1. Impact of BRAC’s Coordinated Approach in Addressing Violence against Women and Children
- Author:
- Samir Ranjan Nath, Ruman Ali, Sharin Shajahan Naomi, and Raihana Azim Upoma
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
- Abstract:
- Violence against Women and Children (VAWC) is a significant obstacle to reduce poverty, and achieve gender equality that is closely associated with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). BRAC’s five years strategic plan (2016-2020) includes reducing violence, which indicates BRAC’s priority and concern to continue and develop its interventions for addressing violence against women and children. Part of this endeavour includes understanding existing gaps in the interventions and envisioning stronger interventions. Although BRAC’s six programs viz., CEP, HRLS, GJ&D, BEP, MF and HNPP have huge outreach across Bangladesh for creating awareness and taking action against VAWC, these programs have worked separately to combat the issue. The VAWC project intends to work on a comprehensive VAWC model that would bring coordination among the existing components or platforms functional in four programs to address the violence in three areas: protection, prevention and rehabilitation. This intervention of the coordinated approach is currently being piloted in Cumilla and Gazipur district of Bangladesh. After completion of the intervention, RED has conducted this study to see the impact of the intervention as well as the effectiveness of the coordinated approach that the program applied. The end line survey was focused on intimate partner violence as well as violence against children, and the qualitative part explored how the coordinated approach is working in the field through combining different program’s interventions. The quantitative survey found limited success of the program’s impact on intimate partner violence and violence against children that are deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology. However, the qualitative study found effectiveness and promising aspects of the coordinated approach in the areas of reporting, legal justice, preventing early marriage, linkage with local government, journalists and community leaders, and reintegration. Taking insights from both of the studies, the research recommends exploring new means for creating awareness on patriarchal ideology, scaling up the interventions on a long-term basis as well as more advocacy with government and local leaders.
- Topic:
- Women, Sustainable Development Goals, Gender Based Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia