Career story: technical advisor for violence against women

What does a day in your shoes feel like? And what are the key skills that can make or break a career in your field?

We’ve asked a diverse group of Apolitical members to share their career story with us and the tips they have for junior public servants. In this article, Henriette Jansen explains why it’s important to stay curious and interested in her role as a technical advisor for violence against women.

What is your current role and how do you spend your time on a standard day?

I retired this year. My most recent role was ‘Technical Advisor Violence Against Women Research and Data’ in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (APRO) in Bangkok.

During that time, I initiated the kNOwVAWdata initiative, which is a partnership between UNFPA/APRO and Australian DFAT that aims to strengthen violence against women (VAW) data collection and data literacy skills in Asia and the Pacific. My days were never the same.

I travelled a lot (in particular before the Covid-19 pandemic), often to support or train national research teams or to work with other organisations on setting standards in the field of measurement of violence against women. During the pandemic, we had to shift gears and we became thought leaders on ethical violence against women data collection that added value while prioritising women’s safety.

What did you do before taking up this role?

I did many things, mainly in the area of public health and epidemiology, with international agencies, governments and NGOs around the world. Before working on violence against women, I worked for six years in the Ministry of Health, Department of Planning and Statistics of Zanzibar. The work involved supporting and improving the health information system by supervising routine data collection from the health facilities and producing quarterly reports. Further, we worked on health surveys – together with other departments - and promoted the use of data for health planning.

In your opinion, what are the most important skills someone needs to excel in your field?

I think it is very important to have the right technical skills, but it is at least as important to also have the right soft skills in terms of communication, cultural sensitivity and working with teams. Realistically, to be able to excel it really helps if you have a supportive work environment.

What is your favourite part of your job?

I very much enjoy the connections with people of many backgrounds. I especially love training researchers and interviewers and witnessing the transformative processes that participating in violence against women research has on people. Another favourite part is to help make data producers and users understand the story behind the data that they have collected so that they can develop meaningful and effective context-specific policies.

What advice would you give to new public servants who are interested in a career in your field?

Keep educating yourself, keep listening, stay curious and interested. Do not reinvent the wheel but learn from others. Work with integrity and ethical standards. Find excitement in seeing opportunities to be part of a global movement that can make a difference.

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