Response and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in Conflict-Affected Khyber

Start & End Date: 2019-2022

Country/Countries: Pakistan

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: World Bank

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is situated along Pakistan’s northwestern border with Afghanistan and has been affected by a decade-long period of violence and instability.

The State and Peacebuilding Fund provides catalytic financing to help prevent conflict, support rapid crisis responses, and build long-term resilience in situations of fragility, conflict, and violence. The grant-funded project Response and Prevention of Gender-Based Violence in Conflict-Affected Khyber provided a roadmap for preventing the risk of GBV across multiple World Bank projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The model developed for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa holds great promise for other FCV and capacity constrained contexts. The SPF grant financed strengthening of GBV-related referral services while enhancing the capacity of Government counterparts to address prevention of and response to GBV. The project also piloted a behavioural intervention in partnership with local organizations, to change attitudes that normalize violence amongst both women and men.

The pilot project trained 461 women and 299 men as well as 44 religious leaders and explored innovative ways to prevent and respond to GBV. The evaluation of this component found valuable lessons, including that bridging information and trust barriers can promote uptake of previously unused GBV services, and that although women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are constrained by prevalent social norms in engaging peers outside their immediate circles, they are effective at reaching other women who live nearby and can create new networks. While these pilot approaches hold great promise, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s alarmingly high rates of GBV prevalence and social acceptance will require large-scale interventions across multiple sectors.