86041 South Asia Gender Initiative Issue 4 –March 2014 Applying a gender lens to the Bank’s work in South Asia Gender-Based Violence in South Asia G ender-Based Violence (GBV) is the leading cause of ing work of researchers and local NGOs—with law makers and death of women aged 19 to 44 worldwide—more than the public pledging to challenge the status-quo.1 war, cancer or car accidents. As in all regions, certain types of GBV, like domestic violence, are prevalent in South In January 2013, the World Bank Group’s South Asia Region Asia. In Bangladesh, for example, it is estimated that 47 percent (SAR) launched a multi-faceted program to address VAW in its of women are the victims of physical violence from their inti- operations, analytics and collaborative work to address gender- mate partners. Yet, GBV takes idiosyncratic forms in South Asia based violence. as well. Between 2001 and 2012, the National Crime Records Bureau of India recorded 91,202 dowry-related deaths; in Paki- stan, more than 1,000 girls and women die in honor killings each 1 Towards Ending Violence Against Women in South Asia, Oxfam Briefing Paper. August 2004 http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/violence. year; in Sri Lanka, 3-5 children are raped every day; and at least pdf; http://world.time.com/2013/08/13/sri-lanka-struggles-to-contain-a-grow- 200,000 Nepali women and girls are thought to be working in ing-epidemic-of-child-abuse/ the sex industry in India, many of them likely having been traf- ficked into the country.1 SAR Event Highlights While such statistics are daunting, it was the high-profile media coverage of the “Delhi gang rape” in December 2012 and other April 18, 2013: Breaking the Silence panel at the World Bank/ incidents of violence against women (VAW) in South Asia over IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, DC the past year which brought the realities of GBV to the forefront June 16, 2013: Violence Against Women Hackathon in Kath- of the international community’s attention. Non-traditional mandu, Nepal practitioners in the public, media and private sectors institutions June 17, 2013: Joining Forces to Overcome Violence Against have already begun responding—complementing the longstand- Women regional conference in Kathmandu, Nepal October 11, 2013: Tackling Gender-Based Violence After 2015 In this issue panel at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washing- ton, DC §§ Gender-Based Violence in South Asia October 28, 2013: Men, Peace & Security: Agents of Change §§ Harnessing ICT to End Violence Against Women in symposium at U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), Washington, Nepal DC January 31-February 2, 2014: Peshawar Civic Hackathon in §§ Technical and Financial Support to Address Gender Peshawar, Pakistan Based Violence May, 2014: World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings events to §§ The Promise of Expanding One-Stop Crisis Centers launch the regional report, Violence Against Women and Girls in Bangladesh in South Asia. 1 Harnessing ICT to End Violence Against Women in Nepal O n June 16, 2013, the World Bank’s South Asia Region information from victims of VAW, whereas the other two, Mero (SAR) brought together more than 100 tech-savvy Katha and Vaw Repo, will be used as a dissemination portal. youth and representatives from the public and private sectors for the Violence Against Women Hackathon in Kathman- All complaints from the Self-Help and Your Voice Our Support du, Nepal, where participants rapidly developed ICT solutions will be listed on the www.fightvaw.org site. Only authorized us- for GBV victims and the agencies that work to support them. ers will have access to the system and will be able to follow-up on Working collaboratively in 18 teams, participants spent the day the complaints and information collected. developing new software applications from start to finish, dili- gently moving from brainstorming sessions to programming and In collaboration with Nepali civil society organizations and pri- developing fully-functional prototypes. vate sector firms, all of the winning teams will continue to receive technical support to finalize and pilot their applications. Throughout the process, teams were attentive to the hackathon’s overarching design philosophy: to develop products which aid The hackathon was followed on June 17-18, 2013 by a regional domestic violence victims and the numerous agencies which conference in Kathmandu entitled Joining Forces to Overcome support them. At the conclusion of the day, teams presented Violence Against Women. The event, co-sponsored with Oxfam, their resulting projects before a panel of judges which includ- convened a diverse group of more than 150 stakeholders to dis- ed Isabel Guerrero (then Vice President, SAR), Maria Correia cuss the agenda for further mitigating GBV in South Asia. (Sector Manager, Social Development, SAR) and Minakshi Seth (Head of Communications, IFC South Asia). Conference sessions covered legal perspectives, evidence on what works, the challenge of changing social attitudes in South The jury selected three winning applications: Your Voice Our Asia, and engaging the public and private sectors, including poli- Support, Mero Katha and Self-Help. Additionally, all applications cy makers, government officials, academics, researchers, opinion are being incorporated into a comprehensive system to Fight leaders, donors, NGOs and media, to address the complexity of Violence Against Women. gender violence. Participants affirmed that the gravity of the is- The system is built not only on the three winning apps, but also sue calls for collective regional action focused on a comprehen- features other applications and the full development of a fourth sive approach. app—Vaw Repo and Social Campaigner—that were created dur- ing the hackathon. All these independent applications will be SAR continues to support the implementation of this exciting components of a single system piloted in coordination and col- hackathon initiative and held the next hackathon, Peshawar laboration with CSO partners in Nepal. Self-Help and Your Voice Civic Hackathon, January 31- February 2, 2014, which crowd Our Support will be primarily used to gather complaints and sourced solutions to civic issues in Pakistan. 