UNAIDS has launched an Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV (2010–2014), which has been developed to address gender inequalities and human rights violations that continue to put women and girls at risk of HIV infection.
The five-year action plan was launched at a high-level panel during the 54th meeting on the Commission on the Status of Women, being held in New York until 12 March. It calls on the UN system to support governments, civil society and development partners in reinforcing country actions to put women and girls at the centre of the AIDS response, ensuring that their rights are protected.
“Violence against women is unacceptable and must not be tolerated,” said Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director. “By robbing them of their dignity, we are losing the opportunity to tap half the potential of mankind to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Women and girls are not victims, they are the driving force that brings about social transformation.”
The Agenda for Action provides clear action points on how the UN can work together with governments, civil society and development partners to:
- produce better information on the specific needs of women and girls in the context of HIV;
- turn political commitments into increased resources and actions so HIV programmes can better respond to the needs of women and girls; and
- support leaders to build safer environments in which women’s and girl’s human rights are protected.
The actions include:
- Improving data collection and analysis to better understand how the epidemic affects women and girls.
- Reinforcing the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign through the AIDS response.
- Ensuring that violence against women is integrated into HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programmes.
- Analyzing the impact of socio-cultural and economic factors that prevent women and girls from protecting themselves against HIV.
- Supporting women’s groups and networks of women living with HIV to map commitments made by governments on women and HIV.
- Scaling up engagement of men’s and boys’ organisations to support the rights of women and girls.
To read more and download the document, visit the UNAIDS website.