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112. Legislative Wins, Broken Promises: Gaps in implementation of laws on violence against women and girls
- Author:
- Christine Hughes
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This multi-country research report examines the problem of implementation gaps – government failures to fulfill their legislative obligations to address and prevent violence against women and girls. It presents a comparative analysis of shortfalls between government commitments as laid out in laws, and the realities for survivors of violence as they try to access services and justice. Drawing also on positive examples, lessons are shared about what can be done to improve the implementation of laws, and how civil society organizations can more effectively hold governments to account, so that laws can have a greater impact on ending violence against women and girls.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Gender Issues, Governance, and Gender Based Violence
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
113. Women’s Empowerment in South Africa: Evaluation of the Raising Her Voice project
- Author:
- Gavin Stedman-Bryce
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2015/16, selected for review under the women’s empowerment thematic area. This report documents the findings of an impact evaluation, carried out in January 2016. The purpose of the evaluation was to rigorously assess the effectiveness of the Raising Her Voice project in South Africa (RHV-SA), in terms of its contribution to greater women’s empowerment. Usually, evaluations under this thematic area are evaluated using quasi-experimental impact evaluation techniques. In this case, given the characteristics of the project, a different impact evaluation technique has been applied, called process tracing. Where interventions have small sample sizes for evaluators to draw from (referred to as small ‘n’ evaluations), this can make it difficult to adopt traditional counterfactual approaches to establishing causality for a range of technical and practical reasons. This is a situation typically faced in projects under Oxfam’s Good Governance outcome area (previously known as Citizen Voice and Policy Influencing). Evaluations of interventions under this outcome area are concerned with establishing whether or not they contributed to an observed change; in other words, they are concerned with assessing a causal claim. To make this type of assessment possible, Oxfam developed a pre-qualified protocol, based on process tracing.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Governance, Gender Based Violence, and Feminism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
114. Young Couples in Good Times and in Bad: Social Norms that Perpetuate Violence Against Women and Girls Among Young Tunisians in Peri-urban Areas
- Author:
- Saskia van Veen, Salma Jrad, and Galand Soufia
- Publication Date:
- 07-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Around half of women in Tunisia have experienced some form of violence in their life. Over 90% of the population thinks women should be discreet to avoid violence in public spaces. From the perspective of Oxfam and dozens of women’s rights organisations, social norms that legitimise gender inequality and violence are rooted in the deeply entrenched belief – found, to some extent, in every country – that men and boys are more valuable than women and girls. ENOUGH, a worldwide Oxfam campaign, aims to replace harmful social norms with more positive ones that promote gender equality and non-violence. To better understand how social norms are constructed among young people in Tunisia and how they influence behaviour, Oxfam Tunisia conducted formative research by interviewing 40 young men and women and analysing the results with experts, NGOs and bloggers working on violence against women and girls (VAWG). From the research and subsequent analysis in a workshop, three social norms were identified as drivers of violence: women should not strive for equal decision-making status in their relationship; women should prioritise home and family over public or professional life; and women should behave in public in a way that respects male domination. This research will inform the development of the ENOUGH campaign in Tunisia, sharpening its focus on changing the norms that underlie VAWG.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Gender Issues, Gender Based Violence, and Norms
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Tunisia
115. We Will Survive: Women’s Rights and Civic Activism in Yemen’s Endless War
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
- Abstract:
- Reflecting on the experiences of Yemeni women during the uprising, the transitional period and the national dialogue, this report provides a brief snapshot of the deteriorating humanitarian and socioeconomic conditions, the security concerns, the thwarted constitutional process and evolving political landscape and its implication for women. It highlights key recommendations to international and domestic actors with regard to peace, security and equality for Yemenis in the future.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Civil Society, Gender Issues, Violent Extremism, Women, Arab Spring, Gender Based Violence, Humanitarian Crisis, WPS, and Civil Society Organizations
- Political Geography:
- Yemen
116. ‘There’s no thing as a whole story’: Storytelling and the healing of sexual violence survivors among women and girls in Acholiland, northern Uganda
- Author:
- Seun Bamidele
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Storytelling has become an acceptable intervention tool among transitional justice promoters and peace-builders because of its cathartic nature and ability to help society in transition to come to terms with a traumatic past. It has played a significant role in the area of truth finding and accountability and has been widely used in several countries in the last decade. In this article the focus is on Acholi women and girls in Acholiland, northern Uganda, who have suffered most severely from the impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. Their stories of trauma in the face of terror have not been properly acknowledged. This paper examines the role of storytelling in the healing of sexual violence survivors. It argues that constructive storytelling projects can provide an avenue for survivors of sexual violence to acknowledge trauma and attain healing, and counter the violent narrative of the group. Finally, the paper proposes a platform for a community initiative storytelling project.
