This report reviews the literature on school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in an effort to improve understanding of its causes, consequences, and prevalence. The report examines how gender norms, poverty, and a culture of violence contribute to SRGBV. It also explores barriers to preventing and responding to SRGBV and presents examples of what is being done to address the problem.

This information bulletin summarizes the results of a two-year investigation of gender issues in post-conflict societies. The study examined the impacts of conflict on women and gender relations under three categories -- social and psychological, economic, and political -- and the challenges that emerged for the donor community in providing effective assistance to mitigate these impacts. It found, among other things, that women are especially vulnerable to violence during the early stages of post-conflict transition.

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within various themes; this paper's theme is domestic violence against women. Eleven PROWID projects focused upon domestic violence: three research and intervention projects were facilitated by non-governmental organizations in Russia, Bulgaria and Mexico, and eight research studies were undertaken in India. As a whole, these diverse projects generated some common conclusions regarding the problem of domestic violence.

This literature review was commissioned by USAID's Office of Women in Development to identify, annotate, and synthesize research studies and projects/interventions addressing primary and secondary school-related gender-based violence. The review is divided into four sections that provide the following:

1. evidence of the prevalence of school-related gender-based violence in developing countries,
2. a context for the subsequent discussion of the consequences of school-related gender-based violence for the health and educational outcomes for students, 
3. what is being done at the program and policy levels to address school-related gender-based violence, and
4. recommendations for further work.

This document profiles USAID's efforts to address barriers to full access to opportunity for women and men throughout the developing world. The selected examples illustrate the efforts of the USAID field missions, the Office of Women in Development, and other USAID operating units to fully integrate women into development programs and policies throughout USAID. Topics covered in the report include education, economic growth, women's health and HIV/AIDS, trafficking in persons, violence against women, and women's legal rights and political participation.

This document reports on activities in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda during the second year of the USAID grant "Advancing Women's Rights Globally." Under this grant, Georgetown University Law Center's International Women's Human Rights Clinic and its four partners (LAWA-Ghana, WRAPA, WLAC, and LAW-Uganda) work on various projects to advance women's rights and fight discrimination, including legislation, litigation, strengthening civil society, and public education. The women's rights issues covered include trafficking, domestic violence, marriage, divorce, polygamy, brideprice, adultery, child marriage, property, inheritance, employment, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, female genital mutilation, and political participation.

This document reports on activities in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda during the third year of the USAID grant "Advancing Women's Rights Globally." Under this grant, Georgetown University Law Center's International Women's Human Rights Clinic and its four partners (LAWA-Ghana, WRAPA, WLAC, and LAW-Uganda) work on various projects to advance women's rights and fight discrimination, including legislation, litigation, strengthening civil society, and public education. The women's rights issues covered include trafficking, domestic violence, marriage, divorce, polygamy, brideprice, adultery, child marriage, property, inheritance, employment, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, female genital cutting, and political participation.

This document reports on activities in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda during the extension period of the USAID grant "Advancing Women's Rights Globally." Under this grant, Georgetown University Law Center's International Women's Human Rights Clinic and its four partners (LAWA-Ghana, WRAPA, WLAC, and LAW-Uganda) work on various projects to advance women's rights and fight discrimination, including legislation, litigation, strengthening civil society, and public education. The women's rights issues covered include trafficking, domestic violence, marriage, divorce, polygamy, brideprice, adultery, child custody, property, inheritance, HIV/AIDS, maternal health, female genital mutilation, and political participation.

This gender assessment focuses principally on (a) how strengthening women's participation and paying attention to gender issues can enhance USAID/Angola's results and (b) how monitoring and evaluation can track the success stories of women's involvement in USAID programs as well as any unintended negative impacts that can be remedied once observed. The report identifies key issues for Angolan women, particularly in light of conflict and the anticipated transition from humanitarian to development assistance; these include illiteracy, internal displacement, poverty, and violence. The report also looks at gender and performance monitoring with regard to USAID/Angola programming in the agriculture & food security, democracy & governance, and health & HIV/AIDS sectors.

This two-page case study describes USAID-supported work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to assist and reintegrate boys and girls abducted during the 10 years of conflict in eastern DRC, along with children conceived by abducted girls during their time with the fighting forces. With USAID support, COOPI, an Italian NGO working in Ituri district, has helped reintegrate victims into their communities safely as well as prevent future abduction, trafficking, and sexual violence. Through an extensive communication campaign and a victim support center, COOPI has reached often-hidden girls by working to change the behavior of communities toward abductees, reducing the stigma and shame felt by victims, and helping victims improve their self-identification and skills.

