Specific Operational Recommendations per Project to Address Violence Against Women and Girls in Central America Portfolio Prioritized Projects This note was prepared by Ursula Casabonne (Consultant) under the guidance of Manuel Contreras-Urbina (Senior Social Development Specialist) and Diana Catalina Buitrago Orozco (Consultant), Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice. Published: June 2023 World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 3 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects ACRONYMS AGR Agriculture AF Additional Financing CCT Conditional cash transfer COMRURAL Innovación para Competitividad Rural en Honduras (Integrating Innovation for Rural Competitiveness in Honduras) DRM Disaster Risk Management ECD Early childhood development EEX Energy and Extractives GBV Gender-Based Violence HNP Health, Nutrition, and Population IPF Investment Project Financing OM Operations Manual OPR Rural Producers Organization PAD Project Appraisal Document PCN Project Concept Note PID Project Information Document PSDE Business Development Service Providers PTA Parent Teacher Associations SDS Social Development Specialist SEA Sexual Exploitation and Abuse SH Sexual Harassment SPJ Social Protection and Jobs TA Technical Assistance TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of trainers TTL Task Team Leader URL Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land VAWG Violence against Women and Girls WEE Women’s economic empowerment Contents Background 5 Methodology 7 Violence against women and girls Prevention and Response Entry Points in 12 Central America projects Agriculture 13 Honduras - Integrating Innovation for Rural Competitiveness in Honduras (COMRURAL III) (P174328) 16 Guatemala - Responding to Covid-19: Modern and Resilient Agri-Food Value Chains (P173480) 17 Panama - Sustainable Rural Development and Biodiversity Conservation (P174289) 18 Health and Education 18 El Salvador - Growing Up Healthy Together: Comprehensive Early Childhood Development (P169677) 23 El Salvador - Growing up and Learning Together: Comprehensive Early Childhood Development (P171316) 23 Honduras - Early Childhood Education Improvement Project (P169161) 23 Social Protection 24 Honduras - Additional Financing Social Protection Integration Project (P175718) 26 Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land 26 Honduras - Tropical Cyclones ETA and IOTA Emergency Recovery Project (P175977) 29 Nicaragua - Property Rights Strengthening Project (P163531) 30 Annex 1. World Bank’s Screening for SEA/SH Risk 31 World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 5 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Background World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 6 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects BACKGROUND This brief is part of the Advisory Services and Analytics The screening process and criteria is spelled out in (ASA) Mitigating Gender-Based Violence risks and more detail in the methodological tool “How-To Note: expanding the GBV portfolio in Central America Tool for Integrating Prevention and Response Actions (P175262) that aims to review LC21 projects both in for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in World preparation and implementation phases to identify Bank Operations” key entry points to address Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).The ASA comprises six documents, This review sought to identify VAWG prevention and including: i) How-To Note: A Tool for Integrating response actions beyond Sexual Exploitation and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Prevention Abuse (SEA) and Sexual Harassment (SH), which are and Response Actions in World Bank Operations; ii) part of the risk mitigation strategy that is included Portfolio Review: VAWG Prevention and Response in a project’s social risk assessment. In some cases, Opportunities in FY1 Pipeline Investment Project activities that will support mitigation of SEA/SH risks Financing (IPF) Projects in LC2; iii) Diagnosis of VAWG are also included. This brief is divided into two sections. in Central America; iv) Analysis of Gender Based The first discusses the methodology that was followed Violence (GBV) Prevention Opportunities per Sector, for the LC2 portfolio review and the second describes and v) Mapping of GBV Service Providers in LC2. the sector and the VAWG prevention and response actions recommended for the priority projects selected. 1 LC2 Country Management Unit (CMU) includes the following countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panamá. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 7 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Methodology World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 8 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects METHODOLOGY The analysis stems from the LC2 portfolio review gender norms that lead to VAWG at the community carried out following the steps outlined below: and household/beneficiary level and increase women’s agency and empowerment? Step 1: Screening of projects: The remaining 19 projects were excluded because The team revised Project Information Documents they did not present meaningful entry points for (PIDs), Project Concept Notes (PCNs), and in some VAWG prevention and response activities based on cases Project Appraisal Documents (PADs) and other the aforementioned criteria. Some of the reasons for corporate documents available in the operations exclusion were: portal relevant to LC2 to analyze their components and any VAWG actions mentioned in the documents, — Projects were narrowly focused on a single objective and did the first cut of projects that had potential to such as strengthening the national public health include complementary and add-on activities that system to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic or would be both easy to implement and potentially have building the statistical capacity in the Ministry an important impact/benefit. The projects that were of Education with little room to add additional included were all pipeline and recently approved IPF activities. projects that totaled 37 projects. Of these projects, 18 had the potential to address VAWG prevention and — Projects focused on funding solely ‘brick and response actions. The screening was done based on mortar’ improvements in infrastructure with no three criteria: scope for technical assistance for institutional development or local/community level benefit- I. Does the scope of the project allow for strengthening sharing actions. the national legal/policy framework on VAWG and changing harmful societal gender norms that lead — Projects involved in sector-wide reforms in areas to VAWG? where there is little scope for VAWG actions such as banking sector reforms. II. Does the scope of the project provide an opening to strengthen sectoral and institutional policies Step 2: Meetings with Social Development and practices to address VAWG prevention and Specialists (SDS). response gaps? The team reached out to the relevant SDS asking III. Is there scope in the project to change harmful them to identify pipeline and recently approved LC2 World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 9 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects IPF projects that in their view had the potential to SDS with a request to hold follow-up meetings. include VAWG prevention and response actions and scheduled a meeting to brainstorm the actions that Following the steps outlined above, the roadmap for could be feasibly included in the project. The meetings inclusion of VAWG prevention and response actions helped to understand the context of the project, the includes the following remaining steps: potential openness of the Task Team Leader(TTL) to include VAWG prevention and response actions and Step 5: