Pledge on the Prevention of and Response to Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2019-2023

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Switzerland – Report on Pledge on the Prevention of and Response to Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2019-2023

Gender Equality and combatting gender-based violence is a foreign policy priority of Switzerland. Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy 2021–24 defines gender equality as one of its objectives and GBV prevention and response as one pillar of the protection concept of Swiss Humanitarian Aid. The FDFA Strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights (2017) and the Operational Concept for Protection 2021-24 of Swiss Humanitarian Aid form the basis of all interventions.

1. Switzerland has contributed to funding efforts that enable survivors of SGBV to access services. Between 2019 and 2022, Switzerland has increasingly invested in strengthening SGBV prevention and response: 2019 – CHF 10.6, 2020 – CHF 12.5, 2021 – CHF 13.1, 2022 – CHF 15.4 million. In total, Switzerland spent CHF 51.6 million on GBV prevention and response between 2019 and 2022.
2. Evidence suggests that engaging local actors is critical to the success of humanitarian interventions, leading to a faster, more effective, and more sustainable response. In many cases, these benefits can be attributed to the fact that local actors have a greater understanding of the context, can often access affected populations more easily, and can navigate complex political and social dynamics more readily. These issues are particularly true with regard to the provision of GBV prevention and response initiatives, as the inclusion of local women and women-led organizations (WLOs) is crucial to effectively addressing issues of gender inequality and harmful social norms that contribute to the occurrence of GBV. Localisation is a strategic priority for Switzerland’s humanitarian action. As a strong champion of the Caucus on the role of intermediaries, Switzerland was instrumental in achieving its successful conclusion with the agreement on a set of common commitments[1] in 2022. As co-chair of the Country-based Pooled Funds (CBPF) Working Group, Switzerland prioritised localisation by ensuring the active participation of local actors, half of them women-led, in consultations and working group meetings and discussions on how to further implement those outcomes.
3. In its own actions, Switzerland supports sub-national actors engaging in GBV prevention and response directly or through specialised funds. For example: in Ukraine, 10 local organisations addressing women at risk and 3 LGBTIQ+ rights organisations receive small funds for a project of their own choice and design and 20% overheads through the East European Foundation. In the occupied Palestinian territory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi, among other countries, Switzerland has been providing direct funding to local women’s rights organisations that have been addressing GBV for at least a decade. In 2021-2022 in Jordan, Switzerland funded the Arab Women’s Organisation (AWO) with the objective of creating a network of local women-led organisations engaging in GBV response in the occupied Palestinian territory, Iraq and Lebanon. The AWO received the grant and directed some of its funds to CARE for backstopping. With this prime swap a local NGO was able to control the funds and channel a small amount to an INGO – rather than the other way round. In 2022, of the CHF 10.4 million for bilateral GBV stand-alone projects, the volume channelled directly to local organisations or through only one intermediary was CHF 5.8 million or 56%. The amount channelled to women-led organisations directly or through one intermediary was CHF 4 million or 38%.
4. Switzerland supported the promotion of gender equality in disaster risk reduction (DRR) at various levels: In 2021, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss NGO Platform on DRR Collaboration of the SDC Networks organised a training on the promotion of gender-responsive measures and leadership of women’s organisations in DRR. In SDC funded projects, gender is mainstreamed and specific actions are often taken to promote opportunities for women. For example, in a climate change programme in Central Asia promote women to engage with glacier related science, usually a male dominated field. At the multilateral level, Switzerland engaged in drafting the gender action for the Sendai Framework for DRR as a follow-up of the 66^th session of the Commission of the Status of Women 2022. Switzerland as a non-permanent member of the Security Council sets climate change as one of its priorities and integrates gender in climate and security debates.
   
5. Switzerland is an active member of the Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies and has participated in all major advocacy event organized by the Call to Action. Switzerland has also committed to the Women/Peace & Security/Humanitarian Action Compact to contribute to GBV prevention and response and to support local women-led organisations. Switzerland further participated in the Prevention of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Initiative Conference in 2022 in London and made a pledge to keep working to protect survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, also as a part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Alliance.

[1] The outcome document was endorsed at the closing of the caucus on 17 July 2022 by A4EP, EU/DG ECHO, Germany, IFRC, NEAR, SCHR/World Vision, Switzerland, UNHCR, and UNICEF.