Learning Brief #5: What Works to Advance Women's Economic Empowerment

Oxfam's "Creating spaces to take action on violence against women and girls" project (2016-2021) aims to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG), including the prevalence of child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The project is implemented by local partner organisations, with support from Oxfam country offices and Oxfam Canada.

Following the socio-ecological model on violence prevention, the Creating Spaces project applied a multi-pronged, multi-stakeholder approach, at the individual, household, community and societal/ institutional levels, to prevent and respond to VAWG and CEFM.

Women and girls experiencing intimate partner and family violence are often financially dependent on their abusers, and thus disempowered to change their circumstance. The devastating economic impacts and lockdowns associated with COVID-19 have only exacerbated matters, leading to a significant global rise in VAWG cases and unpaid care burden on women and girls. Global evidence affirms that strengthening women's economic autonomy is fundamental to breaking these cycles of violence. However, these efforts can be futile and even increase harms to women if the structural barriers and fundamental norms that drive gender inequalities and violence at the household, community, and workplace remain intact.