Launch of the 2017-2021 National Action Plan against Gender Based Violence
The State Secretariat for the Support and Socio-Economic Promotion of Women presented the 2017-2021 National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence (NAPGBV) on June 16th, at a ceremony which included the participation of the Prime Minister, Ministries, the United Nations Organization’s entities in Timor-Leste, Civil Society organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The plan, which will be a guideline for actions in this area over the next five years, reflects the Government of Timor-Leste’s resolute commitment to significantly reducing cases of gender-based violence.
Secretary of State, Veneranda Lemos Martins, said “the Government of Timor-Leste, through SEAPSEM, undertakes to improve and safeguard the lives of women, ensuring their participation in all sectors and in daily life. Despite being a young nation’ she said, ‘Timor-Leste has incorporated the protection of women's rights in all of its legislation, in particular, the Criminal Code of 2009, which categorizes domestic violence as a public crime. The Penal Code penalises those abuses, and includes violence and sexual abuse within the family, and other forms of gender-based violence, such as exploitation, prostitution and human trafficking. The Law Against Domestic Violence (LADV) was enacted in 2010 and the first National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2012,” added the Secretary of State.
Veneranda Lemos Martins explained that the new NAPGBV improves the coordination mechanisms to promote gender-based equality at national and municipal level. The plan, which consists of national and international legal standards and frameworks, adopted lessons learned after a thorough evaluation of the 2012 action plan. 
The 2017-2021 plan was developed with technical and financial support from UN Women, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and the Asia Foundation through Nabilan project, with funding from the Government of Australia Wide ranging consultation took place with Government Ministries, civil society and women's organizations.
You can see the Government Spokesperson’s press release on the launch of 2017-2021 NAPGBV here.
