Support to GBV and Gender Equality Initiatives in Benin
Through the Support to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Gender Equality Initiatives in Benin program, EngenderHealth is supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance in the fight against GBV and to promote gender equality in Benin. Our work focuses on national-level strategies to prevent GBV. We are partnering with organizations in Benin to expand and strengthen the vital work that they are already doing.
According to UNFPA data in 2018, 14.6% of ever-partnered women aged 15–49 in Benin experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence in the preceding 12 months. GBV profoundly damages individual lives, societies, and economies. Addressing and preventing GBV is critical to transforming gender norms and advancing gender-equitable communities.
Through this program, EngenderHealth will report on and validate the national GBV study, create and implement a digital GBV library, assess Benin’s national gender policy, and support improvements to the Integrated Data System on Family, Women, and Children. Through an innovative and flexible fund, we will help strengthen GBV interventions led by the Benin Feminists Network and GBV reduction media initiatives led by the Union of Media Professionals of Benin. Additionally, the program supports the Ministry of Defense by including a course and awareness-raising module on GBV for student soldiers in training at military schools. We are also providing support to ONG Ya Tchégbo, a local organization, to set up and run an emergency shelter in Cotonou for women survivors and their children.
Together with our partners in Benin, we are working to develop and enhance national and social programs preventing GBV to ensure that everyone can live free from violence.
Program Partners
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Microfinance (Ministère de la Microfinance et des Affaires Sociales)
- Ministry of Defense
- Observatory of the Family, the Woman and the Child of Benin (Observatoire de la Famille, de la Femme et de l’Enfant)
- Union of Media Professionals of Benin (Union des Professionels des Media du Bénin)
- Benin Feminists Network (Réseau des Féministes du Bénin)
- ONG Ya Tchégbo
