Regional/Global

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) LOCALIZATION: HUMANITARIAN TRANSFORMATION OR MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO? – A GLOBAL STUDY ON GBV LOCALIZATION THROUGH COUNTRY-LEVEL GBV SUB-CLUSTERS

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, with an estimated one in three women experiencing physical or sexual abuse in her lifetime. Although humanitarian emergencies disproportionately impact women and girls, their needs and roles within the context of emergency response interventions are underrepresented.

The 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) and subsequent Grand Bargain commitments have set the localization agenda with the aim of improving local capacities while also providing additional aid directly to those most in need. Evidence suggests that engaging local actors is critical to the success of humanitarian interventions, leading to a faster, more effective, and more sustainable response (International Rescue Committee (IRC), 2017; Wall & Hedlund, 2016).1 In many cases, these benefits can be attributed to the fact that local actors have a greater understanding of the context, can often access affected populations more easily, and can navigate complex political and social dynamics more readily. These issues are particularly true with regard to the provision of GBV prevention and response initiatives, as the inclusion of local women and women-led organizations (WLOs) is crucial to effectively addressing issues of gender inequality and harmful social norms that contribute to the occurrence of GBV (IRC, 2017). Depending on the shape that humanitarian systems take, and the degree to which they foster women’s meaningful participation, emergencies can either be a catalyst for transformational change or exacerbate existing drivers of GBV.

Findings from this study suggest that GBV localization overall has been minimal, with a low level of perceived localization in three of the four priority contexts.4 Findings further suggest that localization has not been formally operationalized at the global level, making its effectiveness – or lack thereof – highly dependent on country contexts rather than relying on recognized standards of good practice. Respondents believe that localization efforts are often donor driven and only pay lip service to the inclusion of local actors rather than engaging in meaningful change. Read More...

SUMMARY REPORT: GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE LOCALIZATION: HUMANITARIAN TRANSFORMATION OR MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO?

his study adopted a mixed methods approach, including an analysis of multiple quantitative data sources and 45 key informant interviews . In line with the GBV AoR’s mandate, the primary focus of this study was on settings with internally-displaced persons (IDPs). Four priority countries were identified as focal contexts for this research, including: Iraq, Nigeria, South Sudan, and the Whole of Syria/Turkey hub.

The researcher for this work collected data from a range of local and international actors participating in GBV coordination, including GBV Sub-Cluster coordinator(s) and representatives from civil society organizations (CSO), national non-governmental organizations (NNGOs), international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and other global leaders engaged in the localization debate . The term local organization is used to refer to CSOs, NNGOS, and NGO consortiums and local women’s networks; it does not include national or local host government bodies . 10 For the purpose of this research, the terms CSO and NNGO are used interchangeably at the local level and reflect the self- reporting of respondents .
Read More...

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (GBV AOR) LOCALIZATION TASK TEAM: Appendix of Tools and Guidance on GBV Localization | December 2019

Seeking to meet commitments under the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, Grand Bargain and the Call to Action, the Gender Based-Violence Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR) is dedicated to ensuring GBV localization moves beyond rhetoric and is realized through global decision-making and field-level coordination mechanisms, while ensuring the needs of survivors and those at risk are prioritized . Global-level commitments around localization, and efforts to operationalize the agenda at the global level have not always translated into impact on the ground. Momentum will be gained through demonstrating how localization improves the effectiveness and efficiency of humanitarian aid. Tools and guidance pertaining to GBV localization are particularly crucial, in order to enable promising practices to be taken to scale and to provide frameworks by which to evaluate the effectiveness of localization approaches.

Although there has been a great deal of research and work surrounding localization within the humanitarian sector, field-ready tools and actionable guidance are minimal. These gaps are particularly apparent with regard to specific tools pertaining toGBV localization. As a result, this resource draws from relevant tools and guidance materials developed by other sectors, in order to enable GBV actors to utilize these resources to inform their work. This document was developed as an appendix to the Global Mapping Study report on GBV localization developed b the Localization Task Team of the GBV AoR and is designed around the key themes that emerged through this research, including: partnerships;dynamics in coordination groups; capacity building;engaging women led organizations (WLOs), and advocacy. Read More...

CONSORTIUM PROJECT “CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS & POLICY DIALOGUE” IN EAST AFRICA

The Consortium Project “CSOs & Policy Dialogue – Further strengthening capacities of CSOs engaging in Policy Dialogue” is a three years programme funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). Specific project objective is to “Further strengthen capacities of East African CSOs regarding their policy dialogue engagement”. Expected results included: i) Capacity development and cross-learning plan for partner CSOs is developed; ii) The ability of East African CSOs to engage in policy dialogue has been further strengthened in their field of work; iii) Recommendations/ guidelines for CSOs engagement in Policy Dialogue are further complemented and used/ applied. The project implemented two approaches: i) Collective training workshops, as well as cross-learning and organization focused Capacity Development activities, guided by a capacity development plan; ii) Partner Organizations plan and implement their own Small Action Fund Initiatives, aiming at influencing policy making spaces, and allowing them to develop their own Policy Dialogue Strategies, and to test and consolidate different methods and approaches for effective engagement along the Policy Cycle.

The Objective of this evaluation was to assess the design and implementation, fulfilment of objectives and achievement of expected results. The evaluation assessed the intervention logic of the project by addressing a series of guiding questions concerning relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability
Read More...

