Gender Integration and Gender Based Violence prevention and

response

Learning objectives
That the end of this presentation, participants will develop a shared
understanding of key concepts of
1. Gender Based Violence (GBV)
2. Gender Integration and Gender Based Violence
3. GBV Prevention
4. GBV Response

Overview
In 2017, Nigeria had the second-largest HIV burden in the world, with
approximately 3,460,000 people currently living with HIV, and women
accounting for 57 percent of these individuals.
Nigeria ranks 122 out of 144 in the Global Gender Gap Index (World
Economic Forum 2016), and in 2013, Nigeria Demographic and Health
Survey found that 28% of women age 15–49 have experienced physical
violence at least once since age 15, and 11 % experienced physical
violence within the 12 months prior to the survey. Seven percent of
women age 15–49 reported having experienced sexual violence at least
once. In addition, 45% of women who experienced violence never sought
help or told anyone about the violence (National Population Commission
and ICF International 2014).
Gender-based violence is a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender
inequality and directed against a person because of their gender. 
According to Ellsberg and Breton 2010, women and girls, are at greater
risk for Gender Based Violence (GBV) as a result of their status, and
those experiencing GBV face increased risk of HIV infection, and more
than 50% greater risk (WHO 2013). The intersection between the two
creates a dual epidemic.Men and boys also experience GBV. Key
populations and children are at especially high risk of violence. These
disparities are the result of biological, structural, and sociocultural
conditions, as well as stigma and discrimination that affect men and
women differently, and impede access to resources that can prevent or
mitigate GBV. GBV is defined by Sida (2015) as any harm or suffering
that is perpetrated against a woman or girl, man or boy and that has
negative impact on the physical, sexual or psychological health,
development or identity of the person.
These stigma and discrimination affect mainly lesbian women, gay man,
transgender women transgender men, young people with a disability,
bisexual men or women , young girls and boys, Older women, Mother-in-
laws, unmarried women, "girlish" boy, "boyish" girl, Widows, People of
ethnic-minority, HIV , people living with physical disability, people
living mental disability, Married girl, Orphaned and vulnerable children.
GBV is the most extreme expression of these unequal gender relations in
society, and a violation of human rights, as well as a main hindrance of
the achievement of gender equality.

Types of GBV
Emotional Violence
Bullying: Most often defined as (1) intentional negative actions against
someone that can be physical or psychological, (2) actions that are
repeated over time, and (3) actions that are
perpetrated by someone with a perceived or real power over the victim.2
Emotional abuse: Belittling, humiliating, or undermining an individual’s
sense of self-worth/self esteem (constant criticism, verbal insults, and
name calling, etc.).
Emotional violence: Injury to the psychological capacity or emotional
stability caused by acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics.

Harmful Traditional Practices

Child marriage: Includes formal marriages and informal unions that take
place when one or both spouses are under the age of 18.
Dowry-related violence: Any act, including murder, rape, battery,
harassment, and other forms of physical abuse, as well as psychological
abuse, associated with the giving or receiving of a dowry at any time
before, during, or after the marriage.
Early marriage: A formal marriage or informal union before age 18.
Female infanticide: The intentional killing of baby girls due to the
preference for male babies and the low value associated with the birth of
females.
Female genital mutilation/cutting: All procedures involving partial or
total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female
genital organs for nonmedical reasons.
Femicide: The systematic killing of women for various reasons, usually
cultural.
Forced marriage: Absence of free and valid consent of at least one of
the parties. In its most extreme form, forced marriage can involve
threatening behavior, abduction, imprisonment, physical violence, rape,
and in some cases murder; an arranged marriage officiated without the
consent of the interested parties.
“Honor” killings: Practices in which women and girls suspected of
defiling their family’s honor by their misconduct can be killed by their
brother, father, uncle, or another relative, who thus restores the said
honor. Honor killings are executed for instances of rape, infidelity,
flirting, or any other instance perceived as disgracing the family’s honor.
Women may be killed based on suspicions of a family member alone, and
they may not be given the chance to defend themselves. The allegation
alone is considered enough to defile a man’s or family’s honor and is,
therefore, enough to justify the killing of the woman. The men who
commit the murder typically go unpunished or receive reduced sentences.
Variants: (1) honor crime, (2) crime of honor.
Social exclusion/ostracism based on sexual orientation: Denial of
access to services, social benefits, or exercise and enjoyment of civil,
social, economic, cultural, and political rights; imposition of criminal
penalties, discriminatory practices or physical and psychological harm,
and tolerance of discriminatory practices; and public or private hostility
to homosexuals, transsexuals, or transvestites. Perpetrated by family
members, institutions, organizations, and/or government actors.
Viricide: The systematic killing of men for various reasons, usually
cultural. It may happen during war to reduce an enemy’s potential pool of
soldiers.

