News and Commentary

Why is Big Business Investing in Women & Girls?

swon — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:11:18 +0000

‘Third Billion’ campaign launched this week; ICRW announces its March 7 Passports to Progress event

Fri, 02/03/2012

Private sector philanthropic initiatives to economically empower women have rapidly proliferated in recent years.

Private sector philanthropic initiatives to economically empower women have rapidly proliferated in recent years. From blue chip companies to Wall Street investment firms, CEOs and bankers have come to recognize both the charitable and bottom line benefits of bringing women everywhere – half of the world's population – into the world of business.

This week, La Pietra Coalition, an alliance of corporations, governments, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions supporting women's economic empowerment, launched the 'Third Billion' campaign with the goal of preparing and enabling one billion women to enter the global economy by 2025. It is a goal that reflects La Pietra member International Center for Research on Women's (ICRW) own vision.

Much of the momentum can be attributed to a growing body of evidence produced by institutions like ICRW showing that women's economic participation is critical in the fight against poverty in low-income countries. It is also a largely untapped source of potential growth. As The Economist put it in 2006, "Forget China, India and the Internet, economic growth is driven by women."

While the strategic objectives are clear, there are more questions than answers about which tactics are working – and which are not. Where is the private sector investing? Who is benefitting and how? What real change have we seen in the lives of women and girls? Is there evidence of economic growth, however nascent?

Along with a diverse panel of corporate and social enterprise investors, ICRW will strive to answer some of these questions and others at its fourth Passports to Progress on March 7, the eve of International Women's Day. The event builds on previous discussions about creating new opportunities for women and addressing the challenges that continue to stand in their way. Join us in Washington D.C. to find out – in their own words – how and why big business interests are banking on the future of women and girls half a world away.

ICRW's latest reports on economically empowering women:

Understanding and Measuring Women's Economic Empowerment
Bridging the Gender Divide: How Technology Can Advance Women Economically
Innovation for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality

Youth Program Expands to Vietnam

swon — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:31:02 +0000

Gender Equality Movement in Schools (GEMS) to be adopted in Da Nang province

Wed, 01/11/2012

Gillian Gaynair

ICRW’s program that promotes equality among girls and boys in Mumbai-area schools is now taking root in a central Vietnamese province.

An International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) program in India that encourages gender equality among youth through the public school system now is being adopted in Vietnam.

Da Nang province in central Vietnam will roll out a culturally relevant adaptation of ICRW’s Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS) program over the next three years. ICRW experts will help develop training materials and classroom curriculum for teachers to implement the program as well as design a process to evaluate its impact among students.

GEMS’s expansion to Vietnam builds on a growing body of ICRW research and programs that focus on encouraging more equity between girls and boys. Experts hope that evidence gathered from the India and Vietnam programs can inform future policy discussions around education systems’ role in promoting non-violence and gender equality, as well as spark increased investments in such efforts targeting young people.

“Public education systems greatly influence attitudes among young people but are under-utilized in promoting gender-equitable norms,” explained Ravi Verma, director of ICRW’s Asia Regional Office in New Delhi. “GEMS aims to change this.”

ICRW launched GEMS in 2008 in 30 Mumbai schools. Through interactive activities, the program champions equal relationships between girls and boys, dissects norms that define men's and women's roles in society, and addresses different forms of violence and how to intervene. GEMS students, who are 12 to 14 years old, also learn how and why their bodies change during puberty as well as talk about what makes for healthy relationships.

In 2011, GEMS began an expansion into 250 additional schools in the Mumbai area. Among the materials facilitators use in the school setting is the GEMS Diary, which Verma said is currently being translated into Vietnamese for its new audience.

Gillian Gaynair is ICRW’s senior writer and editor.

ICRW Rated as High Impact Nonprofit by Industry Experts

swon — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:57:55 +0000

Group of 77 experts ranks ICRW as one of top 14 organizations

Thu, 01/05/2012

Philanthropedia identifies ICRW as one of the most effective in reducing violence against women internationally.

A group of 77 experts identified ICRW as one of 14 high-impact nonprofits working to reduce violence against women internationally. Experts noted ICRW was an“influential think-tank that focuses on issues affecting women” with “committed and qualified staff” who do “high quality research.”

The rankings were facilitated by Philanthropedia, a nonprofit organization working to help donors make smarter donations by connecting them with some of the highest impact nonprofits in a cause. A subsidiary of Guidestar, Philanthropedia surveys foundation professionals, academics, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, policy makers, and other professionals to establish nonprofit ratings.

Read more about Philanthropedia’s ratings of high impact nonprofits.