Include VAWG Prevention and discuss the possible VAWG prevention actions. In some Response Actions and Results Chain in cases, before or after these meetings, the SDS sent the PAD: the team the draft Gender Action Plans or gender and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) inputs that were being Based on the conversations with TTLs and the agreed developed for each project, and the team then refined actions to be included in the PAD and the project’s the proposed actions for further discussion. Gender Action Plans (if one is being drafted), the team will provide input to the PAD that describes the analysis, Step 3: Prioritization of projects. activities, and corresponding VAWG prevention and response indicators (i.e., results chain) that would After the meetings with all the SDS, the team met satisfy the ‘Gender Tag’ requirement. to select a group of projects where the team could provide more hands-on support to the projects Task Step 6: Provide implementation support Teams. Out of the preselected 18 projects, 9 projects to the Task Team on implementing the were selected for follow-up (Table 1). The basis for the VAWG prevention and response actions. prioritization was the openness and the interest of TTL, as well as the strategic alignment of the proposed This may include drafting Terms of Reference (TOR) for action on VAWG prevention and response to the VAWG Specialists to be hired by the project, providing project’s components. The results of the prioritization input to the project’s Operations Manual (OM) to include included ten projects in a variety of sectors: Agriculture the VAWG prevention and response activities, providing (AGR) (3), Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) (1), comments and feedback to consultant’s outputs and Education (2), Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) (1), deliverables such as the design of communications Energy and Extractives (EEX) (1), Urban, Disaster Risk campaigns on VAWG, the curriculum for the training of Management, Resilience and land (URL) (2). trainers (TOT), etc. Step 4: Communication with TTLs: After the refinement of proposed VAWG prevention and response actions, the team sent messages to the TTLs containing the outcomes of the discussions with World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 10 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Table 1. LC2 Projects Prioritized for VAWG Prevention and Response Actions Sectors Projects Rationale for selection Status Agriculture Honduras - Integrating Innovation — The project has a long history of After a discussion on VAWG for Rural Competitiveness addressing gender gaps. prevention actions, the Task in Honduras (COMRURAL III Team included several VAWG — The SDS and TTL are very keen in (P174328) prevention and response actions including actions on VAWG prevention, in the draft PAD. response and mitigation in the project. Guatemala - Responding to — A gender action plan was prepared for The SDS is keen in integration Covid-19: Modern and Resilient the project where VAWG prevention VAWG actions. A meeting with Agri-Food Value Chains and response actions can be included. the Task Team will take place (P173480) The project has a similar approach than soon. COMRURAL III. Panama - Sustainable Rural — The project has a Gender Action Plan. The team discussed the entry Development and Biodiversity points with the SDS and plans to — The livelihoods component that Conservation (P174289). have follow-up discussions with provides an opening for raising the Task Team. awareness on harmful gender norms that lead to VAWG among beneficiaries through the confidence and skills-based workshops to female beneficiaries Health El Salvador - Growing Up Healthy — The project will be restructured. There is Project in restructuring process Together: Comprehensive a great potential for introducing VAWG Early Childhood Development prevention actions as the prior PAD had (P169677) already mentioned some. Education El Salvador - Growing up — Same as above. The project is on hold and Learning Together: Comprehensive Early Childhood Development (P171316) Honduras - Early Childhood — There are multiple ‘low-hanging’ The team met with the SDS Education Improvement Project opportunities to address VAWG to discuss potential VAWG (P169161) prevention and response. The SDS prevention actions, which were agrees that this is a project that should then forwarded to the TTLs. The be prioritized. team has not yet heard from the TTLs. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 11 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Sectors Projects Rationale for selection Status Social Honduras - Additional Financing — There are multiple and relevant The team met with the SDS Protection Social Protection Integration opportunities for adding to discuss potential VAWG Project (P175718) accompanying/ add-on’ activities on prevention actions, which were VAWG prevention and response for then forwarded to the TTLs. The women beneficiaries of cash transfers team has not yet heard from the and to shift harmful gender norms that TTLs. led to VAWG among youth. Urban, Honduras - Tropical Cyclones ETA — Same as above. The project is on hold Disaster Risk and IOTA Emergency Recovery Management, Project (P175977) Resilience and Land (GPURL) Nicaragua Property Rights — The project has a long history of A meeting was held with the SDS Strengthening Project (P163531) increasing women’s assets through joint and TTL and the team will follow- titling initiatives. up on the actions discussed. — The TTL is open to exploring opportunities to add a module on women’s empowerment and experience of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the monitoring survey for the project and including codes of conduct for land titling ‘brigades’ World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 12 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention and Response Entry Points in Central America Projects World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 13 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS PREVENTION AND RESPONSE ENTRY POINTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA PROJECTS This section provides a description of the sectors and the issues that arise related to VAWG risks, prevention, and response opportunities in the LC2 pipeline and recently active projects. Agriculture In Central America, agriculture plays a significant underpinned by cultural and traditional norms that role in the subregions’ economic performance and put them at a disadvantage concerning their male employment. For example, primary agriculture counterparts, such as not directly earning a salary for accounts for approximately 10 percent and 12 percent their work. Women often lack access to productive of the country’s GDP in Guatemala and Honduras, assets and credit, and have lower educational respectively, and is the main economic activity for opportunities, limited entrepreneurship opportunities, thousands of households2. In Honduras, for instance, persistent human capital deficiencies, and significant agriculture provides a direct source of income for exposure to VAWG. Additionally, women in the Central 30 percent of the labor force with women playing a America region, especially in Honduras, Guatemala, critical but often unrecognized role in family farms. 