This brief presents the combined findings from baseline evaluation in Nepal and Bangladesh on the five social norms on which Tipping Point programming focuses. The findings from the social norms’ data suggest that as soon as girls hit puberty, they experience more restrictive norms and their own sensitivity to sanctions from families and community members leads to girls upholding these norms in their behavior. There are some signs of flexibility in repressive norms restricting girls’ lives and options, especially when it comes to flexibility in interactions, mobility and decision about marriage for girls in school settings or in order to pursue education. However, perceived threats to a girls’ virginity or reputation as “chaste” that affect her marriageability acts as a push factor towards child marriage. However, girls depicted confidence to come together for a common purpose. The Tipping Point Initiative seeks to tap this confidence to engage girls in movement building to demand their rights while facilitating a supportive environment of increasingly positive norms and a network of allies to shift harmful and restrictive norms. Available in English, French, and Arabic.
Since Ukrainian women and girls started crossing the border into Poland in February, Polish civil society and women’s organizations been tested like never before. Demand and need for their services has skyrocketed as millions of women and girls from Ukraine seek refuge and support services in Poland. CARE spoke with representatives from 11 women’s rights organizations and women-led organizations in Poland. They told us what their organizations need, what they are concerned about, and what their recommendations for the future of the response are. Read More
Globally an estimated 1.1 billion women, nearly one in three, are excluded from the formal financial system. This is particularly true in humanitarian crises. The Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model with its focus on establishing low cost, self-administered informal financial services - with the ability to link to formal financial institutions where available - has the potential to help address this gap and lay a foundation for future economic recovery. Since 2019, CARE has been working through our VSLA in Emergencies (VSLAiE) approach to increase sectoral learning on how to successfully implement VSLAs in some of the most challenging crisis affected settings. Read More
The lives of people across Ukraine have been profoundly impacted by the humanitarian crisis brought on by the invasion on 24 February 2022. As of 29 April, 5.5 million refugees have already fled Ukraine, and the number of internally displaced persons has reached 7.7 million. Read More