Support our efforts to combat
violence against women

A Look Back: Making a Difference for Women and Girls in 2011

ggaynair — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:43:52 +0000

ICRW highlights accomplishments from 2011

Tue, 12/20/2011

As we approach a new year, we share highlights from our work in 2011, which marked ICRW’s 35^th anniversary. Thanks to all of our partners and donors for your contributions to our efforts.

ICRW marked its 35^th anniversary in 2011, and as the year draws to a close, we share some highlights. Thanks to all of our partners and donors for your contributions to our work.

Passports to Progress

ICRW launched our Passports to Progress discussion series to spark rich conversation about issues likely to shape women’s lives in the coming years. We kicked off the series on International Women’s Day, with a top-notch panel that included Rajiv Shah, USAID administrator, Cherie Blair, former British first lady and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, Tim Hanstad, president and CEO of Landesa, and Bobbi Silten, chief foundation officer at Gap Inc. Our debut Passports to Progress panel discussed how innovative technologies, ideas and approaches have the power to change the trajectory of women’s lives in developing countries.

Subsequent panels in our anniversary discussion series addressed solutions for ending violence against women and how to economically empower women worldwide. We plan to continue the discussions in 2012, so stay tuned.

Champions for Change Award for Innovation

We recognized Gap Inc. for its P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) program this year with our annual Champions for Change Award for Innovation. The award honors an organization working to advance the health, well-being and economic progress of women and girls through their policies, programs and partnerships. Gap’s P.A.C.E. program was developed in 2006 to provide life and technical skills education to women who work in garment factories. The program aims to help them progress in the workplace and in their personal lives.

ICRW is the global evaluation partner on P.A.C.E., which operates in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Gap Inc.’s chief foundation officer, Bobbi Silten, accepted the award on International Women’s Day, saying that the women with whom P.A.C.E. works “are not only changing their lives, but they’re bringing change to the lives of their families and communities. We really believe at Gap Inc. that if we can advance women, we can change the world.”

At the annual Clinton Global Initiative in September, former President Bill Clinton also recognized P.A.C.E. as an exemplary example of economically advancing women worldwide.

Ending Child Marriage

ICRW’s long-standing work on preventing child marriage – and the issue itself – gained much attention in 2011. We released “Solutions to End Child Marriage: What the Evidence Shows,” which summarizes child marriage prevention approaches that work and recommends a way forward. We saw the issue – and our efforts and experts – featured in major news outlets, including National Geographic, The Daily Beast and Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw, as well as at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. We also were invited to share our insights with our partners at The Elders, who this year launched “Girls Not Brides,” a global campaign to end child marriage.

More than ever, we believe it’s critical that we capitalize on this unprecedented global attention on child marriage. Now is the time to harness this collective will to make sure that no girl is forced to wed and give up her dreams.

Want to keep up with our work to prevent child marriage? Sign up to receive our monthly newsletters to hear about our latest efforts.

Strengthening Women Economically

One of the ways that ICRW helped advance the gender and global development this year was with the release of our new guide to help evaluate whether programs to strengthen women economically are working. We found that a growing number of organizations – from government bodies to private companies – are committed to helping the world’s women succeed economically. But few know exactly how to get there. And that’s what our “Understanding and Measuring Women’s Economic Empowerment” essentially covers.

Read more about what one of the report’s authors had to say about the guide and download a copy of the report.

Teenagers and Gender Equality

Our program in Mumbai, India, that promotes more equitable roles between boys and girls and less violence grew significantly in 2011. Called Gender Equity Movement in Schools (GEMS), the program and research study took place in 30 schools, targeting 12-14 year old students. All told, GEMS reached 8,000 youth.

Now, the principles of GEMS are being integrated into more school lessons – specifically, 250 additional Mumbai schools are taking on the program, which will reach upwards of 80,000 girls and boys by 2014. The program also has been adopted in Vietnam’s Da Nang province.

Working with Men and Boys

In January 2011, we released the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), a three-year, multi-country household survey that gave a window into men’s attitudes and behaviors on topics related to gender equality. IMAGES offered one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of how men feel and act about everything from changing diapers to using violence.

Overall, the results demonstrated the complex – and at times contradictory – nature of men’s behavior. And they suggested that while most men accept the notion of gender equality and understand it intellectually, they don’t necessarily change their behaviors – at least not quickly.

Data from IMAGES provides a blueprint for how to shape or revise policies and improve existing programs that work with men to empower women and promote gender equality.

Commentary: Generation Girl

swon — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:32:29 +0000

It’s time to end child marriage

Mon, 12/19/2011

By Sarah Degnan Kambou

Every day an estimated 25,000 girls are married off against their will, which leads to tragic consequences for girls and their societies. It doesn’t have to be this way. With growing global momentum to stop this harmful practice, the time is ripe to ensure no girl is forced to marry too young and give up her dreams.

