[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1135, 207], "category": "Text", "text": "actions established in the National Development Plan to achieve the goal of reducing the rate of femicide per 100 000 women from 0.87 to 0.80, in coordination with efforts made in the implementation of phase 1 of Spotlight."}, {"bbox": [96, 217, 1135, 325], "category": "Text", "text": "Since 2020, the EU has supported Ecuador in the implementation of the Spotlight initiative. In partnership with the United Nations System in Ecuador, several actions were implemented that targeted these identified barriers. While there are positive results, actions to eliminate violence against women must be sustained and long-term. Some important results have been achieved:"}, {"bbox": [96, 339, 1135, 421], "category": "Text", "text": "✓ The justice sector has a toolkit for the judicial application of standards on human mobility, children and gender-based violence in the application of justice. These standards are based on the rulings of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador and other bodies of the International Protection Systems."}, {"bbox": [96, 434, 1135, 518], "category": "Text", "text": "✓ The production, systematisation and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data and information on violence against women was improved through the development of the National Violence Observatory, with the Secretariat for Human Rights and the National Council for Gender Equality support."}, {"bbox": [96, 531, 1135, 611], "category": "Text", "text": "✓ Officials from the municipalities of Morona, Azogues, Pastaza, Chone and Portoviejo have increased their capacity to use the gender classifier in the public expenditure catalog to report investment in the prevention and elimination of VAWG at the local level."}, {"bbox": [96, 627, 1135, 710], "category": "Text", "text": "✓ Local universities in Cuenca, Portoviejo and Pastaza have strengthened protocols for prevention and action in cases of harassment, discrimination and violence based on gender and sexual orientation and to ensure safety in educational spaces."}, {"bbox": [96, 723, 1135, 833], "category": "Text", "text": "✓ In Azuay, Pastaza and Manabí, 35 civil society organisations, grassroots organisations and collectives formed 3 civil society clusters to strengthen local capacities and to articulate joint advocacy actions. The 3 clusters developed collaborative agendas and advocacy strategies, including 3 plans for the eradication and prevention of VAWG and femicide (1 per territory of intervention)."}, {"bbox": [85, 858, 342, 890], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 904, 1135, 1198], "category": "Text", "text": "In recent years, Ecuador's socio-economic situation has deteriorated considerably, in particular, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected vulnerable groups such as women, young people, sexual minorities, indigenous peoples and migrants. The current criss situation in costal areas caused by the drug traffikers adds-up and social unrest during 2022 contributie to fragile situation. In this context, the quality of public administration is ever more relevant when it comes to finding solutions for social welfare, economic recovery and inclusion. However, Ecuador's institutions remain fragile, situation which was exacerbated during the pandemic, due to corruption scandals in institutions at both national and local level and the lack of an adequate response for the population during the crisis. This fragile institutional scenario continues today, despite the taking office of a new administration in 2021, which has seen been generally unable to maintain programmatic and sustained agreements with the legislature. These governance problems have led to citizens' dissatisfaction with the National Assembly, which 83% of Ecuadorians see as badly or very badly managed (March 2022)."}, {"bbox": [96, 1209, 1135, 1502], "category": "Text", "text": "According to the World Bank's set of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources, gender equality in Ecuador is reported at 1% in 2020⁵. In 2022, ranking 10th out of the 22 countries of Latin America and 41st of the 146 countries covered by the 2022 Gender Gap report, Ecuador scored 0.743 in the Gender Gap Index/GDI which shows a gap of approximately 26 percent. That means women are 26 percent less likely than men to have equal opportunities⁶. Just to quote political participation, in 2014, Ecuador was the country with second largest number of congresswomen in the region, reaching a total of 57 out of 137 Representatives. By January 2014, Ecuador ranked 39th in the world with respect to Ministries, with 8/36 of them lead by women. Yet, despite the guidelines calling for parity in the party ballots, only 2 out of 23 municipalities are presided by women, while 21 women are deputy mayors. During the February 2014 elections, only 16 out of 147 candidates were elected to the 221 municipalities in the country⁷. In 2022, despite its relative achievements and as most countries in the world, political empowerment is the gender gap index area where Ecuador scores the worst being 41st with a score of"}, {"bbox": [85, 1545, 954, 1571], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ Ecuador - Gender Equality - 2022 Data 2023 Forecast 1990-2020 Historical (tradingeconomics.com)"}, {"bbox": [85, 1569, 954, 1596], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ WEF GGGR 2022.pdf (weforum.org), yearly published since 2006 by the World Economic Forum"}, {"bbox": [85, 1593, 560, 1620], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ Ecuador | UN Women – Americas and the Caribbean"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1680, 1145, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 8 of 32"}]