In the Solomon Islands in the south-west Pacific, where two in three of the estimated female population of 252,000 have experienced physical and sexual partner abuse, recognition is growing that ending the cycle of violence cannot be achieved without the partnership of men as catalysts of change. And initiatives by men are gaining support.

Female representation in the legislature remains low, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia, despite increases from election to election, says a minister.

This high-level moderated armchair discussion explores why gender, specifically gender-based violence, should be a standalone goal in the post-2015 framework. World Bank work has been ramping up significantly given that GBV is an important barrier to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. Follow the conversation on Twitter with #endgbv.

Panelists:

The Women Peace and Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN) has provided leadership training for dozens of young girls in Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties.

The training was held under the project named "Young Girls Transformative Leadership project Inter-generational Dialogue."

The modern Arab world has never known a female leader, and against all odds, Syria may be the country where it happens first. Forget Bashar Assad and the other male politicians who dominate coverage of the war-torn nation, and turn your attention to two women: Suhair Atassi and Razan Zaitouneh.

While political parties are busy preparing for the second Constituent Assembly (CA) election and working on their manifestos, women rights activists on Wednesday analysed various parties' last CA election manifestos and suggested ways to include gender issues in their documents better this time.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is stepping up its focus on victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts around the world, an issue the humanitarian agency says needs to be better understood and funded.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says more needs to be done to improve the documentation of sexual violence and the psychological support and healthcare given to victims of sexual violence and rape.

Women in Rwanda are at the centre of the country's development agenda, thanks to recent law reforms, MP-elect Esperance Mwiza, has said.

Half a million women were raped during the Rwandan genocide. As many as 64,000 suffered sexual violence during Sierra Leone's brutal blood diamond fueled civil war. And 40,000 were raped in Bosnia. The sheer magnitude of women raped and the frequency of the crime tells us something. These attackers aim to do more than rape. They seek to shame and demoralize, break down the fabric of victim communities, and stigmatize survivors for life.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and after the 2010 earthquake, which killed an estimated 220,000 people, EU states, banks and the European Commission jointly pledged €1.23 billion in aid.

The Commission's Department of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (Echo) alone donated €213 million to the stricken Caribbean nation.