Every day an estimated 25,000 girls are married off against their will. Some are as young as eight years old. Others have just entered puberty. No matter their age, the moment the wedding ceremony ends, so do the girls’ dreams of becoming a teacher, a health worker, a lawyer.

It’s a tragic scenario, but not just for girls. It’s tragic for all of us who desire an economically stable, healthy world. Instead of growing up to be women who can contribute to the overall well-being of their families and communities, most child brides will drop out of school. From Yemen to Nicaragua, many girls will give birth while their own bodies are still developing, leading to terrible health problems. Most will live in servitude and suffer abuse. These are common outcomes of child marriage that perpetuate the cycle of poverty, lack of education, poor health and gender inequity in low-income societies.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Investing now in girls at risk of early marriage can yield lasting social and economic benefits not only for the girls themselves, but their families and society, too. It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the smart thing to do.

ICRW has been advocating for the past decade on the need to end the harmful practice child marriage from a development, human rights and gender equity perspective. We have been putting ideas to practice in countries like Ethiopia and India. And now we find ourselves in the midst of an unprecedented growing movement to end child marriage: The Elders, an eminent group of former leaders like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson, this year launched Girls Not Brides, a global campaign to raise awareness of the ills caused by child marriage. Other influential individuals also are shining a spotlight on the practice, such as award-winning photographer Stephanie Sinclair whose images documenting child brides have brought the issue into the mainstream. And news outlets such as The Daily Beast, National Geographic and many more are finally bringing much-needed attention to the poorest, most remote parts of the world where child marriage persists.

We must rush to take advantage of the global attention and harness this collective will so that girls are valued for being girls, rather than being considered economic burdens on their families. On the contrary, if they remain unmarried and are allowed to finish high school, girls at risk of child marriage can contribute to a future generation that could break free of the painful grip of acute poverty.

Indeed, in societies where early marriage is most common, girls are not valued in the same ways as boys. This is not to say that their families don’t love them. Many girls’ parents want to delay marriage, but with scant resources and social pressures, they feel they are left with no alternative.

But there are alternatives. Harmful social norms can – and do – change. The promising practices ICRW has uncovered are a starting point for creating a more equitable environment for girls. And what’s more, there is evidence that they are working.

Some approaches that address the multiple causes and consequences of child marriage include: Arming girls with information, skills and support networks so they gain confidence and know themselves, their world and their options; educating parents on the long-term economic benefits of delaying marriage; mobilizing communities to adopt social norms that support those willing to buck the custom of early marriage; and offering economic incentives for girls and their families, who often are motivated by poverty and the lack of viable income-generating options.

More than any other time in recent history, this is the moment to redouble our joint efforts and work toward ending the harmful practice of child marriage so no girl is forced to wed too young and give up her dreams. Let’s do just that by making more investments and demonstrating the political will to create the first generation of girls who will rightly worry about finishing their homework, instead of feeding their husbands.

Sarah Degnan Kambou is president of the International Center for Research on Women.

Girls Take HIV Risk into Their Own Hands

ggaynair — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:09:13 +0000

ICRW project offers promising model for adolescent girl programs

Wed, 11/30/2011

By Gillian Gaynair

A pilot program designed by ICRW in Tanzania begins to shift social norms that make adolescent girls more at risk of HIV infection and unwanted pregnancies. It offers a promising – and needed – model that can be applied in a variety of settings.

In Tanzania's remote Newala District, adolescent girls are met with unwanted sexual advances on their way to the neighbor's house, to the water well, to the store. They feel forced to give in. Sometimes, they're raped. Girls are even scared to go to school because, they say, some teachers "just want to have sex with you."

The girls of Newala are not alone in their predicament. It reflects the experience of girls in many sub-Saharan African communities, where nearly 60 percent of all people living with HIV are women, according to UNAIDS. Sexual violence – along with early marriage, sex for pay with much older men and multiple, concurrent partnerships – are everyday realities for teenage girls. It's an environment experts say is fueled by numerous factors, including poverty, a breakdown in family and harmful norms that define girls' place in society.

All of this puts 12- to 17-year-old girls in Newala at greater risk of being infected with HIV. Unfortunately, HIV programming for vulnerable children gives little attention to teenage girls, whose needs tend to be eclipsed by those of very young children who lack basic food and care. And because of this, research evidence on adolescent girls' specific vulnerabilities and how to reduce their HIV risk remains insufficient.

Experts at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) are working to change that.

ICRW was tapped by U.K.-based ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action program to study the variety of ways in which girls are susceptible to HIV in four Newala communities, and then design a pilot project to address the most pressing risks. Working in partnership with local nongovernmental organization Taasisi ya Maendeleo Shirikishi Arusha (TAMASHA), ICRW found that long-held social norms can begin to shift when girls are encouraged to talk about their experiences and when others, including boys, reflect on their own behaviors.

