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The Nexus of Livelihoods and SGBVUN-CSW Side Event, March 12,2013, Mara Russell of Land O’Lakes International Development

Livelihoods are Impacted by SGBV

• Reduction of women’s self-esteem and agency needed to make independent decisions

• Loss of essential assets (capital), which are the “building blocks” of livelihoods: Human Capital: health, education, skills Productive Capital: tools and owned/managed resources

that enable livelihoods Social Capital: relationships within a community or society

that enable commerce Financial Capital: monetary wealth that enables investment

in other types of capital (human capital, productivity) Natural Capital: natural resources that support lives and

livelihoods

Asset Stripping: Essential to SGBV

• “Asset Stripping” (In the context of disasters and conflicts): Unsustainable sale of assets at a loss Depletion of natural resources or assets due to high

degree of exposure to a shock or disaster• SGBV in a woman’s life can be equivalent to

the impact of a disaster!• It doesn’t just impact a woman’s life, but an

entire household (and may have community impacts)

• May underlie chronic poverty

Human Capital

Productive Capital

Social Capital

Financial Capital

What is lost with SGBV: Assets needed for livelihoods

Natural Capital

• Loss of Human Capital: Negative impacts on women’s and children’s physical

and mental health; handicaps - women’s inability to care for children, illness, depression in women reduces agency and self-esteem

• Loss of Productive Capital: Theft of land, livestock from widows(Izumi, 2007),

access to land (sometimes children) removed due to divorce, return of bride price by parents of SGBV accusers (ACFODE, LVCT, 2012)

Asset Stripping: Essential to SGBV

• Social Capital: Both intimate partner and public violence against women requires

impunity, acceptance and protection of perpetrator, divorce may result in isolation and loss of social connections

• Financial Capital: SGBV has been found to be positively correlated to women’s

employment (Morrison and Orlando, 2004) Uptick in SGBV at harvest in Zambia – arguments over use of

funds from crop sales Women who travel for business are vulnerable SGBV increased with promotion of savings & loan groups in

Bangladesh (Kelkar, 2005) SGBV did not automatically decrease with microcredit

interventions (Kim, et. al., 2007) Sexual harassment continues in work places throughout the world

Asset Stripping: Essential to SGBV

• Natural Capital: Conflicts over grazing rights, water, and depletion of

natural resources due to unsustainable activities impact women’s ability to engage in livelihoods and care for their families

Asset Stripping: Essential to SGBV

Cause: Rights, Roles, Responsibilities

“Unequal gender relations distribute the burden of poverty disproportionately on women. They can also be the cause of poverty among women and girls in non-poor families. These unequal relations…need to be addressed both as a cause and as a factor in the intensification of poverty.” (Kelkar, 2005)

Ensuring Sustainability Requires a Shift in Underlying

Power Relations

• Providing credit, assets and training to women will not matter if they continue to be victims of SGBV: Essential: build women’s agency and self-esteem Essential: build respect among intimate partners, male

community members and leaders Essential: women in leadership roles, act as role-models

for girls

How to Bring About the Shift

• Ensure women have a support group: A “women’s group” they can work and grow with: Care Groups, Coops or Production & Marketing Groups, Saving & Loan Groups

• Foster education, training and attainment for girls and women on par with men’s & boy’s: Train men and women together

• Ensure women’s participation in decision-making: in communities, coops, businesses, and government

• Shift ownership patterns so that “his” and “hers” become “ours”

• Build access to justice and redress

Dare to Challenge Culture!

Human Capital

Productive Capital

Social Capital

Financial Capital

Natural Capital