This document reports the findings of a a school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) assessment carried out by a four-person team from the Safe Schools Program in 2004. It summarizes general issues and recommendations as reported by NGO staff, USAID partners, Ethiopian educational personnel, and local schoolteachers, parents, and students, as well as by global literature on best practices. It also reports on select priority issues and recommendations that address gaps at multiple levels -- national, institutional, community, and individual -- and that address SRGBV in three areas of programming -- prevention, reporting, and response.

This report shares the findings of an assessment of the Safe Schools Program in Ghana. The assessment team collected reports, materials, and data and conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with key informants from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, USAID and other donor agencies, NGOs, and community-level organizations (e.g. Parent Teacher Associations) to identify: (a) types of gender-based violence; (b) issues, gaps, and what works in existing programs; and (c) recommendations.

This manual, revised by the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Lesotho) in 2006, is designed to assist in the training of paralegals in Lesotho. The manual serves as a guideline that trainers can adapt to their own training strategies. The manual includes information on Lesotho's legal system; criminal and civil law procedures; family, inheritance, labor, and property laws; and sexual violence and human rights.

This brochure, created by the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), aims to simplify Lesotho's 2003 Sexual Offenses Act. The Act is meant to consolidate and repeal all laws relating to sexual offenses. Its main objectives are to combat sexual violence (including child prostitution) and to prescribe appropriate sentences for sexual offenses.

This presentation explains how the Safe Schools Program is helping to prevent child marriage in Malawi. It profiles several young girls who the Safe Schools Program helped stay or re-enroll in school. A total of 35 child marriages were avoided between October and December 2007.

This report presents the findings and recommendations of a school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) assessment conducted in Malawi by a team from the Washington, DC-based Safe Schools Program. The team summarizes the general issues and recommendations as reported by NGO staff, USAID implementing partners of the Malawi Education Support Activity, Malawian educational personnel, and local schoolteachers, parents and students, augmenting these issues and recommendations based on the global literature on best practices. After analyzing the data and general recommendations, the team identified eight priority issues and recommendations that are proposed as the Safe Schools pilot program in Malawi.

The objective of Safe Schools is to create safe environments for both girls and boys that promote gender-equitable relationships and reduce school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) by working in partnership with children, youth, parents, teachers, schools and communities. This report summarizes the results of the participatory learning and action research activity conducted in October and November 2005 to help raise awareness, involvement, and accountability at national, institutional, community and individual levels of SRGBV in the Machinga District in southern Malawi. The study revealed a lack of knowledge about school-related gender-based violence in communities in the Machinga District; however, it also found that all schools in the study have some kind of reporting structure in place in the event that violence against children occurs.

This document presents the quantitative research instruments used to examine school-related gender-based violence in schools in Malawi. The study was carried out by DevTech Systems, Inc. and the Centre for Educational Research and Training through the USAID-funded Safe Schools Program. The document contains a suggested sampling methodology, interview guides, and suggested preliminary data analysis.

This Safe Schools Program report presents results from a baseline survey conducted among school children and teachers in the Machinga District in the Southern Region of Malawi in April 2006. Selected from a random sample, 800 boys and girls and 288 teachers at 40 participating schools were interviewed. They were asked about the type of violence, abuse, and mistreatment that boys and girls experience at school; who is responsible for this mistreatment; where this mistreatment occurs; if there are other school practices or conditions that are inappropriate, place pupils at risk, or potentially interfere with their schooling; and the effectiveness of reporting.

In assessments conducted in October of 2004 and 2005, the Women's Legal Rights Initiative-Rwanda found that both the government of Rwanda and civil society wanted more information on activities addressing gender-based violence (GBV) throughout Rwanda, as well as collaboration among actors working in the area of GBV. This assessment seeks to address these concerns by documenting activities currently being conducted to address GBV in Rwanda, as well as any current collaborative activities and coordination. It finds that collaboration does exist in Rwanda but has been very limited in quality and quantity.