3 and El Salvador have the highest violent deaths of For example, in Guatemala, women formally account women in the world. In Guatemala, the rate of violent for only approximately 10 percent of agricultural deaths was 6.4 per 100,000 in 2018, almost five times employment4, while many more perform agriculture- the global rate.6 related activities (processing, commercialization, horticulture) or support their husbands on family farms; In the context of agriculture and environmental accounting for women who perform unpaid farm work livelihoods related projects, several VAWG related or support spouses working in agriculture, the share of issues and risks can arise: women in agriculture is almost 40 percent5. Despite their substantial involvement in agriculture, women — The threat of VAWG limits women’s interest face a multitude of gender gaps, in many instances and ability to actively participate in cooperative 2 World Bank, 2021. Draft Project Appraisal Document Honduras - Innovation for Rural Competitiveness Project - COMRURAL III 3 World Bank (2020), “She Helps Me All the Time: Underestimating Women’s Economic Engagement in Rural Honduras.” 4 FAOSTAT, 2017. 5 2018 Guatemala Census. 6 National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses, INACIF). World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 14 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects membership and leadership, limits their ability to granted. Women seeking to procure agricultural make decisions (particularly around household inputs may be coerced to trade sex for the input of finances), and drastically limits their access to extension services. cooperative resources and services including agricultural inputs and training. — Women’s lack of property ownership can increase women and children’s vulnerability to — Women’s economic empowerment (WEE) and socioeconomic violence and risky coping strategies financial independence are achieved through food such as transactional sex or withdrawing young and livelihood programs and projects that target girls and boys from school. Owning property can women. Although in many societies women are increase women’s power and status within their usually responsible for the food in the household, communities and lead to having greater control becoming a breadwinner and gaining financial within their relationships, also leading to decreased independence on their own can result in a shift in VAWG incidence rates. gender roles – the loss of the “traditional male role” of husbands – and a subsequent rise in domestic By understanding context-specific links between VAWG violence. and agricultural projects, AGR projects can adopt VAWG prevention and response integrative strategies — The physical safety of female agricultural that can maximize their outcomes by contributing employers and employees is impacted by sexual to a healthier and more productive agricultural labor exploitation and abuse of power. Women seeking force. Illustrative strategies at the policy, institutional, payment for services rendered may experience project, and beneficiary levels are outlined in Table 2. withholding of earnings until sexual favors are Table 2. Illustrative VAWG Prevention and Response Actions at the policy, institutional, project, and beneficiary levels Level Illustrative Strategies Policy level — Promote and raise awareness on women’s land ownership rights, advocate for equitable land distribution, promote the inclusion of women’s names on land titles, and support better enforcement of existing gender-sensitive legislative frameworks. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 15 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Level Illustrative Strategies Institutional level — Support relevant line ministries in developing implementation strategies for VAWG- related policies and plans. Undertake awareness-raising campaigns highlighting how such policies and plans will benefit communities to encourage community support and mitigate backlash. — Require employers in the waged agricultural sector to adopt policies that prohibit discrimination, exploitation, harassment, and VAWG. — Establish gender committees in a value chain sector to an increase in job security, for example, permanent contracts, and to more women in supervisory and management positions — Require that commercial actors within the chain maintain and implement policies that prohibit all forms of VAWG. — Require employers within the value chain to maintain safe work environments free of harassment, exploitation, and violence. — Provide community members with information about existing codes of conduct for livelihoods personnel, as well as where to report sexual exploitation and abuse committed by livelihoods personnel. Ensure appropriate training is provided for staff and partners on the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. Project level — Identify and promote alternative payment mechanisms so that women maintain control of the income they earn. — Facilitate access to technology and finance to improve the productivity and bargaining position of women in the value chain. Community, — Incorporate VAWG prevention messages into livelihoods-related community Household, outreach and awareness-raising activities (e.g., community dialogues, workshops, Beneficiary level VAWG messaging, etc.). — Engage males, particularly leaders in the community, as agents of change in building a supportive environment for women’s and adolescent girls’ livelihoods programs (e.g., through workshops, training, meetings with community leaders, discussions on gender and rights issues, etc.). World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 16 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects — Employ strategies to boost women’s self-worth, self-esteem, and self-confidence through solidarity groups, peer networks, women business or agricultural production associations, mentorship, and leadership skills building. — Improve women’s access to productive assets, skills, and knowledge contribute to protection from VAWG. — Implement community mobilization models to reduce violence and change gender stereotypes that perpetuate VAWG (training and sensitization sessions involving both men and women in participatory and active learning spaces to discuss gender equality, healthy relationships, effective communication, and livelihood strengthening). Two pipeline projects, Guatemala - Responding to Honduras - Integrating Innovation for Covid-19: Modern and Resilient Agri-Food Value Chains Rural Competitiveness in Honduras (P173480) and the Honduras - Integrating Innovation (COMRURAL III) (P174328) for Rural Competitiveness in Honduras (COMRURAL III) (P174328) seek to promote investments in Component 1: Improving competitiveness and agricultural sector value chains through a similar resilience in prioritized value chains: Within the approach of providing technical assistance and technical, financial, social, and environmental criteria grants to small-scale producer organization and for the selection of Rural Producers Organizations facilitate their engagement in productive alliances (OPRs), include concrete actions to prevent/respond to with key technical, commercial, and financial VAWG, for example: partners. Similarly, the Panama - Sustainable Rural — Carry out a risk mitigation plan including simple Development and Biodiversity Conservation (P174289) activities, such as offering separate toilets for men supports deforestation-free and climate-resilient value and women during training and specific training chains through the provision of technical assistance modules on VAWG. and financing (matching-grants) to individuals and associated beneficiary groups to increase incomes, — Develop reference manuals for the development competitiveness, and adoption of relevant innovations, of procedures for mitigating and preventing SEA/ better practices, and technologies for biodiversity SH at work. Said manuals must include a flow conservation and job creation. These three agriculture chart (roadmap) on how SEA/SH incidents will be projects have several entry points to include VAWG channeled with service providers in the areas where prevention and response actions as outlined below. the project operates and what to do if there are no service providers immediately available in