GBV Related Projects

Your gift will enable World Renew to address Gender Based Violence in its various forms. GBV is rooted in unequal and unfair power relationships between men and women. It is one of the most prevalent, isolating and indignifying forms of abuse globally.

Women in Bangladesh are faced with unique economic, health and social challenges. They have very low social status and are often denied opportunities to serve in leadership positions. In peri-urban communities, men are involved in seasonal fishing (six months season), leaving families with no income the rest of the year. Most women do not work. The literacy levels are quite low and, with inadequate child protection mechanisms, an extremely high number of girls are married off at a young age and removed from school. Boys too drop off to earn money through traditional fishing at an early age. Most rural households are engaged in agriculture, yet 50% of them are landless. Most families have no access to clean sanitation and communities suffer shortage of healthcare professionals and facilities. Over 80% of babies are born without a skilled birth attendant putting both the mother and child’s life at risk.

The proposed project will focus on strengthening self-help groups (Primary Groups- PGs) and community based organizations (People’s Institutions - PIs) in the urban slums and peri-urban areas of Dhaka as well as in Sachail, Dhala and Routi Unions of Tarail Upazila rural communities in Kishoregoni District (northeast of Dhaka). This multi-tier system of Primary Groups and People’s Institutions, provides a structure to organize and to build leadership among the communities, and gives a platform from which communities can continue to plan and implement their own development, playing a crucial role in sustainability.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will support 400 Primary Groups, among them 5,922 youth like Fajima. Women and young girls will be empowered to overcome unique challenges they face in Bangladesh. New threats perpetuated by COVID-19 pandemic will also be addressed ensuring communities are safe for children and especially for girls, and women have the opportunity to run successful businesses and support their families. Men too, will learn to appreciate the value of women's participation in development activities and take steps to create opportunities for them resulting in peaceful and safe communities for all.

Will you join Fajima in creating opportunity for the girls, women and communities in Dhaka and surrounding peri-urban and rural communities?

The COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia has brought with it an increase in internal family tension and an escalation of incidents of domestic violence. While the reasons for this are numerous and varied, some of the violence can be explained by the ways women have been forced to spend their time. For many women, the outbreak has led to an increase in time spent offering unpaid care and completing domestic work day to day. The closure of garment factories, which employed more women than men, has further exacerbated financial strains associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. And since many rural communities in Cambodia already did not value activities like housework in the same way as income-generating activities that men or boys more commonly undertake, women have received blowback for what is seen as a failure to financially contribute to the family.

This project works to improve economic opportunities for women and men and to improve community members’ perceptions of the importance of women’s contributions to their families and their broader community. The project will also address the skills gap that many women face from having less access to formal education by training those women on livelihood development and income generation activities.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 248 participants--including 192 women--grow their income safety net and diversify their business opportunities, increasing the likelihood that women’s roles and values to the family are respected and given equal value compared to those of men and boys. A portion of the project budget will also be allocated to Kasi-Win, a newly established business team that can help new entrepreneurs generate business investment capital.

The COVID-19 outbreak in Cambodia has brought with it an increase in internal family tension and an escalation of incidents of domestic violence. While the reasons for this are numerous and varied, some of the violence can be explained by the ways women have been forced to spend their time. For many women, the outbreak has led to an increase in time spent offering unpaid care and completing domestic work day to day. The closure of garment factories, which employed more women than men, has further exacerbated financial strains associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. And since many rural communities in Cambodia already did not value activities like housework in the same way as income-generating activities that men or boys more commonly undertake, women have received blowback for what is seen as a failure to financially contribute to the family.

This project works to improve economic opportunities for women and men and to improve community members’ perceptions of the importance of women’s contributions to their families and their broader community. The project will also address the skills gap that many women face from having less access to formal education by training those women on livelihood development and income generation activities.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 441 participants--including 392 women--grow their income safety net and diversify their business opportunities, increasing the likelihood that women’s roles within the family are respected and given equal value compared to those of men and boys. A portion of the project budget will also be allocated to Kasi-Win, a newly established business team that can help new entrepreneurs generate business investment capital.

Guatemala is a patriarchal and male-dominated society, characterized by the historical exclusion of indigenous populations in general and women in particular. Gender inequality gaps exist in all sectors and domains, with broad impacts on decision-making, political and social participation and leadership, access to assets and resources, and the distribution of responsibility and tasks in both domestic and reproductive contexts.

