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Community-Based Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence: A review of evidence and essential steps to adaptation

Authors:
The Global Women's Institute | World Bank Group
Year Published:
2016
Resource Type:
Literature Review | Technical Guidance
Language:
English

To achieve its aim, the paper highlights several examples of effective community mobilization interventions to prevent IPV. It underscores the basic components that must be considered to adapt successful interventions to different contexts and collectively serve as a methodological guide on programming. This review focuses specifically on IPV against women, as opposed to VAWG more broadly, for several reasons. Partner violence is the most prevalent form of violence against women globally: a woman is at the greatest risk for suffering violence in her own home by someone she knows. A recent systematic review commissioned by the World Bank Group found that most of effective evaluations and programs on VAWG have been directed to IPV. Finally, authors such as Heise and Kostadam (2015) argue that by specifically focusing on IPV, program implementers gain access to a strategic entry point (the family) to address harmful social norms and behaviors that influence other forms of VAWG. While all forms of VAWG share similar characteristics and underlying risk factors, addressing IPV specifically allows program implementers to build strong, evidence based tools that can later be adapted to address other types of VAWG.