the area. — Establish a directory of service providers that World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 17 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects survivors of SEA/SH incidents can connect with. well as understand the root causes of VAWG in their Provide referrals to gender-based violence care and communities and its impact on women and families. response service providers. Component 4: Project management support: 1) — Workshops to raise awareness among OPR Training for the Inversión Estratégica de Honduras members about the causes and consequences (INVEST-H) implementing unit on prevention and of VAWG and discuss the potential implications response to VAWG and mitigation of SEA/SH. 2) Design of female economic empowerment and violence, and deliver training of trainers curriculum (‘Training concerning the change in power relations within of Trainers (TOT) to Business Development Service the home and community. Providers (PSDE), which in turn will provide training — Workshops with small groups of women and to OPR members on gender/gender violence issues). their partners to facilitate critical reflection on The training aims to help reflection and awareness on gender norms and the characteristics of healthy how to recognize and change attitudes and behaviors relationships that reinforce harmful stereotyped gender norms that lead to gender violence, as well as understand the root — Assist women OPR members to open bank accounts causes of violence against women in their communities and ensure that agricultural clients/buyers can and their impact on women and families. 3) Collection of establish automatic payment mechanisms that data in the framework of surveys or qualitative studies deposit money directly into a woman’s bank on the impact of women’s participation in OPRs on account instead of making cash payments. their capacity for action and decision (‘agency’), self- — ‘Soft skills training’ for women members of esteem, decision-making power within the household, the OPRs to increase their empowerment and relationship with their partner, etc. leadership (see # 3) and other strategies that may include the participation of men to address the Guatemala - Responding to Covid-19: issue of social and gender norms. Modern and Resilient Agri-Food Value Chains (P173480) Component 3: Support the adoption of technologies for enabling the agribusiness environment: As part Subcomponent 1.3: Consumer awareness campaigns of the design of specialized agricultural education to promote better consumption patterns and export programs (aimed at youth, women, indigenous peoples, opportunities: Complement the communication and Afro-descendants) to support the modernization campaign by adding messages to promote respectful of public agricultural schools, it is proposed to design relationships between men and women, foster and implement an interactive educational curriculum progressive changes in power relations, and increase on and module-based activities and exercises to understanding of the phenomenon of violence against help reflect and raise awareness on how to recognize women and girls (VAWG) and domestic violence and its and change attitudes and behaviors that reinforce impact on children. stereotypical gender norms and gender inequality, as World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 18 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Subcomponent 2.2 and 2.3: Small and medium agro- Component 4: Monitoring, evaluation, and project industrial enterprises window and Agro-industrial management: Data collection within the framework of innovation window: Within the technical, financial, surveys or qualitative studies on the VAWG impact of social, and environmental criteria for the selection women’s participation in the organization on women’s of agricultural companies/organizations, include agency, self-esteem, decision-making power within concrete actions to prevent/respond to VAWG such as: the home, relationship with their partner, etc. (i) workshops to raise awareness among OPR members about the causes and consequences of VAWG and Panama - Sustainable Rural Development discuss the potential implications of female economic and Biodiversity Conservation (P174289) empowerment and gender violence, concerning the change in power relations within the home and At the institutional level: Training for technical community; (ii) workshops with small groups of women personnel that provide Technical Assistance (TA) on the and their partners to facilitate critical reflection on causes and consequences of VAWG, and links between gender norms and the characteristics of healthy women’s economic empowerment and VAWG in relationships, (iii) assist women OPR members to open relation to the change of power relations within bank accounts and ensure that agricultural clients/ the home and the community, and links between buyers can establish automatic payment mechanisms environmental degradation and VAWG, situations that deposit money directly into a woman’s bank in which the informal trade in natural resources can account instead of making cash payments, (iv) Soft increase the exposure of women to violence, and skills training’ for women members of the OPRs to recommendations to manage private participation in increase their empowerment and leadership and other conservation in areas of selected biodiversity. strategies that may include the participation of men to address the issue of social and gender norms. At the beneficiary-level: In the confidence and skills- based workshops to female beneficiaries, include a Component 3: Institutional strengthening in support module on VAWG, its causes and consequences and of the Borrower’s agri-food system: Capacity building on the right of women to live a life free of violence of the implementing unit on VAWG prevention and regardless of their conditions. response and mitigation of SEA/SH. Health and Education The health and education sector are important sectors a key preventative role as schools are one of the most to address VAWG prevention and response. The health important environments for children’s socialization. sector is often the first point of contact for survivors Schools can contribute to building respectful of VAWG and is a key entry point into the referral relationships between boys and girls. However, school pathway to other sectors. The education sector plays environments can also reflect characteristics of the World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 19 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects communities that surround them, including gender teachers, school administrators, and others. There are norms and levels of violence. This violence includes several VAWG prevention and response actions that sexual harassment/assault and bullying, and it is can be addressed at the policy, institutional/sectoral perpetrated by other students, out of school youth, and community/beneficiary as outlined in Table 3. Table 3. Illustrative VAWG Prevention and Response Action in the Education and Health Sectors Level Education Health Policy level — Changing gender stereotypes and — Develop clear policy guidelines and increasing VAWG awareness-raising protocols to identify and respond to in school curricula. Promote curricular the physical and mental health needs reform to update textbooks with content of survivors of physical and sexual that promotes gender-equitable norms violence, including the prevention of HIV/ and nonviolence among students and STI infection and unwanted pregnancies educators. Support changes to the following sexual assault. drivers of VAWG, attitudes towards the — Work with government partners and use of this violence with a curriculum to key stakeholders to reform education provoke discussion aiming to transform curricula for health care providers and deeply entrenched norms that not only include VAWG awareness and response disadvantage girls but are also harmful to training. Incorporating even one module boys. on VAWG in the curricula may enable — Work with the media to address social healthcare providers to better recognize norms through awareness-raising key signs and symptoms and more campaigns. adequately treat and/or refer survivors. — Support awareness raising campaigns related to VAWG and placement of information related to services available for survivors in health care centers. Institutional level — Develop and carry out a training curriculum — Work with government partners and key for teachers and school staff to build their stakeholders to include data on physical capabilities to promote gender-equitable and sexual violence disaggregated norms as well as to detect and prevent by sex and age group in the routine sexual abuse. The curriculum should include data collection of the national health the entire teaching and administrative staff information system. and involve parents as well as the wider community. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 20 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects — Foster the integration of the prevention of — Ensure that health care providers receive VAWG, including school-based harassment, prevent in-service training and mentoring in sexual and reproductive health and/or in protocols on VAWG response. life-skills curricula for students. — Support the provision of trained on-site — Expand school-based counseling and counselors, social workers, or nurses referral services by putting in place at to provide individual counseling and/or least one counselor or teacher who can group psychosocial support to identified be the first point of contact for students VAWG survivors. experiencing VAWG. Ensure the counselor — Design and implement a support system or teacher is aware of ethical and safety for health staff involved in the provision of guidelines, has access to referral services services to survivors. (including social services), and has access to space where student confidentiality and — Invest in linkages among the health privacy can be respected. sector and law enforcement and other survivor services, such as shelters and — Adapt and implement a whole school safe housing, as well as in research to approach that has worked in other build the evidence base about how best countries to reduce school-related violence to integrate VAWG in health services. as the Good School Toolkit, that is a methodology created to help educators — Support the development of a and students explore what makes a victim advocate program to work in healthy, vibrant, and positive school and collaboration with health services. guide them through a process to create — In the absence of victim advocates, allow their vision. health care providers to accompany — Provide “Harmonious family relationships” women to the various services included in course, to teach assertive communication the referral pathway. along with increased ability to manage — Ensure that health facility infrastructure family conflicts and develop sustainable projects include safe, private spaces for relationships. health care providers to confidentially ask — Because one of the most dangerous places patients about violence and provide other for girls is on their way to school, work with services, including counseling, as needed. parent-teacher associations on addressing — Support key partners and stakeholders the risk of violence children face when in the development of a comprehensive they travel alone for long distances. (Safer package of emergency services for School Programs) survivors of sexual violence that — Develop strong anti-SH policy and code of includes the provision or referral for conduct. for teachers and administrative the following: treatment for physical enforcement mechanisms that, among injuries, preservation of forensic evidence, other elements, prohibit sexual harassment, emergency contraception, safe abortion sexual contact with students, or other (where legal and available), post-abortion abuses of students. care, testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS, and STI prophylaxis and treatment. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 21 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects — Implement VAWG prevention and response — Ensure that trained or specialized staff protocols as part of safe and inclusive are available to provide crisis counseling schools. and/or psychosocial support. Providing survivors with non-judgmental, emotional — Establish a fair, accessible, and transparent support is as vital for their recovery as complaints mechanism that ensures treatment of physical injuries. confidentiality and security while reporting an incident & establish remediation — Support the adoption of protocols for the measures that defines consequences clinical management of VAWG survivors tailored to the nature of the offense. in the health units — Educate and raise awareness among — Coordinate with protection actors to students and staff at all levels on how to ensure safe access to nutrition programs, recognize, prevent, and respond to SH. with a particular focus on addressing the safety needs of women, adolescent girls — Address cyberbullying, a growing form and other at-risk groups travelling to and of violence to which girls are particularly from nutrition services. susceptible. — Improve girls’ safety in schools through the hiring of more female staff and increasing female participation among students in tertiary education institutions with high percentages of male staff, and/or providing in-service gender sensitivity training to professors, staff, and students. — Improve girls’ safety in schools the school’s infrastructure/ environmental design to improve girls’: (1) Mapping of hotspots and unsafe areas in institutions; (2) ensure greater visibility by maximizing the number of windows and doors in classrooms, offices and other spaces; (3) provide separate and adequate sanitation facilities to prevent sexual assault in these areas; (4) improve lighting in and around the institution grounds, remove bushes; (5) use perimeter and access point fencing and monitoring; (6) place phones to immediately alert security in hotspots and unsafe areas or consider a CCTV system. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 22 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Community, — Raising community awareness of VAWG, — Work with local partners and Household, challenging harmful gender norms, and stakeholders to help survivors to make Beneficiary level creating spaces for community dialogue the best use of existing services and may increase health-seeking behavior and resources, including those offered within challenge the acceptability of violence. healthcare settings. — Raising community awareness of VAWG, challenging harmful gender norms, and creating spaces for community dialogue may increase health-seeking behavior and challenge the acceptability of violence. — On the supply side, establishing strong partnerships and low-cost strategies can improve response to survivors and strengthen referral pathways. (For detailed instructions on the points below, please see Bott et al., 2006, in the resource section). The team identified three pipeline and recently active to vulnerable groups in the areas of nutrition, mental health and education projects that already included health, and violence prevention. In this regard, there are some planned VAWG prevention and response actions. several entry points for the development of training, In El Salvador, the World Bank has two recently active communications campaigns, and outreach activities to projects Growing Up Healthy Together (P169677) and foster VAWG prevention and response, outlined