Called "Vijana Tunaweza Newala" or "Vitu Newala," which means "Newala Youth Can," the project in Tanzania adds to ICRW's ongoing research about best practices to serve youth, particularly girls, and provides a model that can be applied in other settings. It also places ICRW among a small subset of organizations globally that focuses on girls – instead of institutions, such as schools – to drive community-based social change.

"Too often, programs targeting vulnerable girls are created without actually talking to the girls," said Jennifer McCleary-Sills, an ICRW social and behavioral scientist who led the project. "What makes the approach ICRW designed for Vitu Newala unique is that it didn't treat adolescent girls as passive beneficiaries of a pre-packaged HIV prevention program. Instead, it empowered girls to define their own needs, lead and interpret research on the issues that affect them and educate their peers with activities they developed."

Meet them where they are

Located in southern Tanzania, Newala District is comprised of 28 rural, predominantly Muslim communities where families make a living farming cashews. It has one paved road. Mobile phone networks just developed more of a presence this year.

Women and girls here are expected to stay at home, and if they veer from that space, they risk harassment or sexual violence. The chances that girls will be sexually abused are so great that parents don't want to send their daughters to secondary school. Even taking part in Newala's traditional dance to mark girls' transition to womanhood has become risky. These days, young men attend. It's not uncommon for groups of them to fondle or sexually assault girls on the way home from the celebration.

"It all comes down to how gender is socially constructed – women are meant to live their lives primarily in the private, domestic sphere, whereas men control the public sphere," said Katherine Fritz, director of ICRW's global health research and programs. "When girls circulate in the public sphere, it can be seen as something that's outside of the norm and potentially provocative. If a girl is assaulted while moving around by herself, many people draw the conclusion that 'she asked for it.'"

Further fueling the situation, very few girls and boys grow up with two parents at home, in part because they have died from AIDS. When one or both parents die or separate, children often are left with grandparents or on their own. Researchers found that a number of teenage girls in Newala are heading households and providing for their siblings, a trend that has plagued girls across sub-Saharan Africa for years in countries where HIV-rates are high.

Such fractured families and the lack of adult presence in girls' lives contribute to their vulnerable state: Many are wooed by much older men who pay the girls for sex and help provide for their basic needs as well as those of their siblings. Sometimes, girls will have a series of such partners over time.

To better understand and address teenage girls' risks in Newala, ICRW designed an approach that allowed girls and the community to turn a mirror on themselves, analyze what they saw and determine the changes they wanted to make. Here's how it worked:

Girls ages 18 to 24 were trained by TAMASHA to be youth researchers who aimed to better understand younger girls' lives in Newala. Researchers talked to 12 to 17 year olds about their aspirations and roadblocks to achieving them. They asked them to draw maps identifying spots in their communities where they felt unsafe. Girls were then encouraged to come up with ways to reduce the risks they faced.

Meanwhile, project researchers spoke with parents, community leaders and service providers in Newala to hear their perspectives. ICRW found that many adults put the onus on girls, accusing them of not making "better choices." Girls were expected to wait until they were adults – or ideally, married – to have sex. At the same time, researchers found that men and boys were not being held accountable for their actions.

Girls also told researchers they didn't feel as if anyone in the communities took responsibility for keeping them safe. Many were frustrated that they were blamed for not avoiding risks from which no one helped protect them. With that, TAMASHA asked the girls to suggest community members who should be responsible for making dangerous areas in their communities safer.

"The protective factors that used to be there in all African cultures have broken down," which is in part why men's behavior goes unchecked and girls' risks increasingly rise, said Richard Mabala, executive director of TAMASHA. "And there's nothing that has really taken its place."

"This is why we believe by young people coming together they can start creating what takes its place."

Youth lead social change

Indeed, young people were the driving force behind Vitu Newala, which essentially sought to empower youth to advocate for themselves and reduce their vulnerability to HIV. The program included activities created by adolescent girls and boys, such as dramatic plays, to learn about and discuss everything from reproductive health to goal setting. Together with adults, they figured out how to better protect the community's young people, especially girls.

Such communal reflection by boys and girls had never happened before in Newala. For most girls, it was the first time they'd been asked their opinion or share their experiences. McCleary-Sills said this required a delicate balance – after all, men and boys perpetuate the forms of violence that increase girls' vulnerability to HIV. But she said they had to be involved if the environment for Newala's girls was to change.

"It was a matter of bringing boys and girls together on equal footing – not as good and evil, or victim and aggressor – and empowering them all to be agents of social change in their communities," McCleary-Sills said.

