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What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls: New Evidence, New Opportunities

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With one in three women globally experiencing physical and/or sexual violence in her lifetime—a figure worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic—improved understanding of and investments in effective violence prevention solutions are urgently needed.

What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls, a program funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) from December 2013 through March 2020, worked in 15 countries across Africa and Asia to build the evidence base on drivers of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and what works to prevent VAWG. What Works found that violence is preventable and generated rigorous evidence of effective interventions.

On Sept. 29, 2020, the IGWG brought together presenters from the What Works consortium to share groundbreaking findings from this body of research, discuss the implications for policy and practice, and explore what it all means in the era of COVID-19. Participants learnt about program strategies that, when adapted to local context, are proven to dismantle patriarchal social norms, reduce VAWG, and improve reproductive health outcomes.

Presenters included:

Professor Rachel Jewkes
Executive Scientist, South African Medical Research Council
Former Consortium Director, What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls
What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls?

Dr. Andrew Gibbs
Senior Specialist Scientist, South African Medical Research Council
The Impact of Stepping Stones and Creating Futures on Intimate Partner Violence, Livelihoods, and Sexual and Reproductive Health Outcomes

Samantha Willan
Capacity Development Specialist and Gender Based Violence Researcher, South African Medical Research Council
Young Women’s Reproductive Decisionmaking and Agency in South African Informal Settlements

Emily Esplen
Social Development Adviser, Violence Against Women and Girls
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming Part II

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Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming Part II: Supporting Adolescent Girls and Working in Humanitarian Settings

Click here to view a recording of the event.

More money, less violence? This event was the second part in the IGWG’s Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Task Force series on the use of cash transfer approaches to address GBV and other reproductive health outcomes.

Part II of this series delved more deeply into the specifics of cash transfers for addressing GBV. What are the strengths and shortcomings for this type of intervention to reduce GBV? How have cash transfers been incorporated into GBV programs in humanitarian settings? What are the considerations for applying cash transfer interventions to reduce GBV when working with adolescent girls?

Panelists and Presentations

This event built on Part I, held on September 17. That event introduced cash transfer approaches, highlighted some of the evidence around the effectiveness of cash transfers for addressing GBV, and sparked a discussion of the pathways through which cash transfer programming can affect violence-related outcomes. More information from that event is here.

Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming

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The Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the Interagency Gender Working Group Presents

Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming

 Monday, September 17, 2018

This event series brings attention to the intersection between economic empowerment interventions―specifically cash transfers―and gender-based violence (GBV) and reproductive health outcomes. This webinar was the first of a two-part series.

This part focused on sharing the latest evidence on cash transfers as an effective intervention for preventing GBV, specifically intimate partner violence, in developing countries. Other topics covered include how cash transfers can affect violence-related outcomes through casual pathways.
Panelists and their presentations included:

  • Kathy Lindert of The World Bank Group
    • “Designing & Delivering Cash Transfers: Overview” PowerPoint (2.6 MB)
  • Lori Heise of Johns Hopkins University
    • “Reducing Violence at Scale: A Mixed Methods Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” PowerPoint (2.3 MB)
    • “Reducing Violence at Scale: A Mixed Methods Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income Countries” PDF Paper (550 KB)
  • Audrey Pettifor of the Gillings School of Global Public Health
    • “Cash Transfers Can Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescent Girls” PowerPoint (1.8 MB)

A recording of the event can be found here.

Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming Part I

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Addressing Gender-Based Violence Through Cash Transfer Programming Part I

View presentations and the event recording here.

This series, hosted by the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Task Force of the Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG), explored the use of cash transfer approaches (an economic empowerment strategy) to address GBV and other reproductive health outcomes. Moving from theory to practice, the event included presentations on results from recent evidence reviews, as well as promising programmatic examples of cash transfer interventions and their impacts.

Part I of the series, on September 17, provided an introduction to cash transfer approaches and feature the latest evidence on cash transfers as an effective economic empowerment strategy for preventing GBV, specifically intimate partner violence. Presenters also explored the causal pathways through which cash transfer programming can affect violence-related outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, including among adolescent girls.

