Checklists You may need to make the case for donors, partner governments and your own teams to invest (more) resources in primary prevention alongside supporting response services for VAW survivors. Here are some key arguments you can use:
Reasons | Where to find data and examples for your context |
VAW is widspread globally affecting one third to two-thirds of women in most counties. | →WHO Global Database on VAW prevalence The latest estimate of the % of women experiencing key forms of VAW |
VAW has severe social, health, and economic costs for women, their children, families, communities and societies. | →”Economic and Social Costs of Violence” (What Works Evidence Brief) →”Costs and Consequences” (UN Women EVAW virtual knowldge centre) |
VAW represents a breach of the fundamental human rights of women and girls that are enshrined in numerious agreements. | →UN Global Database on Violence Against Women A repository of information of key global, regional, and national laws, commitments and policies on VAW |
Response services for VAW survivors are vital, but they only reach a minority of women survivors. The majority do not seek help or report violence. Preventing violence before it starts is therefore vital. | →Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data on reporting of domestic violence for your country allows you to compare the proportion of women who report experiencing violence (prevelance data) to the proportion who report to formal services (administrative data) |
There is global and regional evidence that shows that VAW is preventable and that prevalence rates can be reduced in 3-5 year programme timeframes. | →See RESPECT programme summaries for different examples of programmes that have reduced VAW →See guidance on what VAW prevention programmes are possible in different timeframes |
