Publication: Interventions to Prevent or Reduce Violence Against Women and Girls : A Systematic Review of Reviews
Date
2014
ISSN
Published
2014
Author(s)
Arango, Diana J.
Morton, Matthew
Gennari, Floriza
Kiplesund, Sveinung
Ellsberg, Mary
Abstract
Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)
is a pervasive global problem. It is a violation of basic
human rights and a drag on development. Much of the research
to-date on the topic-including a major recent World Health
Organization study to produce global prevalence rates has
focused on better understanding the scale and nature of the
problem. The present study builds on this body or research
while shifting focus to synthesizing global evidence on
potential solutions. This paper, a systematic review of
reviews, breaks new ground by synthesizing evidence on the
effects of VAWG prevention interventions. It examines the
diversity of geographical context, the types of violence
addressed, and the numerous approaches that have been used
to combat VAWG. Additionally the review summarizes the
quality of evidence on efficacy and effectiveness in order
to highlight strengths and gaps of interventions on a global
scale and could serve as a point of reference for those
intending to undertake future design, implementation, and
evaluation of interventions. This paper finds that knowledge
of intervention impacts on VAWG prevention is growing, but
is still highly limited. Nonetheless, a small but growing
body of rigorously tested interventions demonstrates that
preventing VAWG is possible and can achieve large effect
sizes. The interventions with the most positive findings
used multiple, well-integrated approaches and engaged with
multiple stakeholders over time. They also addressed
underlying risk factors for violence, including social norms
regarding gender dynamics and the acceptability of violence.
These examples point to the imperative of greatly increasing
investment both in innovative programming in primary
prevention, as well as in high-quality experimental and
quasi-experimental evaluations to guide international
efforts to end VAWG.
Citation
“Arango, Diana J.; Morton, Matthew; Gennari, Floriza; Kiplesund, Sveinung; Ellsberg, Mary. 2014. Interventions to Prevent or Reduce Violence Against Women and Girls : A Systematic Review of Reviews. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/21035 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”