Intimate Partner Violence

A pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual,
and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults or
adolescents use against their intimate partners. It includes a range of
sexually, psychologically, and physically coercive acts used against adult
or adolescent women by a current or former intimate partner, without her
consent.
Although women can be violent toward men in relationships, and
violence exists in same-sex partnerships, the largest burden of intimate
partner violence is inflicted by men against their female partners.

Physical Violence
Corporal punishment: Any punishment where physical force is used
and is intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort.
Physical abuse: Consisting of acts or failures to act resulting in injury
(not necessarily visible), unnecessary or unjustified pain or suffering
without causing injury, harm or risk of harm to a person’s health or
welfare, or death. Such acts may include, but are not limited to punching,
beating, kicking, biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, or hitting
(regardless of object used), or burning. These acts are considered abuse
regardless of whether they were intended to hurt the individual.

School-Related Gender-Based Violence

Includes physical, sexual, or psychological violence or abuse based on
gendered stereotypes or targeting students on the basis of their sex,
sexuality, or gender identities. The underlying intent of this violence is to
reinforce gender roles and perpetuate gender inequalities. It includes rape,
unwanted sexual touching, unwanted sexual comments, corporal
punishment, bullying, and verbal harassment. Unequal power relations
between adults and children, and males and females, contribute to this
violence, which can take place in the school, on school grounds, going to
and from school, or in school dormitories, and may be perpetrated by
teachers, students, school personnel, or community members. Both girls
and boys can be victims, as well as perpetrators. School-related gender-
based violence results in sexual, physical, or psychological harm to girls
and boys.

Sexual Violence
Marital/spousal rape: Nonconsensual sexual assault in which the
perpetrator is the spouse.
Rape: The penetration of the vulva or anus, using a penis, other body
parts, or an object without the voluntary consent of the individual.
Sexual abuse: Consists of fondling a person’s genitals, penetration,
incest, rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, or exploitation through
prostitution or the production of pornographic materials.
Sexual exploitation and abuse: Frequently a characteristic of warfare. In
situations of armed conflict, girls and women are routinely targeted in
campaigns of violence, including rape, mutilation, prostitution, forced
pregnancy, and sexual slavery.
Sexual harassment: Unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual
favors, and verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
Sexual violence: Any non consensual sexual act, attempt to obtain a
sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, acts to traffic, or acts
otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality by any person regardless
of their relationship to the victim and in any setting, including but not
limited to home and work.

Sexual violence as a form of torture: Any act or threat of a sexual

nature by which severe mental or physical pain or suffering is caused to
obtain information, confession, or punishment from the victim or third
person; to intimidate them or a third person; or to destroy, in part or in
whole, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. This type of violence
is often committed, sanctioned, and ordered by military, police, and
armed groups or other parties in conflict.