2 Technical and Financial Support to Address Gender Based Violence O ne may immediately call into question whether the World Bank Group (WBG) should in fact have a role in addressing gender-based violence in South Asia: why should a multilateral financial institution be concerned with GBV? Quite simply stated, in addition to GBV being a human rights issue, gender-based violence has dire economic costs, which are undoubtedly counterproductive to the institution’s core goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared pros- perity. “Gender equality is smart economics. It has a multipli- er effect on impacts across a spectrum of development outcomes. A country can’t grow if it doesn’t give oppor- tunity to half of its population.” “We must address human capital issues, such as excess deaths of girls and women and gender gaps in educa- tion where these persist, closing earning and produc- tivity gaps between women and men; giving women greater voice in households and society; and limiting the perpetuation of gender inequality across genera- While the current indicators are certainly essential for achieving tions.” global gender equality, can men and women in a given country ~Philippe Le Houérou, be equal if one gender is disproportionately subjected to domes- World Bank Vice President for South Asia Region tic assault, rape, acid attacks, forced and child marriages, and honor killings? To what extent can women truly be economically empowered, and exercise their own agency if they must face such For instance, in Bangladesh alone, CARE International has es- forms of violence on a daily basis? timated that in 2010, a total of Taka 14,071 crore was lost as a result of domestic violence, the equivalent of 2.05 percent of the Historically, WBG has invested relatively little to address sexual GDP.”2 In light of such realities, how can an institution so thor- and gender based violence (SGBV). A strategic review conduct- oughly invested in ending extreme poverty and boosting shared ed in October 2013, Sexual and Gender Based Violence: What prosperity stand on the sidelines? The realities of GBV simply is the World Bank Doing and What Have We Learned, revealed cannot be ignored. that SAR was in second- to-last place compared to other regions, with SAR only having two projects with some focus on GBV. SAR, having thoroughly acknowledged GBV as an issue, and comprehensively responding to the matter, also brings into However, attention to SGBV is growing within the Bank portfo- question the role of GBV in the wider context of international lio and diversifying to new financial instruments. Since 2012, 12 development, particularly in regard to the UN’s Millennium De- new WBG projects with an exclusive or priority focus on SGBV, velopment Goals (MDGs). The third MDG aims to “promote totaling $18.6 million, have been approved. gender equality and empower women,” and encompasses four key indicators, none of which directly reference GBV. On April 18, 2013, SAR hosted a panel, Breaking the Silence, in Washington, DC at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings. The panel featured attorneys and activists from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan who questioned the effectiveness of tougher sentencing 2 Summary of Domestic Violence Against Women: Cost to the Nation Re- port. Original report by Dr. Kaniz Siddique. CARE Bangladesh, 2012. http://www. laws on perpetrators of VAW and argued that the solution lies in carebangladesh.org/publication/Publication_1010212.pdf changing attitudes toward women. 3 On October 11, 2013, the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction & will be analyzed in order to highlight key actors and promising Economic Management Network, Gender and Development interventions. The report will identify critical gaps in research, (PRMGE) hosted a panel, Tackling Gender-Based Violence After program evaluations, and interventions in order to provide 2015. Panelists explored why gender, specifically gender-based strategic recommendations for policy makers, civil society, and violence, should be a standalone goal in the post-2015 Millen- other stakeholders working to mitigate violence against women nium Development Goals (MDGs) framework. WBG work has in South Asia. been ramping up significantly given that GBV is an important barrier to poverty reduction and shared prosperity. To support additional development of the GBV program, SAR is receiving grant funding from the Umbrella Facility for Gender WBG has also used its convening power to host conferences Equality (UFGE). These funds will focus on (i) increasing the and panels on SGBV, raising awareness of the issue amongst de- availability of data and evidence on GBV; (ii) engaging donors, velopment agencies and other partners. On October 28, 2013, regional government partners, civil society and other groups to the World Bank co-hosted a symposium, Men, Peace & Security: increase the effectiveness of GBV programs in the region; and Agents of Change, with U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), Stockholm (iii) learning from innovative programs that pay special atten- International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) – North Ameri- tion to all three dimensions of GBV—in the home, work place ca, Women in International Security (WIIS), Promundo – US, and public spaces—to change social norms and address views and Sonke Gender Justice. on masculinity in the region. The funds will result in continued The symposium brought together scholars, policymakers, prac- activities in the area of gender, ICT and youth