Anecdotal evidence from Vitu Newala shows that the pilot program made a difference in a short time: With the exception of school, girls reported that they felt safer at some of the most risky locations identified in the formative research. Communities are now supporting Vitu Newala to create youth centers and some are rewriting bylaws to limit boys' participation in girls' initiation ceremony. And young people said they now think and act differently about sex, relationships and their future.

Even if limited in reach and scope, Vitu Newala offers a promising model that can be applied to other efforts targeting vulnerable girls in sub-Saharan African communities and elsewhere.

"Although what we know so far is a small amount, it does appear to be moving social norms in the direction we want," ICRW's Fritz said. "But we need continued support to document and measure the impact at the individual and community level over a longer period of time."

Read more about ICRW's work with adolescents: Boys and Girls Becoming Equals, Changing for the Better

Gillian Gaynair is ICRW's senior writer and editor.

Tanzanian Youth Speak Up

ggaynair — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:15:17 +0000

Vitu Newala participants share their experience, observations

Wed, 11/30/2011

By Gillian Gaynair

Anecdotal evidence shows that ICRW's Vitu Newala pilot program in Tanzania made a difference. The program's participants and youth researchers tell us about the the risks they face and how the project helped them.

ICRW applied its expertise in research, program design and evaluation to examine the variety of ways in which adolescent girls in four rural Tanzanian communities are vulnerable to HIV. In partnership with the local nongovernmental organization, Taasisi ya Maendeleo Shirikishi Arusha (TAMASHA), we then designed a pilot project to address girls’ most pressing risks. The project was called “Vijana Tunaweza Newala” or “Vitu Newala,” which means “Newala Youth Can.” It was implemented in Newala District, Tanzania.

The effort was unique because it was entirely driven by youth: Newala’s girls defined their own needs. They led and interpreted research on the issues that affected them. Then, together with other community members – including young men and adults – they came up with ways to reduce the risky environment that contributed to their vulnerability to HIV and unwanted pregnancies.

Anecdotal evidence shows that in a short time, Vitu Newala made a difference. Here’s what some of the youth researchers and program participants* told us about the risks they face and how the project helped them:

On perceptions of girls:

“People see me differently now because I’ve been called to do trainings ... Even adults see me as different from the other girls,” said Amina, a 21-year-old youth researcher. “I got different ideas and views from the other girls and I learned about the problems we face, even some I didn’t know about before. I was so happy to do the research and to talk to girls in my community.”

A 19-year-old young man who helped lead peer-to-peer activities said he thinks of girls in his community differently now. “These changes are very important to me, my friends and my family as now they know the consequence of men’s behavior towards girls,” he said. “Some of them are our sisters, because when we are doing this to the girls outside, there are some boys out there who are doing the same to our sisters.”

“People treat me differently now. I feel like a president! I feel different now because I’m able to talk to my peers and get them to listen to me. They take my advice and allow me to explain things to them,” said Hawa, 23.

“I have a daughter, and I have decided that I won’t initiate her too young. I might have done it before coming to do the research. Before, I didn’t know the problems that early initiation can cause.” Hawa said that when she does allow her daughter to participate in the initiation, “I want to be sure she has self-awareness and that she knows sex can lead to pregnancy, HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and other problems. I’ll teach her to avoid temptations from boys and men in the world. I’ll teach her how to say ‘no’ firmly.”

On sexual and reproductive health education:

“Teenage pregnancy is rampant in my village. Now, as an advisor, I can call the girls together and I can help,” said Hadija, 20. “I’m a girl like them; I can explain the dangers of boys in the community and help find ways to avoid these problems. I’d like to learn more about family planning to help them prevent pregnancy in the first place.”

Some girls said they don’t get any practical information at school about how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies. “They talk to us about our body and the different parts, but they don’t’ tell us anything useful,” said a participant from the 12- to 14-year-old group. “What we really need to know is how do girls get pregnant and how can we avoid that?”

“I was so happy at the first sessions because we talked about these things,” a 17-year-old girl said about discussions on sexuality and reproductive health. “Nobody else talks to us about these things.”

On girls’ risk and fractured families:

“I feel different about myself now because I’ve learned about things that put me at risk as a girl. Now I can avoid these dangers and can help other girls avoid them, too,” said 21-year-old Leila. “There are so many ways I’ve benefitted from this experience. We’re just happy that you thought about Newala and came here to help us deal with the problems we face. Now we hope you can do more things to help us make changes in Newala.”

“If your family sends you to the farm to work and you get raped in the bush, people ask you why you went to the farm alone. But why did they tell you to go there alone when they know it’s dangerous?” said a participant from the program’s 15- to 17-year-old group.

“Nowadays, families break up all the time and parents end up seeing children as a nuisance and nobody cares for them,” an adult community member said. “They end up begging in the streets. Nobody protects them or provides for them.”