Socio-economic Violence
Economic abuse: Causing or attempting to cause an individual to
become financially
dependent on another person by obstructing their access to or control over
resources and/or independent economic activity.
Economic violence: Acts such as the denial of funds, refusal to
contribute financially, denial of food and basic needs, and controlling
access to health care, employment, and so on.
Trafficking in persons: An international crime involving the acquisition
of a human being through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the
purpose of exploiting the individual for profit
through forced labour or prostitution. Far from being a “soft issue,”
trafficking—a modern-day form of slavery— constitutes a violation of
human rights in which victims are deprived of their fundamental
freedoms. Trafficking in persons can involve either sex or labour
exploitation, or both. At its essence, trafficking in persons is about people
being bought and sold as chattel.

GBV Prevention
GBV is a major obstacle for the achievement of gender justice, posing a
serious threat to democratic development and public health, and is a
critical barrier to achieving sustainable development, economic growth
and peace. GBV is preventable. In order to decrease and eventually end
GBV a paradigm shift is needed. This entails a focus on the root causes of
violence.
Preventing GBV, to stop it from happening in the first place, is a key
priority. Given that GBV is based on gender norms and gender-based
power inequalities, GBV prevention strategies are intrinsically linked to
efforts to increase gender equality more generally
TACKLING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IS CRUCIAL FOR
POVERTY
REDUCTION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Root cause of GBV

1. Discriminatory Family Codes
2. Restricted Physical Integrity
3. Son Bias
4. Restricted Resources and Assets
5. Restricted Civil Liberties

