Gender Equality

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 .
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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...

Hamenus Mortalidade no Risku ba Inan (HAMORIS – 2017-2021) BASELINE CI Timor-Leste

The HAMORIS project is managed and implemented by Care International Timor-Leste (CITL) and funded by the Australian aid program. The HAMORIS project goal is to contribute to lasting reductions in maternal mortality and morbidity by increasing the number of women in targeted communities utilizing appropriate and quality Sexual, Reproductive Maternal Health and Rights (SRMHR) services. The project aims to enable this by improving gender relations at the family and community level. HAMORIS started in July 2017 and has been extended to June 2022.


The baseline data has been collected to provide the team and key stakeholders to the project with a clear understanding of context at the initiation of the project. It will help the team assess changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice of participants and their approach to SRMHR services and changes in gender relations, social and power norms of participants and within the broader community. Read More...

ATSABE RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR IMPROVEMENT OF LIVELIHOOD IN ERMERA DISTRICT (HAFORSA PROJECT) THE END OF PROJECT EVALUATION

The HAFORSA project in Timor-Leste – 2016 to 2019 – sought to address two of the most challenging issues facing many of the world’s poorest countries; namely, development of subsistence-based agricultural livelihoods and women’s empowerment. The main targets of the intervention were, very appropriately, 430 prospective members of farmer groups (including women-only farmer groups) in some of the most inaccessible and impoverished parts of the country, namely, in Atsabe sub-district of Ermera District. Particular challenges in the project-targeted areas included: lack of irrigation system and limited public investment in agriculture, the high levels of illiteracy, and longstanding perceptions (prejudices) regarding the traditional roles of women.

This document describes the results of the end of project evaluation – conducted during June and July of 2019 - based upon: the results of a review of project-related documents, a survey of 109 respondents, 10 key informant interviews, 10 semi-structured interviews, and two focus group discussion meetings. Read More...

Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the SHOUHARDO III Program

ARE commissioned a Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) of the SHOUHARDO III Program to formulate recommendations for the remaining life of the program to increase effectiveness in achieving sustainable impact and increase efficiency in use of resources. The MTE was planned and implemented over the period from late October 2017, through mid-June, 2018, with information gathering and preliminary analysis undertaken in Bangladesh from February 12 through March 12. Read More...

SHOUHARDO III Longitudinal Study (RMS) Report

The overarching program goal is to improve gender equitable food and nutrition security and resilience of the vulnerable people living in the Char and Haor regions in Bangladesh by 2020. To achieve its goal, SHOUHARDO III focuses on three principal purposes and two cross- cutting purposes: 1) Increased equitable access to income for both women and men, and nutritious food for men, women, boys, and girls; 2); Improved nutritional status of children under five years-of-age, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls; 3) Strengthened gender equitable ability of people, households, communities and systems to mitigate, adapt to and recover from man-made and natural shocks; 4) Increased women’s empowerment and gender equity at both the family and community levels; and 5) Increased provision and utilization of public services (e.g., local elected bodies and nation building departments) for communities, especially for poor and extremely poor women. Within its program areas of agriculture and livelihoods; health, hygiene, and nutrition; and disaster and climate risk management, the project delivers an integrated set of services – a holistic framework with an emphasis on women’s empowerment, gender issues, and good governance.

This report is a longitudinal study of Shouhardo III and identifies key impact areas. It reports on survey rounds of project participants, collected every six months throughout the project. Read More...

Shouhardo III – BENEFICIARY BASED SAMPLE SURVEY (BBSS) 2018 FINAL REPORT


SHOUHARDO III, implemented by CARE Bangladesh, intends to transform the lives of women and men from 675,000 Poor and Extreme Poor (PEP) households in eight of the poorest and most marginalized districts in Bangladesh. Funded by USAID, the program intervenes in the areas of food security, agriculture, livelihoods, health, water and sanitation, resilience, and women’s empowerment. Supported by a robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system, the Beneficiary Based Sample Survey (BBSS) 20181 of CARE SHOUHARDO III was conducted with the PEP households of the Char and Haor regions where the program operates. The BBSS has proved to be a reliable tool to gain insights of the progress and status of the major indicators, which are essential for the overall management of the program.

Given the relative mix of programming activities and the indicators selected to monitor program progress, there were four major sampling frames: i) value chain beneficiaries, ii) other farmers (involved with on- farm IGAs), iii) Comprehensive Homestead Development (CHD), and iv) mothers of under-five (U5) years of age children. These were taken to capture the necessary information to track all annual monitoring indicators for indicators 1-13, and indicators 14-27 were collected from the entire Core Occupational Group (COG) beneficiaries. A total of 1,425 samples were taken this year. Read More...

Tipping Point 2 Baseline Nepal

This report presents findings from the baseline survey of the CARE Tipping Point Program (TPP) impact evaluation in Nepal (May to July 2019), which is being undertaken in Kapilvastu and Rupandehi districts. CARE’s full Tipping Point Program—implemented in Nepal and Bangladesh—focuses on addressing the root causes of child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) and on promoting the rights of adolescent girls through community-level programming and evidence generation. The approach of the CARE Tipping Point Program relies on challenging social expectations and repressive gender norms and promoting girl-centric and girl-led activism to enable adolescent girls to identify and to move into social spaces where they can challenge age-based and gender-based inequalities. The operational approach of the CARE Tipping Point Program entails the synchronized engagement of different participant groups—adolescent girls, adolescent boys, parents and community members, and community leaders—around four programmatic pillars: adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, social-norms, girl-led movement-building, and alternative livelihoods. The Program supports the creation of public spaces for all community members to engage in the dialogue.
The Care Tipping Point Program impact evaluation in Nepal is being undertaken through a multi-institutional collaboration between implementing partners of the Gender Justice team at CARE USA and CARE Nepal with researchers in the Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and Interdisciplinary Data Analysts (IDA) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Tipping Point Phase 2 Baseline Bangladesh

Although the body of evidence on how to prevent child marriage is growing, its rate did not decline at a desirable pace. Previous interventions targeted many of the root causes of child marriage. However, despite wide recognition of the need to change pro-child marriage social norms, attempt to study the impact of social norms change in addressing child marriage was rarely investigated or not investigated well. Lack of understanding of social norms and how to change them effectively impedes development of effective and sustainable child marriage prevention programs. Moreover, for most of the interventions, there were no rigorous evaluations. Furthermore, the interventions that had strong evaluation designs did not necessarily focus on social norms change. It is against this background that the current research employs a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) to evaluate Tipping Point (TP), an integrated social norms intervention designed by CARE to address child marriage in Bangladesh. This report presents findings from the baseline survey. The report focuses on assessing the rates of child marriage in TP study areas and decision making ability of the adolescent girls. Read More...

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