This course is designed to help judges, lawyers, and prosecutors in Rwanda acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to make gender-sensitive decisions in domestic relations cases. It aims to provide course participants with information on:

• what gender means;
• how domestic relations laws affect women and men differently;
• the basic international obligations relating to gender equity and the equality of women and men;
• how new domestic relations laws differ from custom and practice; and
• how domestic violence interferes with the rule of law in Rwandan society.

The Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan newsletter is produced by UNIFEM Afghanistan through support provided by USAID's Office of Women in Development. The newsletter presents factual information, statistics, and references relevant to four different gender campaign issues in order to facilitate gender-based campaigns by Afghan journalists, government, and civil society organizations.

Volume 3 contents:

• Violence Against Women
• Men and Disability in Afghanistan
• Pregnant or Nursing Mothers and Nutrition
• Understanding the Afghan Constitution and Parliament

The Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan newsletter is produced by UNIFEM Afghanistan through support provided by USAID's Office of Women in Development. The newsletter presents factual information, statistics, and references relevant to four different gender campaign issues in order to facilitate gender-based campaigns by Afghan journalists, government, and civil society organizations.

Volume 4 contents:

• Violence Against Women by Women
• Men's Employment in Afghanistan
• Women's Higher Education in Afghanistan
• Family Planning and Women's Health in Afghanistan
• Understanding the Afghan Constitution and Parliament

The Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan newsletter is produced by UNIFEM Afghanistan through support provided by USAID's Office of Women in Development. The newsletter presents factual information, statistics, and references relevant to four different gender campaign issues in order to facilitate gender-based campaigns by Afghan journalists, government, and civil society organizations.

Volume 6 contents:

• Child Marriage in Afghanistan
• Men and Public Harassment in Afghanistan
• Former Male Child Soldiers in Afghanistan
• Protection of Women in Afghanistan

The Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan newsletter is produced by UNIFEM Afghanistan through support provided by USAID's Office of Women in Development. The newsletter presents factual information, statistics, and references relevant to four different gender campaign issues in order to facilitate gender-based campaigns by Afghan journalists, government, and civil society organizations.

Volume 7 contents:

• Widows in Afghanistan
• Street Children in Kabul
• The Commitment to Combat Violence against Women
• Women and the Afghan Parliament
• A Workshop on Forced and Child Marriage

The Gender Advocacy in Afghanistan newsletter is produced by UNIFEM Afghanistan through support provided by USAID's Office of Women in Development. The newsletter presents factual information, statistics, and references relevant to four different gender campaign issues in order to facilitate gender-based campaigns by Afghan journalists, government, and civil society organizations.

Volume 8 contents:

• Women and Sexual Harrassment
• Suicide and Women
• Women Beggars in Afghanistan
• Women and the Supreme Court of Afghanistan
• Violence Against Women Database Initiative

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within various themes; this paper's theme is domestic violence against women. Eleven PROWID projects focused upon domestic violence: three research and intervention projects were facilitated by non-governmental organizations in Russia, Bulgaria and Mexico, and eight research studies were undertaken in India. As a whole, these diverse projects generated some common conclusions regarding the problem of domestic violence.

To begin the process of designing activities for USAID/Albania to implement with the Women's Legal Rights Initiative (WLR), a two-week assessment and analysis trip to Albania was conducted from June 29 to July 11, 2003. The WLR team found that while there have been recent improvements in the legal framework to support women’s legal rights, deficiencies remain, including the lack of a domestic violence law, lack of compliance with international norms for women’s rights, and weak judicial enforcement of laws. The WLR team identified a number of emerging areas for cooperation and assistance that included anti-trafficking, domestic violence, and family law issues.

USAID has undertaken this gender assessment to gain a better understanding of gender issues across all sectors of Azerbaijan. The report presents the findings of key gender issues and offers USAID/Azerbaijan recommendations for better gender integration in general as well as for the economic, democratic, and social sectors. The report finds that gender-based violence is a hidden epidemic in Azerbaijan and recommends that the Mission support domestic violence awareness and protection activities, including emergency shelters.

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within various themes; this paper's theme is domestic violence against women. Eleven PROWID projects focused upon domestic violence: three research and intervention projects were facilitated by non-governmental organizations in Russia, Bulgaria and Mexico, and eight research studies were undertaken in India. As a whole, these diverse projects generated some common conclusions regarding the problem of domestic violence.

