Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Based Violence

Policy Priority 5:

Targeted actions for Gender Based Violence

5.a

Promote Strategic Gender Mainstreaming in all work while formulating, implementing and M&E initiatives in policies and programmes relating to addressing the pandemic, including in terms of gender equity in the allocation of resources through the COVID Solidarity Fund. This is likely to ensure targeted actions towards vulnerable groups such as elderly women, economically disadvantaged women and girls, and women and girls with disabilities.

5.b

Prioritise responses to Domestic Violence, including the accessibility of Shelters and protection services. The use of technology such as using specialized online applications, online reporting, text messages, should also be adopted/ revived or enhanced, in cases where victims are not able to leave the confines of the house for rapid interventions. A mechanism of reaching perpetrators such as the setting up of a database of perpetrators should also be established. Creation of Apps for psycho-social support should be explored.

5.c

Undertake Targeted Community Actions on GBV in a decentralized Manner

Sustaining High level Political Commitment remains key in ensuring that Gender Based Violence (GBV) is kept on the Policy Table. The setting up of the High-Level Committee (HLC) on GBV sets a strong signal and testimony to the importance of GBV on the policy and political agenda. With the forthcoming HLC Strategic Plan, priority actions should include on-theground actions to (i) establish and strengthen multi-sectoral responses and referral pathways for quality essential GBV prevention, response and recovery services; ii) upscale and upgrade the 24x7 GBV hotlines with chat and messaging facilities. Support the outreach, community awareness and advocacy in addressing GBV and harmful practices through engaging the Government, CSOs, CBOs, Faith based and community leaders and youth to ensure that access to essential services for women is a priority and cannot be compromised during COVID-19; iii) sensitise the public at large in different localities and through the Citizens Support Unit ; (iv) provide practical

psycho-social advice through a network of psychologists and dedicated time-slots to victims and perpetrators; (v) continue the decentralization of Domestic Violence Assistance by instituting help-desks in Citizens Advice Bureaux. Victims and Perpetrators should feel supported within their own communities and provided with alternative reporting mechanisms that are conducive to reporting violence. These may include engaging with Pharmacies to be stop-points for reporting or for providing psychological assistance to victims and perpetrators through dedicated timeslots made available to psychologists; (vi) Strengthen the capacity for rapid response by the Police through mobile units in the community within the Republic; (vii)

Speeding up the Integrated Plan of Action of the High-Level Committee on GBV

Full and effective implementation of the Perpetrator Rehabilitation Programme to ensure perpetrator accountability

Investing in sustained massive communication and awareness campaigns at community levels in at-risk regions and targeting men on gendered roles and relations

Political leaders as well as Community leaders should ensure that their message on zero tolerance to Domestic Violence is highlighted in their public announcements and policies, including a commitment to increase investment in services and organisations that provide services to survivors of domestic violence.

Leverage behavioural science theories to add value to national campaigns and shift public perceptions on domestic violence (DV) and framing DV as a Police matter and criminal offence

Re-engineering existing welfare centers or Citizen Advice Bureaux with dedicated Women Corners with various assistance for victims of domestic violence

Setting up of a Model self-sufficient Shelter with economic empowerment programmes for victims of GBV; including a documentation corner; medical and psychological counselling; gym (amongst others)

Carry out amendment to the Protection from Domestic Violence Act for community sanctioning of domestic violence

Introduce innovative approaches to advance a paradigm shift in gender relations such as cartoon productions, engaging with religious leaders to support behavioural change, outreach campaigns with young men heads of households

5.d

Sustain programmes to address GBV 50 . As Governments are likely to increase allocations relating to managing the disease, it would be critical to ensure that GBV programmes are accounted for in government budgets

Realigning resources in a gender equitable manner for core and essential services, while ensuring that maternal care, sexual and reproductive services and women’s programmes operate in a sustained manner and do not undermine the existing gains made towards women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Increasing women’s agency and voices in programmes that impact on them and matter to them. Identifying the practical and strategic needs of women as narrated by them would place women’s interests at the centre of responses.

5.e

Enhance Quality Responses to GBV through an integrated approach by

Upgrading training packages, toolkits and standard operating procedures for police, prosecutors, judges, correction officers and human rights commission officers to reflect understanding of gender issues and handling of GBV cases.

Supporting special units across the police, corrections, prosecutors and courts to work with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence

Leveraging with the Innovation Labs by Encouraging technology bootcamps or social innovation camps bringing together young women innovators to develop prototypes on GBV apps, such as the setting up of crowd-sourced data on social media platforms to map out areas that are marked as high-risk

50 UNDP Mauritius, 2017, Sultan R., The Economic Cost of Intimate Partner Violence in Mauritius, Port Louis

The economic cost of Intimate Partner Violence amounts to Rs2b (excluding intangible costs)