GBV Prevention
Laws, Policies, Regulations, and Institutional Practices
Efforts to increase sexual and reproductive health and rights are crucial
for preventing GBV given the close relationship between the two. Such
efforts include promotion and protection of women’s right to have control
and decide freely over matters related to their sexuality, including sexual
and reproductive health, family-planning possibilities and HIV/Aids
prevention.
Improving existing legislation directly linked to GBV. The present
historic number of laws and policies addressing different forms of
gender-based violence is to a large extent due to sustained and strategic
advocacy from women’s rights organisations across the globe. Research
has shown correlation between strong and independent feminist
movements and comprehensive laws protecting women from violence.61
• Improving existing legislation indirectly linked to GBV. Supporting
women’s legal rights to property, land, inheritance, employment and
income can increase women’s ability to leave abusive relationships and
establish their own households. Improving legislation indirectly linked to
GBV also includes laws on, for instance, corporal punishment and
alcohol taxation which are related to other risk factors such as child
maltreatment and alcohol abuse. Hence, strategies to improve legislation
should not have a narrow focus on laws pertaining directly to GVB, but
take into account and strive for improved legislation in other areas as
well. • Bridging the gap between law and practice. While solid legislation
acknowledging the rights of GBV survivors is a prerequisite, a major
obstacle often lies in the implementation of such frameworks. For this
reason, emphasis should be on bridging the gap between law and practice
through the strengthening of accountability mechanisms to follow up and
evaluate the implementation of laws addressing prevention and response
to GBV. • The rule of law and ending impunity for GBV. Systematic
failures of police, justice personnel and armies put women and girls at
risk of violence and prevent access to justice. Perpetrators of GBV must
be held accountable under national and international law. Yet, attempting
to reduce GBV by a simple focus on prosecuting offenders may not lead
quickly to the desired outcomes.62 There is a need to recognise the
limitations of convictions as prevention (through deterrence) and combine
legal actions with so called secondary prevention efforts addressing social
and psychological driving forces, particularly in post-conflict settings.
Cultural Norms and Beliefs
Transformation of norms and behavior that underpin GBV. The logic of
GBV is based on gender stereotypes, such as ideals linking masculinity to
the provider role, macho behaviour and violence as well as ideals linking
femininity to chastity, submission and victimhood. Prevention efforts
should start early in life and be directed at girls and boys. Both non-
formal education and formal education are important sites for normative
change and have the potential to address gender inequalities and prevent
GBV
Gender Roles, Responsibilities, and Time Used
Efforts to increase women’s political participation and influence in
contexts of peace, conflicts and other humanitarian crisis. Women have
rights to participate on equal terms with men in political bodies at all
levels of the society, including in peace processes. In many countries
women’s political representation is very low, and women are often
excluded from formal peace negotiations. This has evastating
consequences for the possibility to reach a sustainable development,
peace and human security.58 • Efforts to increase women’s economic
empowerment that enhance women’s bargaining power and ability to
leave abusive relationships. This includes strengthening women’s
entrepreneurship and employment opportunities, improving women’s
access to land and property rights, promoting equal sharing of unpaid care
work between women and men and encouraging universal access to
quality education. While such efforts can contribute to increased violence
against women in the short term due to gender ideals linking masculinity
to the provider role, increasing women’s economic empowerment is still
crucial for longer term prevention of GBV. Women’s economic
empowerment interventions which also address gender norms and reach
couples and communities can reduce such risks.
Patterns of Power and Decision-Making
An approach to address GBV: (i) Preventing violence, (ii) Strengthening
legal and policy frameworks and (iii) Improving response services for
survivors, illustrated by successful programs from Sida’s partner
organisations.
Entry points in addressing GBV is that gender-based violence is a
violation of human rights, and that tackling GBV is crucial for poverty
reduction and economic development. GBV is furthermore a key to
protect sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and reverse the
spread of HIV. It is also a security concern and a prerequisite for
sustainable peace. When defining effective strategies to end a priority is
to make efforts to prevent GBV. Given that GBV is linked to gender-
based power inequalities, key in GBV prevention are efforts to increase
gender equality and transformation of gender norms. Prevention
strategies entail a shift from “victims” to “survivors” with a focus on
women and girl’s empowerment and agency, efforts to increase
women’s political and economic empowerment and sexual and
reproductive rights, and to incorporate men and boys in the work.
Incorporate men and boys as perpetrators, as victims/survivors and as
agents of change. Men and boys are often neglected as survivors of GBV.
Hence, there is a need to recognise and address men’s and boys’
particular vulnerabilities and needs in relation to GBV, especially in the
context of armed conflict. Rather than simply ‘bringing men in’ to work
against violence against women, there is a need to work towards
transformed norms around gender relations and masculinity. Such an
approach acknowledges that men and boys are also restricted by
expectations linked to masculinity and can also be victims of violence. A
failure to recognise and address this can contribute to the perpetuation of
cycles of GBV. When successful, though, such an approach enables men
and boys to become agents of change. • Transformation of norms and
behavior that underpin GBV. The logic of GBV is based on gender
stereotypes, such as ideals linking masculinity to the provider role, macho
behaviour and violence as well as ideals linking femininity to chastity,
submission and victimhood. Prevention efforts should start early in life
and be directed at girls and boys. Both non-formal education and formal
education are important sites for normative change and have the potential
to address gender inequalities and prevent GBVThe strengthening of
legal and policy framework is also of out most importance, as are
efforts to bridge the gap between law and practice and to end the
impunity for GBV. Response to survivors, which meets their rights to
protection and access to services, including shelters and health sector
services, is also core.

