Event

RSVP for "Violence Against Women in Elections" on Sep. 27

Date & Time
10:00 AM EDT
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016
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On September 27, join the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and American University (AU) for the launch and discussion of the Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWIE) Framework – a set of tools and recommendations for understanding and reducing violence against women in elections. Presentations will be followed by Q&A, and a networking lunch.

The Framework includes:

  • A typology of violence, specifically naming and categorizing the ways women experience violence in public and private spaces, as well as the relationships and types of perpetrators often involved.
  • An assessment tool and methodology, adding nuanced analysis to move beyond traditional gender or electoral risk assessments.
  • A monitoring tool and methodology, describing guidelines and techniques for improving the ability to document private violence in particular, and ways of collecting and analyzing self-reporting from women.
  • Practical recommendations for an array of stakeholders, bringing together the findings and lessons from the Framework into actionable items.

Violence that women face during elections is different than men – the spaces where it can happen, the types of violence directed at women, and the relationships that are often involved. While many women who have participated in elections would agree with this, neither the democracy and governance community nor gender-based violence practitioners have had a systematic way to prove or approach this problem. Through field and secondary research, IFES and partner AU have meticulously documented a range of women’s experience with violence against women in elections. While momentum is rising on the topic of violence and women in politics, the VAWIE Framework offers concrete tools for practitioners and service providers to move from discussion to action.

IFES and AU have conducted research and pilot initiatives in diverse settings including Bangladesh, Haiti, and Kenya to develop a comprehensive framework that addresses the impact of electoral violence on women’s participation in elections. This Framework is the culmination of the innovative “Bridging the Gaps” project funded by the Conflict Mitigation and Management bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Download an excerpt from the VAWIE Framework here.