World Renew works to improve gender relations and conflict resolution in five communities located in the municipality of Sayaxché, department of Petén, by developing contextualized materials to train community leaders, church leaders, and community members in gender equity, its effect on the community, and potential action steps to help resolve/improve the current situation.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 50 women and men become community justice champions who will continue promoting best practices for gender equality, conflict resolution, good family relationships, and advocacy, while the local church will become more involved in promoting peacebuilding and justice. It will also help World Renew’s local partner APIDEC gain expertise in designing and implementing justice programs, in order to replicate their experience in new communities.

Guatemala is a patriarchal and male-dominated society, characterized by the historical exclusion of indigenous populations in general and women in particular. Gender inequality gaps exist in all sectors and domains, with broad impacts on decision-making, political and social participation and leadership, access to assets and resources, and the distribution of responsibility and tasks in both domestic and reproductive contexts.

World Renew works to improve gender relations and conflict resolution in five communities located in the municipalities of Senahu and Santa Catalina La Tinta, in the department of Alta Verapaz, by developing contextualized materials to train community leaders, church leaders, and community members in gender equity, its effect on the community, and potential action steps to help resolve/improve the current situation.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 70 women and men become community justice champions who will continue promoting the best practices for gender equality, conflict resolution, good family relationships and advocacy, while the local church will become more involved in promoting peacebuilding and justice. It will also help World Renew’s local partner ADIP gain expertise in designing and implementing justice programs in order to replicate their experience in new communities.

This project addresses the challenges of 150 at-risk youth (aged 10-18) in two marginalized urban communities in Honduras, where urban violence and poverty exist in cycles that impede young people’s growth and development. Many of the targeted young people are those at risk of dropping out of school or getting involved in gangs and drug trafficking. The ultimate objective of the project is to strengthen structures that protect children and adolescents and work with families and community leaders to prevent urban violence and foster a culture of peace. The sustainability of the program rests in bolstering active citizen participation and capacity of youth to know and demand their rights.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 150 urban youth receive training and support that will equip them to become leaders in their community. As a result, youth will be less vulnerable, the recurring cycle of violence will be prevented, and children and adolescents living in marginal communities will gain access to protection and a strong community network. You will also increase the ability of parents and children to work as supportive family units and allow for greater academic engagement for these children and adolescents.

This initiative will bring resources and support to one of the poorest provinces of Mozambique. Through you, World Renew will help strengthen Christian outreach programs aimed at empowering local churches and communities to find biblically-based solutions to the problems that they face. These problems include high levels of infant mortality and poor health as well as low levels of productivity from farming. This project will fund programs that engage both men and women in addressing justice and restoration of right relationships within families and with the creation in a way that results in wholeness (shalom). Your funding supports a multifaceted approach to improving wellbeing in communities located in the Milange District.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 2,205 community members like Mrs. Cecilia, empowering them through literacy, worldview change, improved access to small-scale loans, and improved stewardship of natural resources. It will also serve to sustain ESPANOR, World Renew’s local partner, in their Christian outreach and ongoing work to support community development and maintain momentum in locally directed community transformation.

Many young girls and women face sexual harassment and abuse in their schools and neighborhoods. Children are not able to report abuse due to the cultural divides between generations in Malian society, and women are vulnerable to men who dictate whether or not abuse is reported, dealt with, or cared for. There is also a strong lack of information in Malian communities around sexual and reproductive health responses (SRHR), particularly around preventing or treating STIs, right to consent, intimacy, female genital mutilation, abuse and other subjects.

The project aims to equip the church, parents, and children to prevent and stop abuse and protect the victims. The current project is a direct result of the successful programming from 2007- 2019 through the partnership between World Renew Mali and Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund (CRWRF), which stemmed from local women’s recognition of their own lack of knowledge concerning issues of health and community leaders asking for help responding to these needs. The programming has been operational ever since. However, in order to continue, World Renew is asking you to help us match the funding from CRWRF to maintain the project.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help fifteen facilitators at 140 churches and schools reach 5,625 people, including 3,498 women. Your gift will directly promote good communication between parents and children and between spouses; equip the church, parents, and children to prevent and stop abuse and protect survivors; and engage in habits and behaviours that promote health and healthy relationships. In addition, your gift will help participants understand abuse and harassment complaint mechanisms for survivors and find ways to support them in collaboration with lawyers and human right institutions working in Mali.

In Nigeria, young women aged 15-24 suffer from HIV at a higher prevalence than young men of the same age. In addition, women in Nigeria are more likely than men to be poor because they have fewer economic opportunities and generally receive less formal education than males. Public and open discussions regarding gender, justice issues, and sexual matters are seen as inappropriate, and it is not uncommon for male teachers to pressure female students for sex in exchange for grades or for men to provide material favours to women and girls in exchange for sex.

