While M&E can be effectively used to track backlash and unintended negative impacts of an EVAW program, M&E activities themselves can risk causing harm if they are not designed properly. Ethics need to be central to the design and delivery of M&E.
Ethical considerations should not be an afterthought; they are central to safe and effective M&E. Data is more reliable and useful when it is collected from people who feel safe, respected and in control of the activities they are being asked to participate in. M&E that is not developed in an ethical way can lead to unreliable data and cause harm..
▪Funders of EVAW programs may stipulate the need for certain M&E approaches to be adopted, for certain types of change to measured and even certain methods and tools to be used. It is important that you discuss ethical considerations as part of your discussions and decisions with funders about M&E. This is especially important where funders may lack EVAW experience and expertise and are unaware of the sensitivities and risks involved.
▪Given the particular safety and ethical considerations with M&E of VAW prevention programs, any independent evaluators you work with need to have specific skills and expertise in designing and delivering ethical evaluations
▪What is considered ‘ethical’ is often context-specific and contested, meaning that program and evaluation teams work together to consider how to best apply ethical principles in the context.
