GBV RESPONDERS NETWORK
Resources for addressing gender-based violence against women and girls in humanitarian settings.
GBV RESPONDERS NETWORK
This page provides research reports, briefs and learning from evidence generated through WPE programming and with the support of IRC’s research team and academic partners across the world.
This brief synthesizes the key results of five years of What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls research studies. It provides an update for practitioners, policymakers and researchers on the state of evidence on VAWG in conflict and humanitarian settings and makes recommendations for VAWG policy, programming, and future research priorities.
This study, part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls research program, address the substantial gaps in understanding the intersections of violence against women and girls and conflict in South Sudan. The report outlines barriers to women and girls’ access to GBV response services and surfaces recommendations for policy makers and practitioners in South Sudan.
THIS STUDY, part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls program, focused on answering two overarching questions: how have programs and policies to prevent and respond to VAWG been integrated and addressed within post-conflict state-building policy and programming; and how is VAWG related to efforts to achieve peace and stability in conflict-affected countries.
This study, as part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls program used the 2005 IASC GBV Guidelines as a tool to understand how the humanitarian sector met the needs of women and girls in the Philippines; specifically looking at how prevention and mitigation of GBV were carried out in the early phase of the emergency response.
This study, part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls program, sought to explore the experiences of women when a typical humanitarian three-month unconditional cash transfer was given to a household in an acute emergency.
This study, as part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls program, presents findings from research which assessed a refugee community worker model in Dadaab refugee settlements in Kenya, to better understand its feasibility, acceptability, and influence among female survivors of GBV accessing care.
This study, part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls research program, explored how the use of mobile technology for service provision, information dissemination, empowerment activities, and data collection in humanitarian settings can have several benefits for women and girls. However, these advantages need to be reconciled with two critical challenges: (1) the unique barriers for women and girls to access and utilize technology and (2) the risks that technology might increase harm or gender-based violence, even if unintentionally.
Girl Empower is an innovative program designed to equip girls with the skills and experiences necessary to make healthy, strategic life choices and to stay safe from sexual exploitation and abuse. The Girl Empower program includes mentoring, asset building (life skills, financial literacy and savings) and caregiver discussion groups. This randomized evaluation aimed to assess the impact of Girl Empower alone and of Girl Empower plus a conditional cash transfer compared to no intervention on sexual exploitation among girls age 13-14 years.
Creating Opportunities through Mentorship, Parent involvement, and Safe Spaces (COMPASS) programming and research addressed adolescent girl safe space programming in humanitarian settings, including life skills training and asset building; mentoring activities; and engagement with service providers and caregivers to better prioritize and meet the needs of adolescent girls.
The IRC has implemented the Peer Outreach model in Turkana County, Kenya to ensure female sex-workers have safe and confidential access to comprehensive protection, HIV and reproductive health services. Through routine evaluation, IRC seeks to assess the acceptability and efficacy of targeted programming in increasing access to HIV and reproductive health services, case management and access to psychosocial support.
This study assesses mobile GBV response service delivery to examine the extent to which it is able to (1) meet the safety and support needs of refugee women and girls and (2) meet international standards to guarantee safety of GBV survivors and quality of services. Findings from the evaluation indicate that the delivery of mobile services contributed to improved wellbeing of Syrian refugee women and girls in numerous ways.
This study explores the how resilience to GBV is supported by receiving both cash transfers and GBV response services, rather than cash alone. The study found that receiving cash and attending the discussion groups with male partners can result in a decrease in intimate partner violence against women.
Gaps in knowledge remain regarding the services and support related to domestic violence and sexual assault that women need and want after arriving to the U.S. This brief highlights results from a multi-methods study that sought to address some of these knowledge gaps. Key findings inform recommendations for practitioners and agencies in the U.S., as well as policy makers, donors, and other stakeholders.
This study explores integrating domestic violence and sexual assault screening into refugee resettlement and finds that this approach shows promise in communicating that IRC is a safe space for women to discuss their experiences and concerns. The full evaluation report includes screening and response tools that can be used by refugee-serving agencies and domestic violence/sexual assault agencies.
Findings from this study in Dadaab Kenya, indicate that, with the appropriate measures taken and prerequisites met, GBV screening by health providers has the potential to 1) create a confidential environment where survivors can speak openly about their experiences with GBV, 2) ensure competent care and referrals based on individual needs and wishes of survivors, and 3) increase community awareness about GBV issues, thereby reducing stigma and improving attitudes.
This study identifies barriers to access, and to pilot and evaluate strategies for promoting disability inclusion in gender-based violence (GBV) programs. This study outlines how designing solutions to promote disability inclusion in GBV programs is possible and outlines recommendations and tools that can be used by practitioners working in humanitarian settings.
The study examined key drivers of intimate partner violence, consequences of violence, women’s decision-making after an experience of violence, and entry points for improved programming. Based on this research, as well as women’s recommendations, the brief also includes recommendations for practitioners working in humanitarian settings.
This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of socio-economic programs aimed to prevent GBV and improve economic well-being among urban Ivorian women.
This study determined the impact of a distribution of handheld solar lights on women and girl’s perceptions of their own safety in two IDP camps in Haiti.
This study explores the women’s perceptions of the causes of IPV and respondents reflections that war also resulted in women becoming economically active, which was said by some to have decreased IPV, as the pressure on men to provide for their families reduced. Economic independence, together with services provided by NGOs, also gave women the option of leaving a violent relationship.
This study aimed to assess the feasibility and performance of an adapted mental health intervention in reducing psychological distress and increasing functioning of child survivors of sexual violence and other forms of trauma in refugee settings.
This study aims to identify low-cost, scalable interventions that demonstrably improve the mental, social, physical, and economic functioning of women survivors of sexual violence living in Eastern DRC.
This study evaluates whether participation in a savings group and a discussion group confronting gender norms leads to an increase in women’s individual agency and decision-making ability, and whether those increased capacities will in turn improve their economic independence and decrease intimate partner violence in their homes.
This study explored the impact of men’s groups on women’s empowerment and intimate partner violence in conflict-affected communities Côte d’Ivoire.
This evaluation examined sustained facility-wide changes in staff competency, compassion, and care delivery three months following Clinical Care for Sexual Assault Survivors training in Kenya, Ethiopia, DRC and Jordan.