“We’re learning because of this education,” a 17-year-old boy said. “Even for older men in their 40s, they used to go with girls as young as 12 or 15 years old and have sex with them. That character is changing now because they’re seeing the risks they bring to girls.”

*In accordance with ICRW’s research protocols, program participants are not identified.

MORE: Girls Take HIV Risk into Their Own Hands

Commentary: Getting to Zero

swon — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:21:17 +0000

Why Medical Science Alone Won’t Yield an AIDS-free Generation

Wed, 11/30/2011

By Katherine Fritz

On this World AIDS Day, ICRW challenges the global community to ensure solutions to the pandemic encompass both medical and social science. Only then will we achieve zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

Imagine this: A pregnant woman is infected with HIV, but she doesn’t know it. She’s unaware she could transmit the virus to her baby. However, if she were to take a pill at the right time during her pregnancy she could drastically reduce the chances of transmission. Sadly she does not, and another generation is born into the world living with HIV.

Tragic, preventable scenarios like these continue to play out again and again across the developing world today. Despite advances in the development and roll-out of antiretroviral drug regimens, 400,000 children were born with HIV in 2010, according to the latest report from UNAIDS.

The reasons why are varied and complex. The short answer is that medical approaches, such as drugs to prevent mother to child transmission, will inevitably run up against the obstacles of people and societies – their behaviors, motivations, and cultural and social norms. This can play out in a variety of ways: A woman decides against testing for fear of the stigma and discrimination that could come with a positive diagnosis. An HIV-positive mother cannot make it to the clinic for her treatment because it’s far from her home and the cost of transportation is too high or because she can’t afford to give up a day’s work in the fields.

Poverty, gender inequality, stigma and discrimination – these are invisible factors that increase an individual’s vulnerability to HIV infection, seriously undermining global prevention and treatment efforts. Thirty years into the epidemic, we still have more questions than answers when it comes to untangling how human behavior and social forces influence HIV vulnerability and developing interventions that work to mitigate them.

There are those who believe the underlying causes of HIV vulnerability are too complicated to be addressed by donor-funded global health programs. It’s much easier to count the number of people on treatment than it is to understand why a pregnant woman would turn down a chance to give her child a healthy start in life. Yet, complementary social science research is critical to fulfill the promise of medical breakthroughs like male circumcision, female microbicides and ultimately, perhaps, a vaccine. We must address social change in tandem with medical innovations to achieve zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

It’s a challenging approach. It will require more collaboration across many scientific disciplines. It will mean financial investments that encourage large, innovative studies. Take stigma and discrimination as an example. AIDS workers and researchers have long identified it as an entrenched barrier to prevention, treatment and care. Thanks to a decade of research and program work, we know what causes stigma. We know its consequences. And we have strategies that can effectively reduce it. Implementing a large-scale randomized study of a stigma-reduction intervention would yield much needed evidence on how such programs could be replicated. It has yet to be done.

To be fair, some trailblazing donors are focused on understanding the social drivers of HIV infection. The U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID) is funding a multidisciplinary consortium of research institutions, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and including ICRW, to investigate how to ameliorate the social factors that compromise HIV prevention and treatment. ICRW recently completed a three-year project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to identify how gender issues that put women at risk of infection can be addressed in national HIV plans. But we need much more.

The world has made tremendous progress in the fight against AIDS, so much so that an end to the pandemic is in sight. In a recent speech, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the global community toward achieving an AIDS-free generation and recommended that science guide our efforts.

“Success depends on deploying our tools based on the best available evidence,” she said. We could not agree more. But to get there, the evidence base must include all the scientific solutions – both medical and social.

Katherine Fritz is ICRW's director of global health.

Violence against Women is More Than a “Women’s Issue”

ggaynair — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:58:42 +0000

ICRW’s Mary Ellsberg discusses keys to eliminate violence against women

Wed, 11/23/2011

To kick off the 16 Days of Activism against Violence campaign, ICRW's Mary Ellsberg discusses how the anti-violence field as evolved and what it will take to eliminate violence against women globally.

Mary Ellsberg, ICRW’s vice president of research and programs, has worked to prevent violence against women for more than two decades. Below, she reflects on how the field has evolved and what she believes the keys are to ultimately eliminating violence against women. We thought her insights would be a timely way to kick off the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign, which runs from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10. Ellsberg responded to questions by e-mail.

ICRW: There seems to be quite a bit of buzz globally in the last few years about preventing violence against women. You have been working in this space for more than two decades now – how are the conversations different today?