Panelists and their presentations included:

  • Kathy Lindert, World Bank, “Designing & Delivering Cash Transfers: An Overview”
  • Lori Heise, Johns Hopkins University, “Reducing Violence at Scale: A Mixed Methods
    Review of Cash Transfers and Intimate Partner Violence in Low- and Middle-Income
    Countries”
  • Audrey Pettifor, Gillings School of Global Public Health, “Cash Transfers Can Reduce
    Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescent Girls”

Keep an eye out for Part II of this series, which will take place in late October. This event will focus on design and implementation features of cash transfer approaches that are effective at improving GBV outcomes, including specific work in humanitarian settings.

Continuing the Dialogue from SVRI: New Developments and Future Directions in GBV Work

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In Commemoration of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
IGWG’s Gender-Based Violence Task Force Presents

Continuing the Dialogue from SVRI: New Developments and Future Directions in GBV Work

View presentations and the event recording here.

The recent Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum (SVRI) in Brazil brought together over 450 researchers, activists, service providers, funders, survivors, and other stakeholders from around the world. Conference participants heard a wealth of new evidence, innovations, and initiatives on preventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV).

The GBV Task Force has invited panelists involved in SVRI as presenters, organizers, and/or participants to share some of the insights and highlights from the conference and lead a discussion on remaining challenges and priorities for future GBV research and programming.

Panelists will include:

  • Elizabeth Dartnall, Research Manager at SVRI;
  • Amy Bank, Senior Advisor at Puntos de Encuentro;
  • Esther Spindler, Research Officer at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health; and
  • Manisha Mehta, Senior Program Officer at Wellspring Advisors.

Space is limited; please RSVP to Laura Bloom at lbloom@prb.org.

Faith-Based Organizations and Gender-Based Violence

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On September 25, 2017 the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of USAID’s Interagency Gender Working Group hosted an event focused on the role and impact of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in preventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV).

Panelists for the event included Jean Duff of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities; Prabu Deepan of Tearfund; Mary Linehan of IMA World Health; and Lynn Lawry of Overseas Strategic Consulting.

Panelists shared lessons and challenges they have faced in implementing evidence-based interventions to prevent and/or respond to GBV. Duff set the stage on why working with FBOs is important, pointing out that religiosity is highest in the world’s poorest countries and through faith leaders change is possible. One recommendation she had is “partner with faith leaders, don’t just use them. They are not tools.”

Deepan, the gender technical lead for GBV prevention and peacefulding intiatives at Tearfund, talked about the Transforming Masculinities intervention he leads in several countries. One of the lessons he imparted is that leaders first must break the silence around sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), become a safe space, and do away with the stigma.

Linehan of IMA’s World Health described the Ushindi Project which has been implemented since 2010 in the Eastern DRC where SGBV has affected about 40% of women and 24% of men. The project has worked in more than 1100 villages and given support to more than 30,000 survivors. Lawry discussed the baseline survey and impact study she is leading on Ushindi in some areas of the DRC, including examination of the mental health impacts of SGBV.

This event, supported by USAID through the PACE (Policy, Advocacy, and Communication Enhanced for Population and Reproductive Health) project, brought together 35 participants from the Washington, DC area and 30 participants online.

Presentations

Please find the recording of the event here.

Religion and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: Setting the Stage by Jean Duff, Coordinator, Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities

Transforming Masculinities: A Faith-Based Approach to GBV Prevention by Prabu Deepan, Gender Technical lead, Tearfund

A Comprehensive Approach to Providing Services to Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Addressing More than Physical Trauma by Mary Linehan, Senior Technical Director, IMA WorldHealth

Using Data to Understand Prevention and Response to Sexual Violence in Eastern DRC by Lynn Lawry, Senior Director of Health, Research and Evaluation, Overseas Strategic Consulting, Ltd.

Resources

Sign up for the Joint Learning Initiative’s SGBV resource hub here.

Find Tearfund’s Quick Guide to Transforming Masculinities here, and the full report here.

Please follow the link here, for an overview of IMA WorldHealth’s Ushinidi project.