Project profile — Combatting Gender-Based Violence in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh (100.00%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to strengthen Bangladesh’s capacity to both reduce actual violence against women and girls and the widespread acceptance of violence against women in Bangladesh. It provides women with tools to improve their own safety, in public, at home, and at work and at the same time it works with public and private institutions to implement policies to prevent violence against women. The project collaborates with families and communities to create more gender equitable roles and relations inside households. It also supports and reinforces Bangladesh’s own policies and regulations concerning violence against women and generates knowledge and capacity that contribute to more effective prevention of gender-based violence by government and civil society.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) national and local laws and policies to prevent violence against women are strengthened, if needed, and implemented; (2) favourable social norms, attitudes and behaviours are promoted to prevent violence against women and enhance women’s economic empowerment; and (3) policy and programming is increasingly informed by an expanded knowledge base on effective approaches to prevent violence against women.

Results achieved at the end of the project (March 2024) include: (1) supported the National Parliament of Bangladesh to enact the Evidence (Amendment) Act 2022. This helped to repeal discriminatory clauses, prohibiting questioning a rape survivor’s character during cross-examinations, and recognizing the admissibility of digital evidence; (2) public and private institutions demonstrated their commitment to implementing the High Court Directive 2009 to prevent sexual harassment and violence against women (VAW) at the district level,; (3) supported 12 institutions to adopt zero tolerance to sexual harassment policies; (4) supported 360 students to form activist groups, promoting bystander interventions and creating violence-free campuses; (5) reached 2,658 women and 7,070 men on gender-based violence issues and redressal mechanisms in private and public institutions; (6) directly reached 10,503 people and 41,279 indirectly through social and behavior change campaigns; (7) produced 45 knowledge products, reaching 773,431 people; (8) contributed to positive shifts in community perceptions and responses towards VAW. For example, the number of women who disagree with wife-beating increased by 46% (from 31% to 77%), while for men, the increase was 15% (from 40% to 55%); and (9) supported the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to integrate VAW prevention, behaviour change, and transformation of gender-based social norms into the National Action Plan on Violence against Women and Children 2018 to 2030.

• Proactive disclosure