Gender-based Violence (GBV) Data Collection Essay example -- Violence

Violence against women, particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence, is both a public health problem and a violation of women’s human rights. The issue of gender-based violence (GBV) has increasingly become an agenda item addressed by nations across the world. International organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations (UN) and humanitarian aid/relief agencies like the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and PLAN International have been collectively working to provide services to victims, advocating for increased gender equality and reducing rates of violence against women, etc. The evidence-base on the magnitude of this problem across various settings continues to grow; potentially providing governments, aid agencies and other partners with the strengthened capacity to design and implement prevention and response interventions. While the undertaking of prevalence studies in complex emergencies has the potential to influence GBV program ming and policy in emergency settings, challenges exist that thwart its effectiveness. Using some of the most cited papers in the emergency field as a framework, this paper seeks to explore the intricacies of GBV data collection in humanitarian settings. Drawing upon the critiques of these works, the use of strengthened and standardized methodology will be suggested as a means to improve GBV programming. Starting with the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the same year, violence against women has been thrust into the light as a health and human rights concern. This recognition would be strengthened by agreements and declarations at international conferences includin... ...er 1995. New York, NY, United Nations, 1995 (document A/CONF.177/20). United Nations. 1993. â€Å" Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.† United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/104. NewYork: United Nations. United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) (2005) ‘Violence against women: a statistical overview, challenges and gaps in data collection and methodology and approaches for overcoming them’, report of the Expert Group Meeting, Geneva, 11–14 April 2005 http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw-stat-2005/docs/final-report-vaw-stats.pdf Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 14–25 June 1993. New York, NY, United Nations, 1993 (document A/CONF.157/23). Jones 10 Watts & Zimmerman (2002). Violence Against Women: global scope and magnitude. The Lancet, (359), 1232-7