This report presents the results of a gender assessment carried out in Georgia in March 2003 at the request of the USAID/Georgia Mission. It provides a summary of gender relations in Georgia, an analysis of gender integration in the Mission's current and future strategic framework and program portfolio, and recommendations on how the Mission can better mainstream gender in its activities, policies, and procedures. The report analyzes gender in the context of economic growth and private enterprise, as well as trafficking in persons and domestic violence, which are both serious problems in Georgia.

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within various themes; this paper's theme is domestic violence against women. Eleven PROWID projects focused upon domestic violence: three research and intervention projects were facilitated by non-governmental organizations in Russia, Bulgaria and Mexico, and eight research studies were undertaken in India. As a whole, these diverse projects generated some common conclusions regarding the problem of domestic violence.

This report summarizes the Guatemalan Domestic Violence Law with Gender and Multicultural Perspectives activity, which was implemented by the Women's Legal Rights Initiative (WLR) between December 2003 and June 2004. The report covers the study's objectives, implementation, results, lessons learned, and best practices. The activity was divided into three phases: phase I laid the foundation for inter-institutional relationships and terms of cooperation; phase II involved developing the baseline for designing the training strategy to implement the domestic violence law; phase III executed the training sessions, which were attended by 117 prosecutors from across Guatemala.

This manual, written in Spanish, covers litigation strategies with a gender perspective. The purpose of this module to help lawyers and other public defenders in Guatemala identify the key concepts needed to enrich defense strategies in cases of women accused of wrongful acts. Chapter one covers gender and criminal justice and includes a discussion of gender-based violence. Chapter two focuses on defense strategies.

This manual on domestic violence, written in Spanish, was put together by community paralegals in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. It includes sections on definitions of domestic violence generally, women and domestic violence, the problem in Guatemala, steps women should take to address domestic violence, a discussion of legal strategies and resources for women, and a bibliography.

This report presents the findings of a school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) assessment, which was conducted in April 2005 by a team from the Washington, D.C.-based Safe Schools Program. The primary objective of the assessment trip was to better understand the nature of SRGBV in the Jamaican context. The report summarizes the major issues observed during the assessment, suggests specific actions for implementation at the national, institutional, community and individual levels, and discusses specific programming options, as well as potential partners and collaborations.

This final report presents the accomplishments of and lessons learned from a WID office grant to help Partners of the Americas enhance its community-based efforts to protect women's legal rights in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. The project provided workshops, seed grants, and technical assistance in order to:

1. Increase the capacity of women to understand and defend their legal rights;
2. Support innovative programs that increase awareness of and protect women from rights violations in gender violence;
3. Generate constructive community responses to violations of women's legal rights; and
   
4. Connect organizations working on behalf of women's legal rights and promote sharing of best practices.

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within various themes; this paper's theme is domestic violence against women. Eleven PROWID projects focused upon domestic violence: three research and intervention projects were facilitated by non-governmental organizations in Russia, Bulgaria and Mexico, and eight research studies were undertaken in India. As a whole, these diverse projects generated some common conclusions regarding the problem of domestic violence.

This report summarizes the "Technical Update on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Reproductive Health/HIV (RH/HIV)" conference, which took place on May 1, 2002. The conference was hosted by the USAID Interagency Gender Working Group in collaboration with the Center for Health and Gender Equity. Over 130 program managers, policymakers, service providers, and trainers participated in the meeting, where they heard data linking GBV to RH/HIV, were informed about pilot efforts to integrate GBV into RH/HIV programs, and provided their input about whether and how to proceed in integrating the issue of violence against women into these programs.

This fact sheet provides an overview of the problem of gender-based violence, focusing specifically on masculinity. The document promotes the need to challenge this socio-cultural construct of male roles and identities. It notes that power inequalities between women and men and the masculine culture are the major sources of violence against women.

This report describes the funding and range of U.S. government-supported programs that address gender-based violence and treatment of HIV-positive programs of such violence. It was prepared at the request of Congress by the Office of the United States Global AIDS Coordinator in collaboration with USAID and other offices of the State Department. The report covers FY 2005 and FY 2006.

CNN's Anderson Cooper reports on the use of rape as a weapon of war in the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Between 1998 and 2008, hundreds of thousands of women and girls as young as 3-years of age have been brutally gang-raped and abducted as sexual slaves in a systematic effort to destroy lives, families, and communities. While the government of the DRC is unable or unwilling to bring rapists to justice, the Panzi Hospital in eastern DRC and Women for Women International are helping victims heal and rebuild their lives.