- Topic:
- Women, Gender Based Violence, Trauma, Memory, and Sexual Violence
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa
117. From the Ground Up: Gender and conflict analysis in Yemen
- Author:
- Wolfgang Gressmann
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Conflicts and humanitarian crises affect men, women, girls, and boys differently due to their different societal roles and the deep-rooted socio-cultural and economic inequalities which become exacerbated during crises. Men and boys form the vast majority of direct victims of armed conflict and associated impacts like forced recruitment or arbitrary detention. Women bear the burdens of running the households under extreme stress and are often exposed to different forms of gender-based violence. During emergencies, women and girls become more vulnerable as basic services collapse and livelihoods diminish. In order to better understand the impact of armed conflict on men, women, boys, and girls, and the changes that have resulted in gender roles and relationships at household and community levels since the onset of conflict in March 2015, Oxfam, CARE and GenCap in Yemen collaborated to collect and analyse available data to further inform immediate humanitarian response as well as longer-term programming in Yemen.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Gender Based Violence, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, and Persian Gulf
118. Gender Bias in Education During Conflict: Evidence From Assam
- Author:
- Sutanuka Roy and Prakarsh Singh
- Publication Date:
- 11-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for the Advanced Study of India
- Abstract:
- Using a large-scale novel panel dataset (2005–14) on schools from the Indian state of Assam, we test for the impact of violent conflict on female students’ enrollment rates. We find that a doubling of average killings in a district-year leads to a 13 per cent drop in girls’ enrollment rate with school fixed effects. Additionally, results remain similar when using an alternative definition of conflict from a different dataset. Gender differential responses are more negative for lower grades, rural schools, poorer districts, and for schools run by local and private unaided bodies.
- Topic:
- Education, Gender Issues, and Gender Based Violence
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
119. Getting the past right in West Africa and beyond: Challenging structures through addressing gender-based violence in mediation
- Author:
- Elisa Tarnaala
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Fifteen years after the launch of the UN’s landmark resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, its recommendations concerning women as civil society actors, and women as victims of conflicts, have become part of a largely accepted and standardised guide for the international community and in many states. Fewer advances have been made with involving politically skilled women in high-level negotiations and understanding the wider processes of conflict mediation – where the basis for peace is crafted at different levels of society. This article offers insights on which issues should be taken into account regarding gender-based violence during mediation and suggests how a conflict context can be analysed from a perspective of gender and women. It also explores the issues that have dominated the agenda of peacemaking in West Africa in particular and across the continent, in order to provide real-world examples of peace and transitional processes where lessons can be learnt about addressing or failing to address gender-based violence. A transformative and inclusive peace process that changes conceptions of the status quo, fights gender-based violence, and includes women in post-conflict planning could remove many risks from women’s agency in post-conflict peace and security. It could gradually reform structural factors that constrain women’s participation.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, United Nations, Women, Gender Based Violence, and UN Security Council
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Liberia, West Africa, and Côte d'Ivoire
120. Somali Solutions: Creating conditions for a gender-just peace
- Author:
- Siham Rayale, Ed Pomfret, and Deborah Wright
- Publication Date:
- 08-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This report looks at Somali women's experiences with conflict, peace, violence, insecurity and state rebuilding. It uses an approach geared towards gender-just peace-building to understand the ways in which Somali women have fulfilled their role as agents of change, while navigating the challenges posed by women's exclusion from many forms of public life (government, civil society, universities, open markets etc). Interviews and focus groups have been used to illustrate diverse perspectives and to demonstrate that Somali women have always been principal agents of change and social transformation. The report's recommendations are an acknowledgement of the role Somali women have played throughout the course of Somali history, and continue to play today, in shaping the pathway towards greater participation for women across Somali regions, and the challenges they face in so doing.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Social Movement, Women, and Gender Based Violence
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somalia