UNFPA Implementation of the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence: A consultation report

The Essential Services Package (ESP) for Women and Girls Subject to Violence is a global guidance supporting national systems to respond to gender-based violence across four key sectors: health, social services, justice and police. The ESP guidelines include sector-specific modules for service provision, as well as a module on coordination, on implementation and a costing tool.

The ESP was launched as a UN Joint Global Programme in 2013. During Phase I (2013-2015), the ESP guidelines were developed and published in 2015. These were piloted in 10 countries during its second phase (2016-2019). Given the success and relevance of the guidance, UNFPA supported implementation in over 80 “self-starter” countries. Through a number of consultations with 120 staff members representing 62 countries, UNFPA took stock of progress in implementing the ESP. The consultations aimed at collecting successes and key lessons learned, understanding monitoring and evaluation processes, gathering experiences of GBV sector coordination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and identifying needs and priorities for support during Phase III.

This report provides a summary of UNFPA key achievements in rolling-out the ESP, identifies good practices and outlines the key role the ESP has played in maintaining access to services for survivors during the pandemic and as part of the Spotlight Initiative. Furthermore, as a central tool for guiding safe, effective and comprehensive provision and coordination of services for survivors of GBV, the ESP has the potential to be expanded and strengthened during Phase III. In this report, UNFPA identifies nine areas for acceleration and provides recommendations for action to move it forward.