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An Economic Pathway to Freedom and Justice

Enterprise Support for GBV Survivors

Hyderabad and Mansehra

 

Background              

Women’s economic empowerment is today recognized as one of the most important factor contributing to equality between women and men. It is economic security that increases an individual’s options and choices in life. Economic empowerment puts women in a stronger position and gives them the power to participate, together with men, in the shaping of society, to influence development at all levels of society, and to make decisions that promote their families and their own wellbeing. Economic empowerment of women is a matter of human rights and social justice[1].

Empowerment has been defined in many ways. One-way to think about empowerment is to equate it with the power to relate with self, with others and with the larger environment. The more accepted definition of women’s economic empowerment goes beyond the market and encompasses changes in relation to access to, and control over, critical resources and opportunities, including legal, political, legislative and environmental.

As noted in numerous literature and evaluation studies, there is an intrinsic link between women’s economic empowerment and gender-based violence. Women’s improved economic situation can provide them opportunities to escape exploitative relationships at home. It breaks the economic dependence on a partner that is often at the root of domestic violence. However, there is also some evidence of how economic empowerment has led to increased gender-based violence, where female access to credit or land may be perceived by male members of the family as challenging the existing gender order within the household. Domestic violence can arise as a backlash effect to women’s new activities in the economic arena. It can therefore be important to address risks for increased violence and ensure support for survivors of violence, as well as to include male relatives in activities as a preventative measure.

Why Economic Empowerment in GBV Projects

Most GBV projects in Pakistan focus on the health, legal and rehabilitation aspects of GBV management. Some projects integrate skills training and income generation at shelter homes, but a very few have shown encouraging results. Most such economic intervention projects were designed by those who are experts at the legal and health support for GBV survivors, rather than at the economic empowerment.

As economic empowerment has long been considered a key component in structural interventions to reduce gender inequality. It has been noticed that increased empowerment reduces GBV because educational or financial empowerment offers a higher status in the household, and society, which decreases women’s risk of experiencing violence.

 

In several projects implemented by local organizations, a number of GBV survivors were supported for legal as well as livelihood support to get their matter resolved through court.

 

Unfortunately, there are many courageous GBV survivors who opt to return to the homes of the very perpetrators of such violence, purely because they are unable to meet their economic needs, or don't know how to sustain their business. Unless gender equality programs in Pakistan have stronger economic empowerment interventions, the program may remain limited in scope and results.

It is proposed, that as a pilot project layer the existing program interventions with an economic empowerment capacity building intervention. The Theory of Change is: If a woman’s personal power is developed by facilitating her to increase economic self-reliance, this power positively affects her personal power (the power within), through which she can improve and re-negotiate her relational power, i.e., with the household and community. She is then also able to have more power and potential to directly deal with the external environment, i.e., the legislative and the political, thus allowing GBV support projects a sustainable exit.

Proposed Economic Empowerment Intervention

To use 50 GBV Survivors as Field Based Case Studies to determine the following:

1.      Are there particular types of GBV survivors who are more appropriate candidates for economic empowerment programs? Why or why not?

2.      What economic ‘plus’ interventions are necessary to design a successful economic program for GBV survivors?

3.      What skills set must exist at the level of the implementing partners to make such a program a success?

GOAL AND Specific Objectives:

 

Goal: Women and girls live a life free from gender-based violence

 

Outcome 1. Women's participation in decision making processes increased

Output 1.1 Women's knowledge of their rights to participate in decision making has increased.

Outcome 2: Dominant Social norms protected girls and women from GBV

Output 2.1 Male role models have been identified and mobilized to become change agents.

 

Implementation Steps:

1.       The contracting organization will facilitate list of the villages/locations earmarked to be the potential areas for the implementation of this sub-project. Each partner would be guided to use orientation and selection tools to finally select 25 GBV Survivors to participate in this program. 20 participants in each province (Sindh and KP) would be those who have spark and drive, and who can be termed as fighters. However, 5 women from each province would be those who currently don't show much drive and may need economic PLUS interventions.

2.       The 25 women in each province (Sindh and KPK) would be further clustered in 5 Enterprise Groups. Their personal profiles would be developed with details of their names, personal particulars, contact details and area of entrepreneurial interest. They, and their family elders would be made aware of the project rationale, objectives, and implementation methodology and output/outcome level results.

3.       The Enterprise Teams (ETs) in both cities would identify and tap into economic growth opportunities for these women. Based on the businesses selected by these women, the ETs would undertake an eco-system mapping to guide the development of a capacity building program that would provide the following:

o   A 5-day training for 25 GBV survivors in two cities.

o   4 mentoring and follow-up visits to each cluster of entrepreneurs

o   Linkages to other available resources, e.g., inclusion in existing government schemes, linkages with access to finance with Khud Kifalat Rozgar Scheme, Akhuwat and Prime Minister’s interest free loaning scheme or any other MFI

o   Opening up their own bank accounts

o   Training in financial literacy, i.e. how to budget, save, invest, and manage finances

4.       Careful regular documentation would be undertaken for approximately 16 selected women, so that progress and patterns could be noted for future scale up.

5.       End of project report would capture the extent to which the Theory of Change is proved or disproved.

Scope of the work

Services of an organization or consultant(s) are required to collaborate in providing economic empowerment / entrepreneurial skills to 50 GBV survivors in district Mansehra of KP province and Hyderabad of Sindh province and linking those trained survivors to available resources, e.g., inclusion in existing government schemes, linkages with access to finance with Khud Kifalat Rozgar Scheme, Akhuwat and Prime Minister’s interest free loaning scheme or any other MFI.

 

1.      Deliverables of the organization/consultant

After signing the contract with selected organization/consultant, it will closely work with the contracting organization to ensure timely and effective delivery of the training. Under this collaboration, the selected organization/ consultant would be responsible to deliver the following:

 

1.1.   Developing Entrepreneurship Skills Of 50 Identified Women In District Mansehra And Hyderabad

The entrepreneurial skills training package will be designed in a manner wherein following element will be imbedded;

-          A 4-day training for 25 GBV survivors in each city and 10 women (5 women from each province would be those who currently don't show much drive and may need economic PLUS interventions)

-          Conducting four mentoring and follow-up visits to each cluster of entrepreneurs

-          Assisting entrepreneurs in developing their business model and preparing feasibility for their business model (if absolutely necessary) by ensuring seed grants for business support (of up to maximum PKRs. 15,000 per participant)

-          Developing linkages to other available resources, e.g., inclusion in existing government schemes, linkages with access to finance with Khud Kifalat Rozgar Scheme, Akhuwat and Prime Minister’s interest free loaning scheme or any other Microfinance Institutes (MFI).

-          Facilitating those trained entrepreneurs in opening their own bank accounts.

-          Building capacity of the entrepreneurs in financial literacy, i.e., how to budget, save, invest, and manage finances

 

1.2.     Developing cluster of 10 enterprise groups each comprising of 5 survivors

-          Mentoring them for business/ enterprise enhancement

-          Identifying potential enterprise for trained women

-          Developing their personal profiles with details of their names, particulars, contact details and area of entrepreneurial interest.

-          Orientating participants’ family members and their elders on project rationale, objectives, and implementation methodology and output/outcome level results, so that any possible challenges at family/community level could be addressed effectively.

 

1.3.   regular documentation for approximately 16 selected women, so that progress and patterns could be noted for future scale up

-          Developing case studies / video documentary of successful business model

-          Lessons learnt and challenges that could have hampered proposed activities

-          End of project report capturing the extent to which the Theory of Change (ToC) is proved or disproved.