Ellsberg: When I first became aware of violence against women in the early 90’s, no one was talking about it as a public health issue, let alone a human rights or development concern. In Nicaragua, where I was living and working in public health programs, most women who experienced domestic violence or rape didn’t tell anyone, either because of fear of the abuser or shame. Domestic violence was seen as a private family matter, and women were expected to suffer in silence and not dishonor their family by airing dirty laundry. Violence was rarely reported to the police, and the few women who did seek help were often treated with scorn. They were told to go home and learn how to be a good wife. As a result, most Nicaraguans assumed that rape and domestic violence were fairly rare in Nicaragua – certainly nothing that required special policies or programs.

I realized how mistaken that view was when I became involved with several community-based organizations that provided support to survivors of violence. I also later joined a large coalition of grassroots groups that conducted public awareness campaigns on the issue. That network drafted a law to criminalize domestic violence and protect survivors. However, we were told that without “hard numbers” showing that domestic violence was a problem in Nicaragua, no parliamentarian would ever support such a law. In response, the network partnered with a group of epidemiologists and conducted a study that ultimately revealed the breadth and frequency of domestic violence in Nicaragua. Armed with this evidence, the law we had proposed eventually passed unanimously.

Over the last 20 years, joint efforts such as these between women’s rights advocates and researchers worldwide have completely changed the conversation around violence against women. We now have hundreds of studies demonstrating that violence against women, from domestic violence to trafficking to sexual assault, are common in every society, with devastating effects on the lives of women and their families. Violence against women is finally receiving the attention it deserves as a critical human rights, health and development, issue. That is a huge change over a relatively short period of time.

ICRW: What aren’t people talking about and why?

Ellsberg: Although we have made incredible strides in terms of public awareness around violence against women, we have yet to see much of a difference in the lives of women on the ground. Initiatives such as the United Nations’ Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and legislative reforms in many countries have demonstrated international commitment to ending violence against women. But in most parts of the world, women and girls are no safer than they were 20 years ago. They are just as likely to be beaten or raped, to be mistreated or ignored by the justice and health systems. This is because laws are not being implemented, services for survivors are insufficient and of poor quality, and little has been done to change social norms that promote violence and discrimination against women.

ICRW: You’ve said violence against women is more than just a “women’s issue.” How so, and what can we learn from looking at it beyond this narrow frame?

Ellsberg: Because women and girls are the most common target of domestic and sexual violence, people often think of violence as a “women’s issue.” But violence against women and girls affects all members of society. For instance, studies have shown that not addressing the issue can take a toll on economies because of the costs incurred by the health and justice systems dealing with the consequences of violence.

Also, ending violence against women has been called the “missing target” in the Millennium Development Goals. It is most often viewed in the context of MDG3, which promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment. But violence undercuts every other development issue. The reality is that we cannot hope to make significant progress in achieving the ambitious goals of ending poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, improving maternal and child health and combating AIDS and other infectious diseases, unless we end violence against women and girls. After all, if we can’t keep women and girls safe, how will they be able to successfully achieve and education, protect themselves from HIV or soar in the workplace?

ICRW: What are – and have been – the major challenges to addressing violence against women in a sustainable way, and why?

Ellsberg: In recent years, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of innovative efforts to address violence against women that have shown promising results. But they tend to be small scale, underfunded and often poorly evaluated. Even when great results are achieved, very few of these are brought to a scale large enough to make a real difference. I’m not saying that ending violence against women is an easy task – there are no technological solutions, such as vaccines, that will solve the problem. Instead, it involves changing deeply entrenched values and behaviors, and this type of social change is never easy or fast. That said, the primary barriers to success are not technical. What we need is the political will on the part of governments to ensure that policies and laws are actually implemented, as well as a major and sustained financial investment on the part of governments and donors in order to make a difference. At the same time, we need to invest in rigorous evaluations, so that we can find out what works and what doesn’t, and make sure that our investments are achieving results.

ICRW: Are there a few key, universal approaches to eliminating violence against women in all its forms, whether it takes place in the home or in a war zone?

Ellsberg: Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” approach to ending violence against women. However, experiences from around the world have showed us a few key principles that should be considered in all efforts to address violence against women:

Women and girls need to be at the center of any strategy. Too often, women and girls are treated as victims who have to be told what to do. In fact, most survivors of violence are incredibly resilient and know better than anyone else what they need to be safe and healthy. Respect for the autonomy of survivors is a key principle for all programs addressing violence against women.

Integrated approaches work best. Evidence shows that projects that only address one sector or group of stakeholders, such as trainings for police or health providers, are rarely successful. All efforts, whether in communities or at the government level, can only work if they include all stakeholders. They must also encourage coordination between sectors, and between government and civil society. By civil society, I don’t just mean women’s activists, but also religious groups, private businesses and anyone who has a stake in local development.

Prevent violence before it happens. While it is important to ensure that women have access to justice and services for survivors of abuse, these approaches alone will never end violence against women. The most successful programs use positive approaches that emphasize how communities and families benefit by not using violence. They challenge prevailing social norms that encourage men to use violence to “control” or punish their wives, and engage men and boys as potential allies in ending violence against women.

