. 

A few facts: Violence is the order of the day for up to 7 in 10 women across the globe, and 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime.

In New York, politicians, activists, and professionals gather now for the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. And world leaders are urged to implement concrete initiatives to ending the violence.

Follow the proceedings as Ms Lisbeth Pilegaard, Head of KVINFO's MENA Department, reports on WoMenDialogue's Facebook page.

Read more at UN Women.

Displacement in Syria gives way for serious gender-based crimes, warns UN official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

“This displacement is not only about loss of homes and economic security. It is also, for many, accompanied by gender-based crimes, deliberate victimization of women and children and a frightening array of assaults on human dignity,” she says.

Read more at UN News Centre.

Egyptian women are growing increasingly angry and militant as they deal with one of the unintended consequences of the Arab Spring: An epidemic of sexual assault that law enforcement has failed to contain.

Read more at the Daily Tribune.

Researchers are taking a new path to disclose and keep track of rape in the Syrian conflict.

The Women Under Siege project is live-tracking how sexualised violence is being used in Syria. Part of the tracking is reports on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The project’s crowdmap keeps an up-to-date tally in visual form: Incidents of sexual violence are represented by dots on a map – the larger the dot, the more reports of rape.

Go to the Women Under Siege’s Syrian crowdmap

Read more about Women Under Siege

Source: NPR

United Nations officials joined millions of people around the world who are taking a stance against violence against women as part of the ‘One Billion Rising’ campaign on February 14th.

“The global pandemic of violence against women and girls thrives in a culture of discrimination and impunity,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for the occasion. “We must speak out.”

Read more at un.org 

How about taking a few dance steps at work on Thursday? By doing so, you can join the international efforts to end violence against women.

This year, the global V-Day celebrates its 15th anniversary. On February 14th, millions of people around the globe will show their support for the anti-violence fight by taking up the challenge issued by the organization One Billion Rising: Dance, strike, or  rise to show that you want the violence to stop.

The work to end violence against women is also the theme of the UN’s 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). 

It takes place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 4 to 15 March 2013 under the headline, Elimination and prevention of  all forms of violence against women and girls. 

KVINFO (the Danish Centre for Information on Research and Information on Gender, Equality and Diversity) participates in the Danish delegation to the Commission’s session together with Parliamentarians and women’s NGO.

Read more and get ideas for action for the February 14th V-Day at One Billion Rising.

Read more about the UN commission session at UN Women.