This research report is the result of an evaluation of BRAC's three-year coordinated project on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), which was piloted in Cumilla and Gazipur districts. Violence against women and children (VAWC) is a significant obstacle to reducing poverty and achieving gender equality, which is closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This coordinated approach intervention is currently being implemented in Cumilla and Gazipur districts of Bangladesh.
However, this rate indicates a strong presence of violence against women in the community. 3 A coordinated approach intervention was piloted in Cumilla and Gazipur districts of Bangladesh. This aspect of the study involved violence that occurred in the domestic and public spheres.
The objectives of the study were to measure the impact of VAWC project on the incidents of domestic violence in the form of intimate partner violence, as well as women's attitude towards this form of violence.
Intimate partner violence (IPV)
The percentage of respondents can participate in the decision-making process on various family-related issues according to the density of the intervention. Percentage of respondents able to participate in the decision-making process for various family-related issues according to intervention density and year. The percentage of respondents can spend family money without the prior approval of their spouses according to the density of the intervention.
Percentage of respondents can cost household money without men a prior approval by density of intervention and year. 17 which is significantly higher in the percentage of respondents of intervention group who supported wife beating than its counterpart (Table 17). Percentage of respondents who were in favor of wife-beating by statements highlighting various situations, density of intervention and year.
Percentage of respondents who were physically assaulted by husband's duration of such experience, density of intervention, and years. Percentage of respondents facing dowry demand during marriage by density of intervention and year. In the case of measuring the impact of the intervention on women's experience of violence, it has been observed that after the intervention, the percentage of respondents who reported having experienced IPV was significantly higher than the control group.
Violence against children
In terms of gender, the percentage of male respondents in the low intervention treatment group reporting violence was significantly lower than in the control group. Here, the percentage of children who had this experience was found to be significantly higher than the same control group. Violation of class rules was mentioned by a good percentage of respondents (low intervention: 6.6%, high intervention: 15.9%, control: 19.7%).
Relationship with perpetrators within the household: Like physical violence, the mother was identified as the one responsible for committing the psychological violence by the highest percentage of respondents from all three groups (low intervention: 51.7%, high intervention: . 53.7% and control: 55.5 %). By outsiders: No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of percentage of respondents who reported mental violence by outside family members (Table 42). According to gender, no significant difference was found in the percentage of respondents who experienced mental violence by outsiders between and within groups (Appendix 6).
This percentage was followed by respondents who named neighbors as perpetrators (low intervention = 6.8%, high intervention: 7% and control: 2.9%). Reasons for physical violence by outsiders: Misbehavior emerged as the cause of psychological violence in the highest percentage of children caused by outside members of the household (low intervention: 47.4%, high intervention: 51.2%, control: 36%). The percentage of children reporting this type of violence by family members decreased in the final survey compared to the baseline.
Although in both cases, the percentage of respondents reporting this type of violence in the study group decreased after the intervention. Outsiders: The percentage of respondents in both groups who reported psychological abuse by outsiders was significantly higher in the final survey compared to the baseline survey (Table 53). However, no significant difference was found between the high intervention and control groups in this regard.
In addition, the percentage of male children reporting physical violence decreased in low intervention groups compared to other groups in the end-line survey, although it increased when compared to the baseline data. The law regarding the prohibition of physical punishment in the educational institutions in Bangladesh may contribute to the fact of a reduced percentage of physical violence by teachers compared to that by family members.
An insight into BRAC’s Coordinated Approach in Addressing Violence against Women and Children
Promises and Lessons 1
- Embodying ‘One BRAC’ concept
- Strengthening relationship with local government officials and journalists, and the interrelationship of individual networking
- Reaching out to many within short time
- The role of teachers
- Social reintegration
- Monobondhu
HRLS and CEP program interact with local elected members and local community leaders for their influential role in the community. More or less all the staff maintain good relationship with the local journalists who play one of the decisive roles in creating pressure on the community and local administration to take actions against violence that occurred in the areas. His duties as well as liaison made him the most influential person in the cases of violence.
Coordinated liaison between BRAC staff and UNO and UNO's intervention in the case resulted in the principal accepting the victim at the school. One of the people involved in the shalish and who was instrumental in making this decision was found to have a strong connection to BRAC. They enjoyed reading in the library and learning about BRAC's extensive work on poverty reduction.
The study found that school principal/mistress in the areas under the VAWC project played a role in preventing early marriage. They jointly prevented the early marriage of a student from the school mentioned in the case study. It should be noted that community workers in BRAC usually interact with women in the community for both their service-related and personal reasons.
From this perspective, Monobondhu's intervention can be considered significant in the life of a rural woman. The study found that popular theater actresses are associated with women elected members in addressing various forms of community violence and other social issues. The study showed that the wishes, interest and promises of peer educators are very positive.
At the same time, government and local government support system officials and the elected member can have more coordination and interaction with BRAC community workers (eg Polli Shomaj members) to know information about violence and to anticipated their possible interventions in the community. The findings show that the informal and formal networking of the staff of different programs has influenced the officials, leaders and representatives of the local government to intervene in the cases in a positive way. Community workers from the various program were trained as "Monobondhus" to provide first aid psychological support to women in the community.
The previous study found Polli shomaj member's role in the community to address the violation of human rights and work with local elected representative and leaders (Qayum et al. 2012).
Overall discussion and recommendations
The qualitative study showed that a coordinated approach has the potential to pool the resources and capacities of individual programs to address violence against women. A coordinated approach raised awareness among program participants of four individual programs about different types of violence in a short period of time, expanded the telephone number to many using individual access to the program to different program participants, used individual networking of various program staff with local government and elected representative to facilitate justice, engagement peer educators and schools to prevent early marriages and provide training to community workers on first aid psychological counseling to support women with mental health problems. The study also noted challenges working against the flourishing of the potentials of the coordinated approach, including organizational transformation, out-of-court settlement, limited women's mobility and political influence, etc.
The findings of the quantitative study present a strong claim to rethink the program's intervention on consciousness with a focus on changing patriarchal ideology. While the qualitative study, which is more operational in nature, made recommendations such as more coordination between government and NGOs, raising awareness with innovative means, motivating individual program staff for more coordination. While the qualitative study showed effectiveness and promising aspects of this coordinated approach in reporting, legal justice, early marriage prevention and reintegration, the quantitative survey did not find the relationship between partner violence reduction, violence against children and programs . intervention.
In this context, the study recommends exploring new means of raising awareness of patriarchal ideology, scaling up interventions on a long-term basis, and more advocacy with government and local leaders.
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Appendix