GBV Response
IMPROVING RESPONSE SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS In the
immediate term, the effects of GBV have to be tackled. Survivors have
rights to protection and access to services. • Strengthening and enhancing
multi-sectorial services at all levels. Services must be based upon
survivors’ needs and safety. Although the state is responsible for the
safety of survivors, it is important that not only the state but also
women’s organisations are provided with resources to give support.
Women’s organisations often have a deep knowledge and long
experience of support and service to survivors of gender-based violence.
Services must be effectively coordinated in development and
humanitarian contexts and include: Health sector response to GBV
including reproductive health, medical and psychosocial support; State
run shelters and counselling centers in order to provide safe place to
survivors of GBV; Shelters and counselling centers run by independent
actors such as women’s and LGBTI organisations; Adequate police and
justice response including legal aid to survivors; Economic services. •
Recognising strong and important links between prevention and response.
Multi-sectorial services (e.g. medical and psychosocial support) can help
both survivors and perpetrators of GBV to avoid further violence.
If a survivor does not have the personal strength because of traumas and
stress caused by GBV, he or she may not have the strength to pursue
justice. Services must also reach out to perpetrators of violence, the so
called secondary prevention in order to decrease future perpetration.
 Response
1. Provide training to relevant UNHCR and partner personnel to ensure
they fully understand the SGBV SOPs[MV3] . Make sure they are
familiar with reporting and referral systems, and core principles that
underpin work with survivors: respect, safety, confidentiality and non-
discrimination. Familiarize staff with SPHERE standards, to ensure that
response planning and assistance take the specific needs of women,
men, girls, and boys into account.
2. Engage with service providers to make sure that services they provide
to SGBV survivors are appropriate, of high quality, and comply with
basic standards for survivor care. When a survivor reports a SGBV
incident, always respect his or her wish to report the incident formally or
not, or access particular services. Every survivor should be:

 Informed of the assistance available, including medical services,

psychosocial support, legal assistance, and (where necessary) material
assistance and access to safe shelter.
 Provided with health assistance as a priority if he or she has
experienced physical or mental harm. In cases of rape, all (eligible)
survivors must have access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against
HIV, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, and (in the case of
female survivors) emergency contraception. Able, where admissible, to
have forensic evidence collected by the health sector/cluster, where
appropriate[MV4]
 Granted free legal aid if he or she wishes to pursue legal action. If
the survivor agrees, acts of sexual violence or female genital mutilation
should be reported to the police as soon as possible.
 Relocated to a safe house, shelter or an alternative location within
the country, or considered for resettlement if their safety is at risk and
circumstances require it.

Note: Pay attention to the definition of ‘eligibility' and ‘eligible rape

survivor'. Eligibility should be determined for each prescribed medical
intervention, based on the medical indication of the intervention and the
time that has passed between the incident and the intervention.

Standard / Indicators

Emergency Standard

 All SGBV survivors have access to the medical care they require.
 All SGBV survivors have access to psychosocial support.
 All survivors who choose[MV6] to disclose an incident should be
able to access legal advice and support
 Where a survivor's safety is at risk and the circumstances require,
he or she is relocated to safe house, shelter, or alternative location
within the country, or considered for resettlement[MV7]
 All survivors of rape should have access to services for clinical
management of rape. All health facilities should have trained staff, as
well as sufficient supplies and equipment for the clinical management of
rape. Indicators that will be collected using the UNHCR Health
Information System are:

o 100% of eligible rape survivors receive PEP (against HIV) within 72

hours of an incident.
o 100% of eligible female rape survivors receive emergency
contraception within 120 hours of the incident.
o 100% of eligible rape survivors receive prophylaxis for sexually
transmitted infections within 2 weeks of the incident.

Long-term Standard
The same standards apply to long-term situations and emergencies.

References
Ellsberg, M. and M. Betron. 2010. Preventing Gender-Based Violence
and HIV: Lessons from the Field.

Inter-Agency Standing Committee. 2015. Guidelines for Integrating

Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action: Reducing
risk, promoting resilience and aiding recovery

Spotlight on Gender. Washington, DC: AIDS Support and Technical

Assistance Resources
(AIDSTAR-One)/USAID. Accessed August 10, 2020.
https://www.k4health.org/sites/default/files/AIDSTAR-
One_Gender_Spolight_Gender based_violence.pdf
U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 2017.
Nigeria Country Operational Plan
(COP) 2017: Strategic Direction Summary. Washington, DC: PEPFAR.
2018. https://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/272254.pdf

World Economic Forum. 2017. The Global Gender Gap Report 2017.
Cologny, Switzerland: World
Economic Forum. Accessed August 7, 2020.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2017.pdf

World Health Organization (WHO). 2013. Gender Inequalities and HIV.

Geneva, Switzerland: WHO.