Closing the Gap: Implementation of the National Plan to Address Domestic Violence against Women in Mozambique

According to the UN Women (2011): “Violence against women and girls is one of the world’s most widespread human right violations. It cuts across boundaries of age, race, culture, wealth and geography. And it happens everywhere: at home and at work, on the streets and in schools, during times of peace and conflict. Up to 70% of women and girls in the world will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime” The UN Women (2011) also states that: “Violence against women and girls, as one of the gender based violence issues, can be systematically addressed, reduced and, with persistence, eliminated if we have all sectors working together, with a clear and unique message to address to the people”. In Mozambique several activities are taking place in order to eliminate violence in general and domestic violence against women in particular. Both, the government and the civil society have addressed the issue in many ways for example in their national plans and by making efforts to implement the law about domestic violence against women. However, there is not an efficient coordination between them, which is why this project intends to close the gap in the implementation of the several national plans that aim to eliminate the domestic violence. Better coordination will be accomplished when all sectors work together and address their plans and projects in domestic violence issues in the same way. During and at the end of the project, they should be able to identify how the project can be improved.