Violence against women is bad for everyone. It disempowers female workers, lowers productivity, drives out talent, and badly damages the reputation of global brands.  It’s also bad for the global economy: Research suggests that as much as 2% of global GDP is used in responding to violence against women.  What’s more, tackling workplace violence can have a spillover effect.  Empowering…

The effectiveness of economic empowerment programmes, poverty reduction programmes and others working to address inequality depend on the efforts to combat VAW, which is at the core of the economic and social challenges of our times, writes Dr. Nata Duvvury.  Dr. Duvvury has published an article in the Guardian Newspaper and is currently the Lead of Component Three on the What Works…

Dr. Nata Duvvury, Component Three PI, will be speaking at the Safe Ireland Summit, on the 14th and 15th November, in The Round Room at the Mansion House, Dublin. Safe Ireland is gathering world thinkers, creators and doers who have much to contribute to the vision of a safe country. The summit includes more than 20 fascinating speakers, installations of…

Dr Nata Duvvury, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Global Women’s Studies at the National University of Ireland (NUI) Galway and PI of the What Works: Economic and Social Costs of Violence project, was an expert advisor at the High Level Discussion on Economic Costs of Violence against Women (VAW) at the 71st Session of the United Nations…

As part of the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures impact evaluation funded by What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls? Programme and UKAID, the team undertakes much qualitative research to understand our young women’s and men’s lives and how the intervention helps them negotiate life’s changes. In addition to the many in-depth interviews, we have carried out over…

As an ethnographer on the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures intervention trial currently underway in Durban, South Africa, I have been absolutely amazed hearing the stories of the facilitators. Their incredible resilience in overcoming challenges when they head out to run the intervention in informal settlements around the city and has led me to call them: the fanatics. The Stepping…

Everything is extremely lush in Nepal and a steady curtain of monsoon rain falls. I’m just back after three days visiting project activities in Nawalparasi, one of the three intervention districts – a 20 min flight or up to 12 hours drive during the monsoon from Kathmandu. The Equal Access ‘Change Starts at Home’ project targets young married couples and…

Component 2 is conducting research in Dadaab refugee camp, assessing a comprehensive case management model where tasks are shared between national staff and refugee community workers to provide services for women who have experienced violence. Here a young researcher provides us with a glimpse into what it’s really like to live and work in Dadaab refugee camp and on the…

Recently, one woman’s horror and heroism has brought a much needed change in the conversation about rape in our society. Brock Turner’s rape of a woman at Stanford University, and his unacceptable 6-month sentence, reveals not just a horrendous, all too common sexual assault, but a broken system that continues to protect male abusers, blame victims and condone violence against…

I was half way across the world from my family in the Philippines when Typhoon Haiyan wreaked havoc two years ago. As a Filipina citizen it was hard to see the footage; to hear my family talk about the devastation and the people they couldn’t get in touch with. In some ways it was even harder knowing what was going…