The United Nations Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (the Joint Global Programme) was officially launched by UNFPA and UN Women in December 2013, with support and funding from the Government of Spain and the Australian Government. The participating UN agencies include: UNFPA, UN WOMEN, WHO, UNDP and UNODC.

The Joint Global Programme aims to improve the quality of and access to essential services for women and girls who have experienced violence and seeks to encourage implementation of the Agreed Conclusions from the 57th Commission on the Status of Women by bridging the gap between international commitments and what is actually implemented at country level. The programme strives to: 1) reach global consensus on standards and guidelines for delivering quality essential services in the areas of health, police and justice, social services and coordination and governance; 2) provide technical advice to guide implementation; and, 3) build the capacity of service providers to deliver the essential services.

The standards and guidelines for all four sectors – health, police and justice, social services and coordination and governance – were finalized in December 2015 and the global launch of the UN Essential Services Package took place on 10 December 2015 at the Global Conference on Ending Violence against Women in Istanbul (this conference was co-organized by UNFPA, UNW and the Government of Turkey).