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Call for Proposals: UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women

The United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women ("The UN Trust Fund") is a leading global multi-lateral mechanism supporting national efforts to end one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. Established in 1996 by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166,1 the UN Trust Fund is administered by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on behalf of the UN System.

Since its inception, the UN Trust Fund has been a catalyst for new ideas, a source of support for strategic action and a hub of knowledge on emerging good practices. It has contributed to breaking the once nearly universal silence on violence against women through grants to broaden awareness, advocate for passage and implementation of laws grounded in human rights standards, promote access to services and develop sustainable capacities for continued progress. Grantees, comprising government and non-governmental organizations, have engaged diverse actors, such as womenโs, menโs and adolescents and youth groups, indigenous communities, religious and traditional leaders, human rights organizations and the media. To date, the UN Trust Fund has supported 291 initiatives in 119 countries and territories with more than US$44 million.

The UN Trust Fund awards grants through an annual open and competitive process. In order to address the serious gaps in the realization of national and international commitments and recommendations to end violence against women and girls2, UN Trust Fund grant-making focuses on supporting the implementation of national and local laws, policies and action plans. The UN Trust Fund places particular emphasis on documentation, monitoring and evaluation, in order to contribute to the global knowledge base on effective approaches to end violence against women and girls. It is also a vehicle for meeting the Secretary-Generalโs challenge to make violence against women "never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable", in the context of the UNite to End Violence against Women Campaign,3 launched in 2008.

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women is accepting applications for its 14th grant cycle (2009) from government authorities at the national and local levels, civil society organizations and networks - including non-governmental, womenโs and community-based organizations, coalitions and operational research institutions - and UN Country Teams in partnership with governments and civil society organizations. Applications should be centered on supporting implementation of national and local policies, laws and action plans on ending violence against women.