Prevention Collaborative - WOMEN’S ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

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PREVENTION STRATEGIES | WOMEN’S ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

WOMEN’S ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

INCREASING WOMEN’S ECONOMIC STATUS TO ADDRESS VAWG

Interventions to increase women’s economic empowerment aim to improve their access to economic resources, capacity and power to make decisions over those resources. However, they have mixed results on women’s risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). By improving women’s financial autonomy and bargaining power, the risk of IPV can be reduced. Yet, these interventions can also increase levels of violence if male partners feel undermined or couples disagree on how to use the money.

This page gives key resources and selected examples.

01 ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT INTERVENTIONS DIFFER ALONG MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS THAT AFFECT THEIR IMPACT ON IPV

How long the economic benefits and the difference it makes to a woman’s economic status (e.g. formal employment vs. informal or seasonal work)
Participation costs e.g. time, distance, and time away from “household duties”)
How others in the woman’s life respond to her participation, especially her partner. Who the intervention targets e.g. is cash given to the woman, her partner or the household
How the intervention is framed e.g. to empower women or something less threatening, such as family well-being.
How the intervention violate prevalent norms around whether, when and how women work

“Being both a breadwinner and economically dependent results in different but challenging barriers to achieving safety and freedom from violence.”

Spotlight Initiative, UNDP; 2023

02 ECONOMIC INTERVENTIONS HOLD PROMISE WHEN COMBINED WITH SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT

There is strong evidence that, on average, cash transfers can reduce IPV at scale and across settings by reducing poverty, conflict and stress over resources. However, there is limited evidence that business training, microfinance, etc, reduce IPV on their own. Increasingly, economic empowerment efforts are paired with programmes to build women’s social capital, promote gender equity, and address unintended harms. This combination is more likely to reduce IPV and have more positive effects than either intervention alone. For a deeper dive, see the Cash Transfer Page

03 THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS FOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT INTERVENTIONS TO REDUCE IPV AND KEEP WOMEN SAFE

Consider how the intervention is framed and delivered
Ensure women have strategies to mitigate potential risks (e.g. conflict resolution skills) and engage male partners.
Assess if the intervention challenges gender norms and income-earning. consider conducting formative research
Ensure quality, appropriateness, and sufficient intensity of the intervention to improve women’s economic situations.
Monitor for increased risk of IPV post-intervention and ensure a clear referral pathway to services
Address barriers to women engaging with the intervention (i.e. caregiving responsibilities or transport costs)

NOTE: Women’s economic and social empowerment is a key strategy under the United Nations framework to reduce violence against women (RESPECT).

The RESPECT Framework includes women’s economic and social empowerment under the Empowerment of Women Strategy
The RESPECT Framework includes economic strengthening under the Poverty reduced strategy