below. the Growing Up and Learning Together (P171316) that Similarly, the Honduras - Early Childhood Education will support the Government of El Salvador with their Improvement Project (P169161) aims to improve multisectoral national early childhood development the Ministry of Education’s institutional capacity (ECD) policy “Crecer Juntos,” targeting children 0 to 7 for preschool management; teaching practices of years old and their mothers nationwide. The objective preschool teachers and Educators; and physical of Crecer Juntos is to enable all Salvadoran children learning environments in preschools serving children in to achieve their full potential by delivering children- the targeted areas. The focus of the proposed VAWG friendly services aimed at ensuring their health and prevention actions is on training teachers on positive nutrition, early learning, safety, integral protection, and parenting, non-violent communication, community at meeting their needs at all levels (family, community, outreach and awareness raising activities with VAWG and government) through universal, differentiated, prevention messages and establishing codes of and specialized actions. Crecer Juntos also includes conduct for education personnel. the provision of differentiated and specialized services World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 23 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects El Salvador - Growing Up Healthy and disciplinary practices and conduct training/ Together: Comprehensive Early Childhood sensitization about harmful gender norms that sustain Development (P169677) VAWG. At the policy/sectoral level: The inclusion of activities At the community-level: In partnership with strategic to address VAWG prevention and response actions in actors with influence at the community level (religious the National Mental Health Plan and strengthening and community leaders, celebrities, potential of health-care services’ responses to violence against role models), a communications campaign at the women and children community level could be conducted to complement the actions at the household level, to reduce social At the household level: (1) Training on positive acceptance of child maltreatment, and increase parenting skills discipline strategies. Developing critical social adherence to engaged fatherhood and gender- thinking skills in both mothers and fathers to enable equitable child-rearing. The public education campaign them to question stereotyped beliefs and social norms could address: that create gender inequalities, and to solve conflicts — Prevalence of violence against young children. assertively and peacefully by empowering women and children and strengthening personal relationships; (2) — Impact of violent discipline, abuse, and neglect on awareness-raising activities on the concepts of agency, young children’s development. respect, and right of women and children to live a life — Norms around the acceptability of intimate partner free of violence, as part of the planned communications violence and the sexualization of girls as objects campaign that supports citizen engagement and from a very young age. gender equality/outreach activities. — Positive forms of child discipline. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E): The proposed — Social values that endorse gender equality, active baseline survey that has a module to identify any mother and father engagement, and non-violent gender differences, will also include questions related discipline. to harmful behavior and attitudes that lead to VAWG and perceptions regarding VAWG. Honduras - Early Childhood Education Improvement Project (P169161) El Salvador - Growing up and Learning Together: Comprehensive Early Childhood — As part of the subcomponent on in-service training Development (P171316) for preschool teachers’, training teachers on gender norms that lead to VAWG, gender-sensitive At the institutional level: Train teachers on how teaching strategies, and positive parenting so to inform and sensitize parents (both mothers and that they can both put in practice those skills in fathers) about basic elements of positive interaction class and provide guidance to parents on positive World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 24 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects parenting, non-violent communication, as well VAWG messaging; meetings with parent teacher as build awareness among parents about how to associations (PTAs) and parent groups; etc. recognize and change their attitudes/behaviors that may reinforce gender-stereotypical norms. — Establishing codes of conduct in schools and The training can engage teachers and education ensure all teachers and other education personnel staff in discussions around creating a culture understand and have signed a code of conduct of non-violence; challenging beliefs around related to the prevention of violence against children masculinity that condone VAWG; and what their and youth and other related child protection issues. role can be in creating safe and non-threatening Ensure that the code of conduct has specific environments for all students and teachers. provisions related to sexual exploitation and abuse of students by teachers and mechanisms to — Incorporate VAWG prevention messages into address these types of incidents. education-related community outreach and awareness-raising activities. Schools could — Sensitize and empower teachers to challenge also be a point of reference to disseminating existing discriminatory gender norms that information in the community about VAWG risks promote gender inequality and violence against and protective factors related to education, where their students (girls and boys) as well as to report risk, and how to access care for VAWG. among colleagues and women and men in their For example, through community dialogues; communities. workshops; meetings with community leaders; Social Protection Social protection programs and projects, which include childhood development, all offer a variety of entry a) social assistance (social safety nets): cash transfers, points to integrate VAWG prevention efforts as they school feeding, and targeted food assistance; b) are uniquely positioned to reach the most vulnerable social insurance: old-age and disability pensions and populations, including women and girls in situations of unemployment insurance; c) labor market programs: violence. Some VAWG related risks and opportunities skills building programs, job-search and matching to address VAWG prevention and response in social programs, and improved labor regulations; and d) early protection projects are outlined in Table 4. