WASHINGTON, April 3, 2019—The World Bank Group and Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) today awarded US$1.1 million to 11 research teams from around the world for innovations to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
The Development Marketplace Awards, in their fourth year, honor victims and survivors of violence, and are held in memory of Hannah Graham, daughter of a longtime World Bank Group employee.
This year’s winners include a project studying how a mobile phone application can improve the collection, documentation and preservation of forensic medical evidence to support prosecutions of sexual violence crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya, research evaluating the impact of a media campaign to reduce the acceptability of violence among couples in Bangladesh, and a study of how youth social networks affect attitudes to gender and violence in Jordan, among others.
“Gender-based violence has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities,” said Interim President of the World Bank Group and Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva. “We need to improve care for survivors, shift norms and behaviors among men, and strengthen health, education and legal systems. The Development Marketplace Awards have an important role in bringing forward new thinking and we hope to see these ideas scaled up in the field.”
Over three years, $4.5 million has been awarded by the Bank Group and SVRI to more than 40 research projects in 28 low- and middle-income countries. This year, Development Marketplace awards will support researchers in Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Peru.
“Research is vital in order to close gaps in evidence, to help to improve programs, and to ensure low- and middle-income countries can enact proven responses to violence against women,” said SVRI Founder and Coordinating Group member Claudia Garcia-Moreno, of the World Health Organization. “Development Marketplace award winners are developing more knowledge about reducing violence in areas where often research is limited or not available.”
This year, for the first time a private-sector award is being given with the support of the International Finance Corporation. This will help to fill an evidence gap in Peru on how companies can evaluate the impacts and consequences of their actions to reduce violence.
“Violence affects all of society, and that means all of society must be involved in responding, including the private sector,” said Philippe Le Houérou, IFC CEO. “Employers have a key role to play. The IFC is delighted to support the Development Marketplace private sector award. Our expectation is that we will learn valuable insights in how employers can prevent gender-based violence, which we will use to inform our clients.”
An expert panel reviewed more than 250 proposals submitted to the Bank Group and SVRI following an open call for innovations to prevent GBV in low- and middle-income countries. Winning teams were chosen based on overall merit, research or project design and methods, significance, team expertise, and ethical considerations.
SVRI is one of the largest global research networks focused on violence against women. SVRI’s 6th global conference on violence against women, SVRI Forum 2019, is in Cape Town in October 2019.
2019 Winners
Country | Institution | Research |
Bangladesh | BRAC University | A media experiment to reduce intimate partner violence in Bangladesh |
Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya | Physicians for Human Rights | Examining the effectiveness of MediCapt: Mobile collection of forensic evidence of sexual violence in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo |
India | Anusandhan Trust / Center for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) | Upscaling evidence-based health systems response to violence against women and children in 11 public hospitals in Mumbai: Review of its implementation |
India | Institute for Financial Management and Research | Engendering policing: Evaluating reforms to increase women’s access to security and justice |
Jordan | University of Jordan, Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Harnessing the power of social networks to create positive change in norms and attitudes towards SGBV among youth in Jordan |
Kyrgyz Republic | Arizona State University School of Social Work, Office of Gender-based Violence / Crisis Center Sezim | Adapting myPlan for Kyrgyzstan: Perceptions of the content, feasibility, and usability of a technology-based intervention |
Mexico | MexFam and International Planned Parenthood Federation | Examining the potential of comprehensive sexuality education for intimate partner violence prevention among young people in Mexico City |
Nigeria | College of Medicine, University of Ibadan; International Center for Research on Women | Promoting female empowerment and preventing violence through a multi-sectoral intervention targeting couples in Ibadan, Nigeria |
Papua New Guinea | Oxfam | Family and community violence prevention and response study in Papua New Guinea |
Peru | Universidad de Lima | Evaluating police intervention in intimate partner violence cases: An experimental impact assessment of the home visits program in Peru |
Peru | Universidad San Martin de Porres | How to make actions taken by companies to prevent violence against women sustainable: An evaluation model to measure the economic impacts of prevention actions in companies |