and the formation titioners and military and security personnel from around the of a new SAR Gender Innovation Lab. world to explore the dynamic and complex roles of men during violent conflict and post-conflict, including their roles as com- The sheer principle of gender equality aside, GBV in all of its batants, perpetrators, victims, witnesses and survivors of sexual forms are directly detrimental to development. It reduces wom- violence, and as agents of potential positive change. en’s access to education, healthcare and other essential services, lowering productivity and access to economic opportunities, Following the symposium, USIP published a special report The which underpin all of the other MDGs, as well as wider develop- Other Side of Gender: Men as Critical Agents of Change, which ment efforts. With 2015 on the horizon, the MDGs will likely be provides an understanding how the ascribed roles of men and re-assessed, providing an opportunity for the development com- women and masculine and feminine identities contribute to and munity to voice the matter as an issue of prime concern. can help mitigate violence in conflict and postconflict settings. WBG is also leveraging its institutional strengths to mitigate vio- lence in South Asia by providing technical and financial support across a wide array of sectors. The World Bank’s South Asia Re- gion is addressing GBV in the region. SAR is developing an upcoming regional report to be published in May 2014, Violence Against Women and Girls in South Asia. The report will explore the different types of violence that wom- en may face throughout their lives, as well as the associated per- petrators (male and female), risk and protective factors for both victims and perpetrators, and interventions to address violence across all life cycle stages. The report will also analyze the societal factors that drive the primarily male — but also female — per- petrators to commit violence against women in the region. For each stage and type of violence, the report will critically review existing research from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, supplemented by origi- nal analysis and select literature from outside the region. Poli- cies and programs that address violence against women and girls 4 The Promise of Expanding One-Stop Crisis Centers in Bangladesh I t has been largely observed that women across the globe are reluctant to approach formal agencies or authorities for assistance following incidents of gender-based violence. More specifically, a multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence against women conducted by the WHO observed that there was a tendency for women to first ap- proach members of their informal social net- works (which include family, friends, and neigh- bors) regarding their experiences, rather than immediately informing individuals in positions of authority (including religious or traditional leaders, health personnel, police, counselors, or staff from women’s NGOs).3 More specifically, in the case of Bangladesh, the report revealed that the country ranked amongst the sample countries in which women were least likely to legal assistance, psychological counseling, and shelter ser- have contact with, and seek assistance from official agencies vice; they coordinate with local NGOs to provide addition- and authorities regarding an experience of domestic vio- al support services. Due to their comprehensive nature, of lence. the OCCs will greatly simplify access to a wide array of There are several theories to explain why these women may individual support services, thereby reducing much of the be reluctant to approach official agencies and authorities strain and difficulty required to procure them individually. for support, including cultural norms, familial duties, or a sheer lack of access to services. The breadth and complexity The World Bank is currently providing the MSP-VAW with of services required by victims may also cause an individual the technical assistance needed to rapidly expand the na- to simply feel overwhelmed, and unsure of where or how to tional presence of OCCs. With continued support from begin addressing their needs. They often require a compre- the Bank, the MSP-VAW anticipates that all 60 planned lo- hensive combination of medical attention, counseling, and cations will be operational this year. In building upon the legal support, amongst other services, are often needed by success of the current OCCs, it may indeed be possible to victims; procuring all of these services is a difficult and time stem the culture of reluctance amongst victims of gender consuming endeavor. based violence in Bangladesh to seek support services. Recognizing the multi-dimensional needs of the victims of GBV, the Government of Bangladesh, in partnership with the Government of Denmark, developed the Multi-Sectoral Program on Violence Against Women (MSP-VAW), which has established eight One-Stop Crisis Centers (OCCs) to assist women victims of domestic and public violence. The centers provide health care, police assistance, social services, 3 Summary Report: WHO Multi-country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women. Initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women’s responses. 5 For more information and to become involved in SAGE activities, please contact: Social Development Unit: Jennifer Solotaroff, Maria Correia, Indira M. Edwards, Dustin Smith Country Teams: Sector and Service Units: Afghanistan: Asta Olesen and Rebecca Haines PREM: John Lincoln Newman Bangladesh: Jessica Leino, Sabah Moyeen HD: Jessica Leino, Nkosi Mbuya, Yoko Nagashima Bhutan: Stefania Abakerli Finance/PSD: Martin Maxwell Norman, Sarah Iqbal India: Sangeeta Kumari SD: Parmesh Shah, Bernice Van Bronkorst, Luis Andres, Maldives: Parthapriya Ghosh Nishtha Mehta Nepal: Bandita Sijapati SARSQ: Zia Al Jalaly Pakistan: Mehreen Muqaddissa SAREX: Alison Reeves Sri Lanka: M. Razaak Ghani 6