Ultimately, we need to convince people that violence against women and girls is never acceptable, no matter the circumstances, and that it is in all our interest to ensure the safety and well-being of half our population.

Highlights from “Women: An Emerging Market”

ggaynair — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:04:38 +0000

Panelists shared thoughts on a variety of issues

Wed, 10/26/2011

Panelists at ICRW’s “Women: An Emerging Market” had a wide-ranging discussion on women’s economic potential and progress. We highlight some of their thoughts on everything from global development strategies to the Arab Spring.

Panelists at ICRW's "Women: An Emerging Market" had a wide-ranging discussion on women's economic potential and progress. Here are some highlights from their thoughts on a variety of issues, from global development strategies to the Arab Spring:

On women as an emerging market and how much progress they have made over 35 years ...

Anju Malhotra: "When ICRW started 35 years ago, we were trying to document that women had both productive and reproductive roles and that the productive roles are as important as the reproductive roles. And the very fact that it's taken 35 years for us to be having this conversation is disappointing. It's the kind of thing that we thought if we produce the evidence and we show the statistics, then people will understand. The fact that now people are starting to appreciate that women have to be part of the economic force everywhere is a good thing – but it's been a long day coming."

On obstacles for women in international development efforts ...

Nemat Shafik: "I think there are two big roadblocks. One is to solve the problem it takes multiple interventions, so the reason we've made progress on education to be honest is educational enrollment is bums on seats. You build the schools, you get teachers in there ... it's a pretty straightforward development intervention. And it's very donor friendly; you can estimate costs, you can estimate benefits.

"Maternal mortality is a lot more complicated because it's about where the health system works, it's about emergency obstetrics, it's about: is there a road, is there clean water. It's a multiple intervention problem that is much more difficult to solve. I think that's a key reason why we've made much less progress on maternal mortality than we have on education.

"The other issue is where there are deep-seated cultural norms that are very difficult and slow to change. I think

that's a big driver for the lack of political representation and some of those more intractable issues. And it's a big driver of the missing women and the fact that girls are aborted before they're born – those are sort of deep-rooted cultural issues and the second big obstacle."

On how to measure whether foreign assistance is making a difference ...

Gayle Smith: "This is where I give a shout out to USAID and the president of the United States. One of the things that I think we've been able to move very aggressively on in this administration is shifting from evaluating our foreign assistance on the basis of inputs and 'Dear Congress, did we spend the money in a way that is going to ensure that you can keep the budget level up'" – and it's easy to fall into that cycle because foreign aid is not the most popular thing in the budget.

"(USAID) now has a state of the art evaluation policy, something we try to extend across agencies ... This is something that is driven by the president's development policy that he announced last year where facts and evidence are a big piece of it. We will drive policy with evidence of impact. It sounds pretty basic, but it's a different approach that what we're used to ... We are institutionalizing ways of tracking (foreign aid impact)."

Anju Malhotra: "We really appreciate governments now being as careful to measure the bottom line as companies ... There are definitely markers of success at every level that you can measure, and it's equally important to measure that women are advancing economically but not just making more money, having more finance, but also being able to make decisions and have control over their lives, have agency to run things the way that matters to them.

"Part of the divide historically has been with this rights and instrumentalist approach -- economists are only measuring economy part and the gender folks are only measuring empowerment part. You need to bring the two together; they're both essentially important. We're not just talking about economic growth. We are talking about a woman taking charge of her two kids' education or being able to leave an abusive husband or being able to make ends meet."

On women's role in the Arab Spring and hope for their future in a new Middle East ...

Nemat Shafik: "This isn't the first time that women have been involved in revolutions in the Middle East ... But what's a little bit worrying is that if you look now in the post-revolutionary environment, they are not on the committees redrafting the constitution. And they are not in any cabinets. So we're at a very critical moment in the region as to whether these changes will be sustained or not."

Gayle Smith: "We've got to be mindful of what we know about revolutions, including very spontaneous revolutions. You can get this big leap and then the momentum settles, and a lot of institutions remain the same and a lot of cultural norms are still at play. So I think that the expectation that, as remarkable as events in Cairo were, and throughout the Middle East and North Africa, those convulsions alone were not sufficient." What happens now "needs to be a very deliberate effort.

"Remember that underlying Arab Spring has been the demand political freedom. But think about the demands that were also about an end to corruption, about the demand for jobs, about demand for transparency. So I think when you look there at the opening that is created by those revolutions and now the necessity of filling that on the economic front – there's a huge opportunity to target women entrepreneurs and to create that space."

MORE: View this video to hear the full conversation among panelists.