This webinar offered International Sign Language interpretation and Closed Captioning.

Social protection can be a key tool for responding to violence through prevention and response mechanisms. Not only can social protection play a role in ensuring that survivors can get the services and support they need, but it can play a protective role during key points of vulnerability to poverty and violence, such as during emergencies and at key points across the lifecycle, for example during adolescence to address risks of early marriage, during pregnancy and childbirth, to address nutrition needs and household economic stress.

The joint webinar and podcast series ''Social protection for prevention of and response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV)'' aims to look more in-depth and delve into particular topics and themes so as not to cover the same ground that has been covered in other recent events. Examples of specific themes for deeper discussion may include social protection plus, safeguarding for specific cohorts or for a particular technical area such as data collection and management of data, focusing on new or emerging evidence/policy, and looking deeper at regional examples. 

The conversation on how social protection and social assistance systems can be designed to safeguard women and children and also leveraged as a protective function against violence is gaining traction. The webinar series will provide an opportunity for social protection, humanitarian, child protection, and gender-based violence actors and organisations to present and raise the profile of these issues. The webinars will highlight emerging evidence of ‘what works’ and advocate for further thinking and multisectoral delivery in this space including increasing knowledge in this area.

The first webinar in the series explored the risks of gender-based violence faced by young and adolescent girls, and the role of social protection. It included a discussion on various forms of gender-based violence affecting young people, including intimate partner violence, domestic violence, and child marriage as well as design considerations within social protection policies and programs. This includes tailoring approaches and services to their needs to both mitigate risk and curb Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

Speakers: 

Christiana Gbedemah, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Ghana

Miho Yoshikawa, Child Protection Specialist (Harmful Practices, Gender, and Adolescent), UNICEF Ghana

Nontokozo Langwenya, PhD Student, UKRI GCRF Accelerate Hub, Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford

Sergio De Marco, Country Director for IPA's (Peru, Paraguay & Dominican Republic)

Moderator: Lauren Whitehead, Social Protection and Gender Lead, UNICEF NYHQ

Resources:

Could digital cash transfers help tackle gender-based violence?

Violence against adolescents: prevention must cross the divide between children and women

Safety First e-course on GBV and social protection (WB)

How social protection programs can help to tackle GBV (WB and CGD)

SPIAC-B and socialprotection.org | Resources on Gender-Responsive Social Protection- GBV

Cash Transfer & IPV Collaborative: Operational Brief

World Bank short videos

UNICEF Key Considerations for GBV Risk Mitigation in Humanitarian Cash Transfers

Accelerate Hub HEY BABY Study in South Africa (acceleratehub.org)

IPA| Joining Forces to Address Gender-Based Violence in Peru (poverty-action.org)

Government of Ghana Social Welfare Information Management System (SWIMS)

DFAT, in collaboration with FCDO, UNICEF, and STAAR, and with the support from the socialprotection.org platform, is organizing a webinar and podcasts series on gender-based violence entitled 'Social Protection for Prevention of and Response to Gender-Based Violence (GBV)'. This series will take place from February to May and will explore how social protection can both mitigate against gender-based violence over the life course providing a protective measure, ensure that delivery chains have been assessed for and address safeguarding risks and support survivors of violence meet their immediate needs.