World Renew seeks to educate these adolescents in healthy behaviors that reduce risks from HIV and AIDS, STIs, and early/unwanted pregnancies. Our programming works through peer education groups for those in school and those in the community. The peer education leadership method helps in developing young leaders and creates platforms for discussing sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents. This approach builds confidence for boys and girls in communicating their opinions, thereby improving protection of these children and youth from violence and unwanted sexual attention or abuse.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 600 adolescents take control of their own sexual health not only through peer education but also through an increased community-level ability to identify, discuss, and respond to reproductive health concerns and issues related to sexual abuse as well as an increased recognition of the rights of adolescent girls to reject early marriages and unwanted sexual advances, especially by men and adolescent boys in the community.

Though much progress has been made through World Renew’s work in Nigeria over the last nine years, COVID-19 is exacerbating poverty and unemployment in each of the target communities where we work. Many households have reduced the area where they can plant crops this year. Smaller crop yields, coupled with the economic downturn, have led to increased food insecurity. This insecurity is further compounded by the ongoing conflict between farmers and nomadic (Fulani) herders that affects much of Benue State.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted self-help groups and reduced the amount of savings in these groups, they continue to play a vital role in maintaining the resilience of vulnerable communities. One participant said, “Things could have been worse for me and my family if I were not part of this program at this time.”

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 400 women continue to provide for their families in the face of a global pandemic by giving them the training and support they need to maintain, lead, and grow their small businesses. It will also strengthen the resilience of entire communities as they care for one another and seek solutions for ending poverty and unemployment.

Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world and one of the highest rates of new infection in sub-Saharan Africa, with 1.8 million people living with HIV in Nigeria as of 2019. In response, this project addresses key areas of need in Nigeria, where infidelity is a cause of numerous marriage problems, even amongst church congregations and leaders. In addition to damaging marital relationships, infidelity contributes to high levels of HIV transmission and other sexually transmitted diseases within communities and congregations, threatening the health and wellbeing of vulnerable community members. Through this project, World Renew aims to strengthen family structures and community leadership by improving faithfulness in marriage and reducing HIV transmission in target communities in Plateau State, specifically, in the Fobur, Heipang, Ganawuri, and Vom communities.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 160 couples take part in communal learning and peer-led education regarding faithful marriage, healthy communication, and the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Leaders of these groups will also be trained as facilitators, thus strengthening the base of overall leadership in these target communities.

Although there are over one million adolescents ages 15-19 in Senegal, very few of them have access to formal sexual and reproductive health education or support. Many do not fully understand use and access to contraceptives before they turn 18; according to them, cultural and religious norms censuring conversations around premarital sexual activity are the reasons for not asking questions about their own health or seeking care. As a result, young women do not have the information needed to make wise choices and they experience widespread teenage pregnancy leading to school dropouts, adolescents being expelled from home, and greater chances of destitution and poverty.

This project aims to improve adolescents’ access to sexual and reproductive health support as well as their education around sexual activity and risky behaviors through a multi-stakeholder approach targeting the adolescents in peer group training while also engaging parents, community gatekeepers, and community health service providers.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 1,150 peer-educators, community leaders, parents, and adolescent girls and boys work together to foster greater access to sexual and reproductive health education and support, increase healthy behaviors that protect against HIV and AIDS, decrease early and forced marriage, lower teen pregnancy, and empower youth to fully participate in their own health and learning. It will also support and grow the work of community gender advocates as they come alongside adolescents and their families.

Access to sexual and reproductive health services and information (SRHR) remains significantly low in the Yarakh communities in Senegal for adolescent boys and girls, especially for those from vulnerable and marginalized communities. Limited economic activities coupled with traditional practices and religious beliefs that limit SRHR have led to increased numbers of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which also result in increased poverty levels and limited economic and education opportunities.

In response, this project promotes greater access to adolescent sexual reproductive health care and information and reduces adherence to traditional practices that lead to harm and personal violation. The project also increases healthy decision making, especially for girls as it relates to their SRH and the ability to refrain from activities that put their sexual, physical, and emotional health at risk. Through community conversations and increased equity in the numbers of male and female community health workers, your gift will reduce gender inequalities and barriers that limit the access of basic health services for adolescents.

Your gift will be applied towards this project which will help 1,000 peer-educators, community leaders, parents, and adolescent girls and boys work together to foster greater access to SRHR services, increase healthy behaviors that protect against HIV and AIDS, decrease early and forced marriage, lower teen pregnancy, and empower the youth to fully participate in their own health and learning. Your will also support and grow the work of community gender advocates as they come alongside adolescents and their families.