CSO’s and Policy Dialogue: Project Evaluation

The Consortium Project “CSOs & Policy Dialogue"is a three years programme funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). Phase II (Jan 1st 2017 – Dec 31st 2019) succeeded the pilot phase (Dec 1st2014 – 30th Nov 2016) and is implemented under the lead of HORIZONT30000 by a Consortium of five Austrian NGOs and their local partners in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda). Their project objective is to “Further strengthen capacities of East African CSOs regarding their policy dialogue engagement”.

Overall, the findings of the external evaluation carried out in 2019 indicate that the project is on course towards achievement of its objectives and results. There is good progress and significant gains that can be consolidated. Read More...

CARE International Advocacy and Influencing: A Review of Pathways to Success

This report constitutes a review of 208 advocacy and influencing initiatives that reported having successfully influenced policies, plans and budgets. A sample of 31 cases were included in for review. These comprised influencing outcomes across 16 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Europe. We estimate that outcomes these initiatives influenced have so far improved the lives of more than 4.2 million people, with the potential for future impacts for a further 116 million people. 20 cases were from national or local level policy, plan or budget influence in the global South, and 11 case from the global North, influencing donor strategies or international negotiations.

Overall, the top 4 strategies employed across the North and the global South were: (i) lobbying-decision-makers; (ii) coalition building; (iii) public forums and (iv) method replication. Twice as common as any other strategy was lobbying decision-makers. This was also judged to be the most effective strategy in both the South and the North. 23 initiatives employed some form of lobbying decision-makers, and in 19 of these it was ranked as the most influential strategy. This lobbying was commonly a form of “insider” approach where CARE and partners already had a good relationship with government line ministries, having built credibility and trust over a number of years. Particularly in the South, advocacy efforts were part of a strategy over more than five years. Such efforts demonstrate that long-term investment is required for policy change to materialise into impact. The main tactics or strategies which did not feature strongly were activism and campaigning such as marches, petitions and use of social media, and evidence for the use of research was also uneven. We consider why this may be the case in greater detail toward the end of the paper
Read More...

Evidence of Change In Gender Equality and Women‘s Empowerment in the Balkans 2005-2012

This is a report about CARE’s work to advance gender equality in the Balkans and what we have achieved over the past seven years. Our goal is to give account and to demonstrate our commitment to change the lives of the people we serve. We want to illustrate the real life impact of the work we do with our partners and to document the process, methods and the tools used. We want to show that what we and partners have achieved, is relevant to the regional context and that our approaches and methodologies make a demonstrable difference. We also want to learn from our challenges and limitations, and we will use these lessons in our future work. Read More...

Learning From Failure 2019

Driven by a wish to learn more from what goes wrong in our programming, and to examine where changes to the broader organization and system can improve our programming and impact globally, in 2019 CARE undertook its first evaluations-based failure meta-analysis. This analysis draws learning and evidence from 114 evaluations of CARE’s work from 2015-2018 to understand the patterns and trends in what goes wrong. This helps us take a data-driven approach to strategic investments and action plans to live out CARE’s commitment to high program quality and continuous improvement across the board.
The review draws from project specific data, but deliberately anonymizes the data and focuses on overarching trends to remove blame for any specific project team or set of individuals. This exercise is designed to help us learn more about how we can change our processes and patterns of support and engagement around weak areas to improve our work. CARE is using this data to build action plans and next steps to continuously improve our programming.
Read More...

Child, Early and Forced Marriage: CARE’s Global Experience

In two world regions—Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Asia Pacific—CARE has developed regional strategies on CEFM that galvanize influence with regional, national, and global bodies, support feminist movements, connect the local to the global, scale up and share strategies that work, and target popular media with positive images of equality.18 At the same time, CARE is working on the ground in high prevalence countries around the world. This document lays out CARE’s
approach and experience in CEFM prevention and mitigation across the globe. Read More...

ADVANCING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT THROUGH FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR SAVINGS GROUPS (LINK UP)

LINK Up, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed to link 10,000 Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to formal financial institutions; building financial inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania, assessing the impacts of access to formal financial services on VSLAs and their
members and determining whether serving such groups presented a viable business case for financial service providers (FSPs).

Over the course of this program, LINK Up partners have opened 13,165 group savings accounts and have served approximately 322,000 members, 81% of which were women.
To implement LINK Up, CARE partnered with four financial service providers; co-designing and copromoting group products and alternative channel solutions tailored to the needs of savings groups and their members. The collaborations resulted in the creation of four new group-focused products and a host of innovations in the mobile and agent banking solutions deployed to deliver those products. Read More...

Filter Evaluations

Clear all

Keywords

Adolescents Agriculture AIDS Basic and Girls' Education Cash Vouchers Child Health child marriage Child Nutrition Civil Society and Governance Climate Change Conflict Mitigation COVID 19 COVID 19 RGA Disaster Risk Reduction Economic Development Education Emergency and Humanitarian Aid Environment FFBS Food Security Gender Gender Based Violence Gender Equality Global Affairs Canada Health Livelihoods Maternal Migrants and Refugees Natural Resources Nexus Nutrition Resilience RGA Sexual Sexual and Reproductive Health Shelter Social Norms Usaid Value Chain VSLA WASH Water Women's Economic Empowerment Women's Empowerment Youth