Living Up to Our Promise: understanding gender-based violence and the Do No Harm approach

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a serious, prevalent and preventable human rights abuse. It is a critical barrier to the achievement of gender equality and the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms. A woman’s right to live free from violence and fear is upheld in a number of international agreements, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1983), UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006).

The purpose of this guide is to provide World Vision staff with practical ways of understanding gender-based violence (GBV) concepts. It supports the understanding of key concepts related to GBV to enhance the development of interventions to address gender-based violence in non-targeted programming (mainstreaming). Rather than providing comprehensive guidance on how to deliver GBV programs, this document is instead a concise resource to support World Vision staff in adhering to the ‘do no harm’ principle related to GBV. This guide also aims to address gaps identified through World Vision’s project evaluations by providing staff with a resource to integrate best practices in addressing GBV across various programming sectors and approaches. At the end of the document, you will find a list of internal and external resources which we invite you to explore for further learning.

Learn more about World Vision's GESI work.