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 25 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Table 4. Illustrative VAWG Prevention and Response Actions in Social Protection Programs Level VAWG Prevention and Response Actions Policy level — Universal pensions, recognition of informal work, such as domestic work, in the pension system. — Mandatory social security contributions, an important step toward labor equality for domestic workers. — Facilitate registration and national identification cards. For survivors of VAWG, the need for such cards is especially critical, as they can determine whether a woman has access to important services, such as shelters and healthcare. Sectoral / — Include VAWG prevention activities within conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs: Institutional level i.e. Include community level activities such as “community conversations” on early marriage and reproductive health, social mobilization of girls led by female mentors, provision of school supplies, and livelihood skills for out-of-school girls. — Include modules on VAWG prevention and conflict resolution strategies in labor market activities, such as skills-building workshops and employment training projects. Raise women’s awareness about their rights, including the right to a life free of violence. — Provide VAWG training and sensitization to key project staff and volunteers, particularly those who come into direct contact with project beneficiaries. Establish codes of conduct for project personnel that include prevention of all forms of VAWG in the workplace and within the project. — Integrate VAWG prevention initiatives into early childhood development programs. — Explore secure methods of transferring cash to women. Options to prevent such situations from occurring include asking women whether they prefer in-kind or food transfers, or directly transferring funds to women’s personal bank accounts. — Safe spaces/ “Adolescent Development Clubs” to provided safe places for positive social interactions along with vocational and life skills to adolescent girls. Community level — Work with existing community groups as entry points to achieve both social protection and VAWG prevention goals. — Engage with men to garner community support for programs targeting women. — Integrate community behavior change and awareness-raising activities into social protection/assistance projects whenever possible. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 26 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Honduras - AF Social Protection education, and more, leading to better self-esteem, Integration Project (P175718) social interaction, and social capital. — Workshops with small groups of men and women In Honduras the AF Social Protection Integration to facilitate critical reflection on gender roles, Project (P175718) aims to improve the outcomes of norms, and power relations. the CCT Program and to strengthen the integration of the social protection system and be responsive to — Communication interventions for behavior change shocks including COVID-19 for the extreme poor and where materials show to women/families benefiting the vulnerable. The project has several entry points for from unconditional transfers for change/reflection integrating VAWG prevention and response actions: on gender norms and decision making at home. Component 1: Implementation of the Integrated Component 2: Institutional Strengthening for the Transition Strategy: The project could add CCT Program and Integration of the Social Protection accompanying/ add-on’ activities for women System: Focuses on educational transition, the project beneficiaries of cash transfers, such as: could include a training module for young people who participate in the program on dating relationships free — Workshops with women to empower them through of violence. greater knowledge about nutrition, health, financial Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Various opportunities to address VAWG risks and sexual extortion by land authorities to women who exist in urban, disaster risk management and land seek land titles or negotiate access to property.7 The administration projects. VAWG and the threat of links between property ownership and IPV are complex. sexual violence holds back economic growth in urban The bulk of the emerging literature suggests that areas, limiting women’s mobility, access to economic providing women with secure rights over land and other opportunities and services (health and education), property decreases the risk of IPV. A limited number and the ability to move into higher paid or more of studies report increased incidence of violence, with secure jobs. Therefore, better planning of urbanization no definitive resolution of whether such an increase is and infrastructure has the potential to create safer a mere temporary spike in violence because they are environments and reduce women’s risk of violence. perceived as subverting or upending traditional power In terms of land administration projects, the most relations. documented forms of VAWG linked to land are IPV 7 LCasabonne, U., Arango, D., Stanley, V. (2019). Violence Against Women and Girls. Land Sector Brief. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 27 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Among the contextual factors to consider in land Natural disasters, including tsunamis, hurricanes, operations is how common it is for women to own earthquakes, and floods, disproportionately affect assets and whether women’s asset ownership women and girls, who are at greater risk of violence challenges gender norms. Risk factors that may lead and exploitation than men and boys in the face of to negative outcomes are contexts where institutions uprooted housing and traditional support structures, (such as courts, or social norms and practices) are disrupted access to services, and both structural and not supportive of women’s empowerment and where social obstacles to accessing food, relief, supplies, and partners are prone to misuse of alcohol or drugs, or latrines. Therefore, it is vital that disaster management populations with high rates of unemployed men. projects include measures to prevent and effectively Another VAWG risk in land administration projects is respond to VAWG. Table 5 shows VAWG prevention sexual harassment and sextortion where individuals in and response actions that can be taken in disaster risk positions of power demand sexual favors as bribes to management and land administration projects at the gain access to agricultural land or a land title. In terms policy, institutional and community/beneficiary levels. of disaster risk management, the links with VAWG are clear. Table 5. Illustrative VAWG Prevention and Response Actions in Disaster Risk Management and Land Administration Programs Level Disaster Risk Management Land Administration Policy level — Comprehensively address VAWG in — Reform laws, addressing the legal gaps legislation, policies, and plans on disaster on women’s rights to property. risk management. Also, legal and policy — Mandatory joint titling of land for frameworks on VAWG should address married/cohabiting couple as opposed to violence that occurs in emergency optional/voluntary. situations. Ensure budget allocations for their implementation. — Support data collection on gender- disaggregated land/property ownership. — Promote the participation of various sectors, stakeholders, and community — Nation-wide mass media campaigns that members from diverse backgrounds (e.g., increase awareness of women’s rights ethnicity, gender, disability status) in the to inherit and own property and help to development of preparedness plans that change gender norms. include a focus on VAWG prevention and — Increase identification/documentation response. (i.e., Bank’s Id4D Initiative). — Create or strengthen existing protocols/ — Revise anti-corruption and/or VAWG laws guidelines to integrate actions to respond to cover sexual extortion. to VAWG during the emergency and the — Support gender sensitive law recovery phase. enforcement and access to justice. