Online discussion, April 27: Helping Girls Attain Self-Worth and Self-Sufficiency
Join Wendy Baldwin, vice president and director of the Poverty, Gender, and Youth program at the Population Council, as she shares experiences and stories from programs that invest in adolescent girls in Africa.

Symposium on Working with Men to Stop Violence
On December 3, 2009, in commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, the IGWG sponsored an event to hear from experts about their work with men to change norms around masculinity and lower the incidence of gender-based violence.

A Capacity Building Workshop on Engaging Men and Boys in Ending Violence Against Women
Todd Minerson, executive director of the White Ribbon Campaign, led this hands-on workshop on "Engaging Men and Boys in Ending Violence against Women." The workshop was designed using the exercises and approach to training of the White Ribbon Campaign—the largest global campaign of men dedicated to preventing and ending violence against women. It was held December 3, 2009 at PATH in Washington, DC.

Jordanian Journalist Rana Husseini Discusses 'Honor Killings'
Jordanian journalist Rana Husseini discussed her new book, Murder in the Name of Honor, about so-called honor killings, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in October 2009 in Washington, D.C. "Honor killings" claim the lives of 5,000 women every year in many traditional societies around the world, as well as in migrant communities in Europe and the United States. Such killings are often carried out by the victims' relatives to "cleanse" the family's honor following a perceived violation.

Sexual Violence Against Minors: Nature and Scope, Consequences, and Implications
Two separate and complementary presentations were held in October 2009 in Washington, DC. The first session, organized by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, USAID, and the IGWG, was an overview of Sexual Violence Against Minors. The second smaller session, organized by the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the IGWG, provided an opportunity for in-depth technical discussion on research on the topic and research-to-policy considerations.

Melanesia Launch: A Blueprint for Responses to Violence Against Women
In April 2009 the GBV Task Force of the IGWG presented the launch of a report on “Violence against Women in Melanesia and East Timor: Building on Global and Regional Promising Practices,” including lessons on what works in preventing and addressing VAW. Speakers included two of the authors, Mary Ellsberg and Christine Bradley, as well as a representative of the Embassy of Australia. Materials on this event and report are included.

Monitoring and Evaluating Gender-Based Violence: A Technical Seminar Recognizing the 2008 '16 Days of Activism'
In recognition of the 2008 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign, the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the IGWG presented a half-day seminar on November 25, 2008, at the National Press Club. Entitled “Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender-Based Violence: Methodologies and Field Implications,” this technical update provided timely reports on approaches, indicators, and applications in GBV M&E.

Plenary on Gender-Based Violence
In November 2008, the members of the IGWG Task Force on Gender-Based Violence held its second plenary meeting, where more than 50 participants shared information on existing programs and tools and presented suggestions for future activities on GBV. The first plenary meeting was held in February 2007 and the priorities outlined then have shaped the work of the IGWG, resulting in new products, exciting speakers, and sharing of knowledge. Agenda, participants list, rapporteur minutes, and descriptions of five ongoing interventions and materials that were presented are included.

Community-Based Approaches for Ending Violence Against Women
The Gender-Based Violence Taskforce of the IGWG, PATH, and PRB recently organized a discussion on and demonstration of innovative and inspiring techniques for community-based approaches to ending violence against women. With presenters from InterCambios, Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization of Tanzania, and Raising Voices, this May 29, 2008 seminar gave participants an opportunity to experience a hands-on demonstration of “In Her Shoes” and “SASA!” training approaches. The event was funded by USAID.

Femicide: What Is It and Why Isn't Anyone Talking About It?
In April 2008 the IGWG, USAID, WHO, Intercambios, the Medical Research Council, PATH, and PRB sponsored a panel discussion on femicide—the murder of women by men, especially by intimate partners. The event featured experts from around the world, who spoke on identifying and understanding femicide in its various forms, its prevalence, and its relationship to international development and reproductive health.

Promising Practices in Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender-Based Violence
The IGWG Task Force on Gender-Based Violence presented a half-day technical meeting on successes and challenges in monitoring and evaluation of gender-based violence in November 2007. Organized by PATH and the Population Reference Bureau, co-chairs of the task force, the event was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Presentations were made on some recently evaluated interventions, including Stepping Stones, Sexto Sentido, and Liverpool VCT.

