WASHINGTON, July 22, 2016—The World Bank Group and Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) today announced a new open call for awards recognizing promising innovations aimed at preventing gender-based violence. Applications to the Development Marketplace for Innovation in Prevention of Gender-Based Violence must be received online by October 1, 2016.
SVRI and the World Bank Group will disburse more than US$1 million to advance evidence-based interventions to prevent gender-based violence (GBV) in low- and middle-income countries. An expert panel will select winners engaged in research, interventions, or other activities related to GBV prevention based on overall merit, research/project design and methods, significance, project manager/team, and ethical considerations.
All applications must be submitted and received via the SVRI and World Bank Group Grant Awards online system by midnight (South Africa time, or 4:59:59 EST) October 1, 2016. Only applications submitted through the online system before the closing date and time will be considered. Winners will be announced in April 2017. The competition is sponsored by the World Bank Group and SVRI in honor of GBV victims and survivors around the world and in memory of Hannah Graham.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, or roughly 938 million women.
The costs of gender-based violence are substantial. Violence against women and girls impedes their full participation in society, limits access to education and economic participation, and hinders efforts to achieve gender equality broadly. Selected country estimates suggest that in out-of-pocket expenditures, lost income, and reduced productivity, intimate partner violence alone can cost up to 4 percent of GDP—more than many governments spend on primary education.
In April 2016, the Bank Group and SVRI awarded nine teams from around the world a total of US$1.2 million. The winners, chosen from more than 300 submissions by research institutions, NGOs, and aid and other organizations, were from Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Lebanon, Moldova, Peru, Thailand, Turkey, and Uganda.
