GBV RESPONDERS NETWORK
Resources for addressing gender-based violence against women and girls in humanitarian settings.
GBV RESPONDERS NETWORK
The EA$E framework addresses women’s economic empowerment through a group process that combines three successive components. In the first stage, women-only Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) are formed and participants begin to save small amounts of money as they work to a build a collective social support network. In the second stage, VSLA members invite their spouses or partners to join a structured discussion series on gender norms and how they function at the household level to undermine women’s economic participation both in the home and in society at large. Through a series of activities, groups identify and explore manifestations of male privilege and women’s oppression, learn and practice non-violent conflict resolution strategies, and brainstorm ways to work toward gender equality in their families and communities. Because of the correlation between women’s initial gains of economic empowerment and increased risks of intimate partner violence, starting the group discussion series before the pay-out of the first cycle of savings is essential. In the third stage, women are engaged in business skills training to explore business investment options for their share out money with the intent of growing and sustaining their incomes.