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 28 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Institutional level — Build the capacity of disaster response — Make land administration gender- actors at the regional and national levels sensitive to increasing women’s access to to identify and integrate VAWG issues land titles. into existing risk reduction and emergency — Combine information campaigns on land response training and manuals. rights with information on rights to live a — Map VAWG services and develop life free of violence. dissemination materials outlining the — Awareness raising and public education availability of services programs and training on SEA/SH and — Whenever possible, ensure medico-legal sexual extortion. and health services (such as the collection — Develop brochures to tell people where of forensic material and treatment of to file complaints, simplify complaint injuries) are provided at the same time, procedures, improve record keeping. same location, and ideally by the same person to avoid burdening the survivor of — Establish Codes of Conduct in land physical or sexual violence with multiple administration agencies, establish SEA/ visits and points of contact. SH policies with clear accountability structures. — Strengthen confidential referral mechanisms among and between sectors working on VAWG prevention and response. — Ensure that medical, reproductive health, and safety supplies are ready to be deployed in the case of an emergency. — Systematically include VAWG in disaster research, evaluations, training, and advocacy/awareness campaigns. Community, — Establishing confidential entry points where — Conduct VAWG risk assessment as part Household, survivors and other community members of social assessment to identify risks Beneficiary level can seek assistance after an incident of and opportunities in the context of the sexual violence and/or make an incident project. report. — Work with traditional authorities to — Carrying out community educational advance women’s land rights under programs on how to be prepared for customary land systems disasters, with an emphasis on the right — Village level outreach programs to to a life free of violence before, during, and sensitize men and communities on after disasters and the negative effects women’s land rights violence can have on the entire populations’ recovery. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 29 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects — Structured dialogues with men to prevent IPV: include sessions on non-violent conflict resolution, healthy parenting, and healthy relationships. — Conduct impact evaluations to assess impact of women’s land ownership on VAWG. — Provision of legal advice by female staff to women for claiming land and guidance on redress mechanisms. — Communications sensitization campaign at the community level about SEA and sexual extorsion. — Female staff to give advice to survivors of sexual extortion in a non-threatening, supportive way, and refer them to the appropriate service providers (such as those providing post-exposure HIV prophylaxis). In URL, there are two projects that have entry points increase their knowledge of the legal framework and to address VAWG prevention and response. The first their cultural awareness of gender issues. Add-on ‘low- is the Honduras - Tropical Cyclones ETA and IOTA hanging fruit’ activities are the inclusion of questions Emergency Recovery Project (P175977) that aims to regarding the effect of land-titles on women’s agency support the country’s response and recovery needs and and IPV and the inclusion of a clause on sexual strengthen institutional capacity to manage a resilient harassment/sexual extorsion in codes of conduct of and inclusive recovery and reconstruction. There is land-administration staff. an opportunity to mainstream VAWG prevention and response into Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Honduras - Tropical Cyclones ETA and IOTA policies and institutional response. The second project is Emergency Recovery Project (P175977) the Nicaragua - Property Rights Strengthening Project (P163531) where the government has promoted the Component 1: Emergency Relief, Response, and issuance of titles jointly to couples as well as to female- Public Health and Safety Operations: Several VAWG headed households, financed specific communication response actions can be taken such as: activities designed to raise women’s awareness of — At the policy level: Comprehensively address their property rights and technical capacity-building VAWG prevention and response in policies and for project personnel and local government staff to plans on disaster risk management. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 30 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects — At the institutional level: (1) strengthen existing Nicaragua - Property Rights Strengthening protocols/guidelines to integrate actions to Project (P163531) respond to VAWG during the emergency and the recovery phase; (2) build the capacity of disaster — Introducing Codes of Conduct to the technical response actors at the regional and national brigades hired by the land administration agency levels to identify and integrate VAWG issues into with clear accountability frameworks to prevent existing risk reduction and emergency response sexual extortion/ sexual harassment to women training and manuals; (3) Map VAWG services who seek land titles or negotiate access to the and develop dissemination materials outlining the property. availability of services; (4) Strengthen confidential referral mechanisms among and between sectors — As part of monitoring activities for the project, working on VAWG prevention and response; (5) adding a module or several questions in the systematically include VAWG in disaster research, survey to project beneficiaries to understand the evaluations, training, and advocacy/awareness impact of women’s land ownership on women’s campaigns. empowerment, agency, decision-making power in the household, and their experience of IPV. World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 31 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects Annex 1. World Bank’s Screening for SEA/SH Risk World Bank Specific operational recommendations per project to address Violence Against Pag. 32 Women and Girls in Central America portfolio prioritized projects ANNEX 1. WORLD BANK’S SCREENING FOR SEA/SH RISK As per the WB’s Environmental & Social Framework mitigating measures to address and monitor SEA/ guidelines, any IPF project in any World Bank Global SH risks throughout the life of the project. These Practice that involves major civil works, need to be actions emphasize active community engagement screened for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and and the design and monitoring of systems to minimize workplace sexual harassment (SH) (definitions are risks, strengthening the speed and effectiveness of available in Annex 1). The ESF Good Practice Note on response through well-functioning protocols and Addressing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual remedial actions to enable safe and ethical care of Harassment (SEA/SH) in Investment Project Financing survivors; building the capacity of all actors - the Bank, involving Major Civil Works set out the steps to assess government, contractors and communities - to take SEA/SH risks and capacity to respond to risks. Task on their respective responsibilities to protect women, Team can access the online SEA/SH risk screening children and other vulnerable groups at risk. tool that helps to assess issues and risks of SEA/SH in the project areas in terms of country context (including The actions are anchored in upholding principles of prevalence levels of VAWG, laws on VAWG, harmful survivor-centered approaches and global ethical gender norms, national-level capacity to respond to guidelines. Task Teams can access The World Bank VAWG), and the project context (if the project is in a Sexual Exploitation & Abuse/Sexual Harassment Risk humanitarian area, size of the civil works, etc). Screening Tool that contains information on process, training materials and process, resources, regional focal Through 25 questions, 12 to be answered by the Task points and the Gender-Based Violence Sharepoint that Team and 13 that are pre-populated, the tool gives contains other operational resources such as guidance each project a risk “score” which determines whether on developing Codes of Contact, GBV Expert Rosters, the project is low, moderate, substantial, or high SEA/ a list of ongoing projects that focus on GBV, and other SH risk. The guidance note recommends a series of guidance notes.