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This brief sheds light on areas of combating violence against women and girls (VAWG) and focuses on legal reform needed to prevent and combat it. The analysis for the situation of VAWG provided in this brief is based on the explorative study1 conducted by the Regional Civil Society Observatory (RCSO) in 2020 and the regional index on VAWG. The brief summarises the study and its findings pertaining to legislation. The brief is intended to provide recommendations to governments to improve the laws based on informed decisions and to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to advocate and contribute to the change. To combat VAWG, the brief recommends reforming the legal framework by removing discriminatory articles and adopting a specific and comprehensive law on VAWG in which all forms of violence are mentioned as defined in United Nations legal and policy instruments and are comprehensively criminalised. Such law should also ensure prevention, protection, remedies for survivors of VAWG, prosecution of perpetrators and provide for collaboration between concerned parties as well as information gathering. Adopting a specific and comprehensive law is instrumental for the fight against VAWG: it provides legal means for women and girls against all the forms of violence they may face and also guides the reform of the entire legal framework.

On December 21st, 2020, the Regional Civil Society Observatory (RCSO) hosted by the EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) launched the Regional Index on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) during an Online Roundtable aimed at presenting the Regional Index, over 70 decision-makers, ministerial representatives, EU and UfM representatives, UN agencies, legal and gender experts, researchers, and representatives of women’s rights organizations from the Euro-Med region, discussed recommendations to improve data collection in the region, and different tools to better address collectively the challenges identified by the RCSO through legislative change, policy-making and increased multi-actor cooperation, nationally and regionally. The RCSO on VAWG was established in 2019 to follow up on the implementation of the 4th UfM Ministerial Declaration, particularly in the area of VAWG, Women, the Peace and Security Agenda (WPSA) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). The RCSO falls under a three-year (2019-2021) regional project “Combating Violence against Women in the Southern Mediterranean Region”, funded by the EU and implemented by EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) and a consortium of nine member organizations in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. Aiming to contribute to the common efforts on eliminating VAWG, the RCSO developed a Regional Index that provides a global documentation on laws, public policies and government services related to VAWG, that provides a diagnosis of the state of legislation in each of those South Mediterranean countries. It also provides policy makers with meaningful summary of complex data to support informed decisions and actions in the implementation of the 4th UfM Ministerial Declaration, in the area of combating all forms of VAWG, WPSA and PVE. The index contains 49 indicators divided under 7 categories. To read the Regional Index on VAWG, click here.

In the South Mediterranean region, there is little reliable information about the prevalence and trends in Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). However, some studies about the real situation of women the magnitude of the problem and show alarming figures on VAWG. Advancing women’s rights and combating all forms of VAWG are priorities for Euro Mediterranean countries as stated in the 4th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Declaration on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Society” (Cairo, 2017) and States are responsible for enacting and implementing laws and public policies to combat VAWG and ensure achieving gender equality.

In the South Mediterranean region, there is little reliable information about the prevalence and trends in Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). However, some studies about the reality of women illustrate the magnitude of the problem and show alarming figures on VAWG. Advancing women’s rights and combating all forms of VAWG are priorities for Euro Mediterranean countries as stated in the 4th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Declaration on “Strengthening the Role of Women in Society” (Cairo, 2017) and States are responsible for enacting and implementing laws and public policies to combat VAWG and ensure achieving gender equality.

In the frame of the project “Combating Violence against Women in the Southern Mediterranean Region”, funded by the European Union, the EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) organized on 17 June 2019 in Beirut, Lebanon, a regional experts roundtable “Combating Discrimination Against Women in Legislation”. The roundtable gathered 26 legal and gender experts and researchers from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, France and, Sweden, as well as representatives from the Office of the Minister of State for Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth (EEWAY) and the EU Delegation to Lebanon.

One hundred and fifty-four participants from eighty-seven civil society organisations, together with decision makers, ministerial representatives, legal and gender experts, as well as media from twelve countries from the South Mediterranean gathered on 10-11 December in Tunis for the Regional Forum on Combating Discrimination in Legislation held in the frame of the Regional Campaign on Zero Tolerance for Violence Against Women and Girls, funded by the European Union.