Capabilities and Community Cohesion as Measures for Estimating the Impact of VAWG in Developing Contexts

Stacey Scriver, Nata Duvvury, Srinivas Raghavendra and Sinead Ashe

About the project

• 3rd component of the What Works Programme: estimating the economic and social impacts of VAWG

• Working in three countries :– South Sudan, – Pakistan,– Ghana.

• Involves quantitative and qualitative approaches to establishing economic costs and social impacts– Quantitative surveys with households and women, employees and

business managers.– Qualitative in-depth interviews, with female survivors, Key informants

and FGDs with community members. Pilot of BNIM interviews

Researching impacts of VAWG

Gaps • How multiple

experiences impact an individual across their life-course

• How context (e.g. fragility, conflict, stability) mitigates or intensifies impacts

• Community-level and State level impacts

Limitations of traditional approaches• overlooks role of choice and agency, particularly in quant. research• poor understanding of pathways through which VAWG results in known outcomes• who determines what are deemed negative impacts• Relies on some normative

concepts and assumptions

Conceptual Framework: pathways through which VAWG is translated to economic loss

How to address these limitations?

•Capabilities approaches (e.g. Sen, Nussbaum, Alkire, etc.) offer an alternative…• Individuals’ effective opportunities to undertake the actions and

activities that they want to engage in are what matter.

• based on the premise that ‘social arrangements should be primarily evaluated according to the extent of freedom people have to promote or achieve functionings they value’

• Capabilities = opportunity to achieve these functionings. The combination of functions that the individual can achieve

• not just a re-visioning of human rights frameworks….

Role of community/society…•Capabilities exist only within the web of social interactions of which communities, and community values and beliers, are an important element.

•Individuals’ capabilities (their ability to exercise their freedom to achieve certain functionings) depend on social norms and the role of others:• variations in non-personal resources• Environmental diversities• Different relevant positions vis-à-vis others (Sen, 2005)

• Therefore, the role of community cohesion also significant for understanding how violence against women and girls impacts on capabilities and vice versa.

Applying capabilities approaches to measuring the impact of VAWG in development contexts

Despite increased recognition of the importance of the capabilities approach in development (e.g. UNDP), tools and measures to assess capabilities are under-developed

First step: which capabilities?• Universal or culturally specific?• Links to community cohesion• Adapted questions drawn from community

cohesion measures to understand how capabilities mediate between individual and community/society impacts

Domains of Analysis/Functionings…

Community levelSafety

Sense of safetyPresence of conflictInclusion

accessing to servicesSense of belongingParticipationVolunteeringPolitical participationCommunity organisation/managementAccess to public goodsCommunity trustTrust in authorities and neighboursReciprocityFear of crimeSocial networks – size and quality

Individual levelAgency and efficacy

Including control over decisions Health & Security

Access to health services, contraception ect.

Sense of securityKnowledge and understanding

Knowledge of help services, clubs, societies etc.Social connections

Family, friends, size of networks, quality of networks, reciprocity and helpingPARTICIPATION democratic practice, involvement in clubs, empowerment, self-determination Emotional well-being

Applying capabilities approaches to measuring the impact of VAWG in development contexts

First step: which capabilities?

Second Step: designing tools to adequately account for capabilities.

- need to not only recognise barriers to achieving functions, but understand these barriers.

- scales that recognise the ‘sets’ of capabilities.

e.g. sample questions to access role of capabilities in determining impact…

Common Question: Participation and volunteering (e.g. in last three years)

Add: Please tell me why you have not participated in a community group, club or society within the past three years? I was prevented from participating I had no interest I did not think I had anything to contribute I did not think I had anything to gain I did not have the right clothes I did not feel I belonged I did not have money for transport or fees I did not know how to participate None of these Don’t know

AIM: not only to assess levels of participation but to understand the ability to achieve this function or the barriers to achieving the function.

Sample questions to access role of capabilities in determining impact…

Common Question: Sexual violence/help-seeking

Add: Why did you not seek help on the last time that you experienced being tricked or forced into sexual behaviours against your will in the workplace?

It was my faultShameFear of being excluded or shunned by colleaguesTo maintain family honourFear that husband or partner would make me stop workFear of violence from husband or partnerIt would negatively affect my chances of promotionI did not think anyone would believe meI did not see the pointOther (SPECIFY)None of thesePrefer not to sayDon’t know

AIM: not only to assess levels of help-seeking but factors involved in not seeking help.

Applying capabilities approaches to measuring the impact of VAWG in development contexts

First step: which capabilities?in our project, turned to Martha Nussbaum’s list of 10 capabilities and drew

from formative research to help define the domains of analysis.

Second Step: designing tools to adequately account for capabilities in these domains.- need to not only recognise barriers to achieving functions, but understand

these barriers.- scales that recognise the ‘sets’ of capabilities.

Third Step: testing the measures. Begin this process in February 2016 in South Sudan, Pakistan and Ghana.

Fourth Step: design of analysis methods to account for impact of VAWG on capabilities.

Potential…Understanding the impact of violence on the capabilities of women on girls provides us with greater ability to understand:

- the pathways through which violence impacts on the lifecourse- how it contributes to poor social cohesion and conflict- how it affects productivity, presenteeism and absenteeism,

ultimately translating into economic development- may also help to reveal poorly understood impacts.

Capabilities approaches may thus assist in designing more effective interventions and in securing more investment and accountability by governments.

This project hopes to contribute towards an understanding of the utility of capabilities as a measurement of the impact of violence, and of change, and to develop tools which can be applied across multiple contexts.

With thanks