Women Prevail Against Violence
The Interagency Gender Working Group hosted a presentation of "SASA! A Film About Women, Violence and HIV/AIDS" in 2007. This powerful film tells the story of how two courageous women triumphed over gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS and gained power that helped them organize, become activists in their communities, and build meaningful and rewarding lives.

Gender-Based Violence: 16 Days of Activism
In November and December of 2006, the IGWG and USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health hosted a number of activities commemorating the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, in Washington, DC. The presentations addressed various aspects of gender-based violence, including a gender-based violence advocacy toolkit demonstration; the Demographic and Health Surveys and domestic violence; GBV in humanitarian settings and in emergency settings; and the role of young men in reducing gender violence.

IGWG Plenary Meeting (PDF: 103KB)
In October 2006, the IGWG hosted a plenary meeting to bring the gender community of practice together and provide an update of IGWG activities; enable individuals and organizations to share information on recent developments in programs, research, tools and materials; and facilitate an exchange of ideas and discuss future directions.

IGWG Technical Update on Child Marriage
The IGWG Technical Update on child marriage and its negative implications for public health and human rights was held in Washington D.C. in July 2006. Speakers included representatives from Tostan (Senegal), the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, and BRAC (Bangladesh). Over 100 participants heard the results and the review commissioned by IGWG and by ICRW and successful interventions in the field. The agenda, participant list, speaker bios, and powerpoint presentations are included.

IGWG Second Technical Update on Gender-Based Violence
The second IGWG Technical Update on Gender-Based Violence was held in Washington, DC, in November 2005. Attended by more than 100 representatives of NGOs, government agencies, and funders, the day-long seminar focused on lessons learned and impact of interventions that address GBV from a reproductive health perspective. Featured speakers included Dr. Kent Hill, Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Global Health, as well as representatives of global interventions in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. The agenda, participants list, speaker bios, and powerpoint presentations included.

Engaging Men and Boys in RH/Maternal Health/HIV
A demonstration workshop designed to introduce participants to approaches used to engage men within the PHN sector was held in October 2007. The event helped familiarize participants with leading tools and exercises developed by Engender Health staff under the ACQUIRE project, and the Program H Alliance coordinated by Instituto Promundo that promote constructive male involvement.

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part VI
Speakers discussed the role of men and specific on-the-ground programming as well as the impact of HIV/AIDS in the MENA region.

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part V
Speaker discussed community-based efforts in Jordan and Tunisia to address honor killings and domestic violence, and whether media attention surrounding honor killings helps or harms programmatic efforts to address more common types of gender-based violence

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part IV
Speakers discussed the links and role of family planning and women’s empowerment in Indonesia and the Maghreb region of North Africa. They also commented on the role of education and contraception in the feminist discourse in the Maghreb.

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part III
Speakers discussed how regional community development projects make use of religion and changing opinions and attitudes toward reproductive health and sexuality, and they talked about fertility and infertility amongst women and men and access to reproductive health technologies.

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part II
Speakers discussed patriarchal differences within the Quran and Sharia regarding sexual (in)equality, and addressed gender roles and personal status law in Pakistan, Egypt and Iran as they relate to family planning and education. They also commented on polygamy, young age of marriage, gender preference, and honor killings. October 2004

Speakers Series: Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Health—Part II
An overview of general demographics in the region and the perspectives of Islam on family planning and contraceptive use, with attention to fertility patterns, issues of safe motherhood, reproductive health and culture, the end of reproduction and the menopause transition, HIV, and government policies concerning fertility levels and contraceptive use, was held in July 2004.

Reaching Men to Improve Reproductive Health for All conference
The Interagency Gender Working Group of USAID, through its Men and Reproductive Health Task Force, hosted a three-day international conference on the state-of-the-art programming for constructive male involvement in reproductive health in September 2003.

Refugee and Conflict Settings: How to Address Gender-Based Violence and RH
a presentation offered as part of IGWG's Speaker Series. January 2003

Technical Update on Gender-Based Violence
In May 2002, the IGWG held a Technical Update on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), one of the IGWG's priority areas. This launched a process for looking at GBV in relation to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS within USAID's population, health, and nutrition sector.