The Office of Development Effectiveness (DFAT)

In collaboration with the Global Women's Institute, we were commissioned by the Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) to produce a strategic evaluation of Australia's development assistance for EVAWG to assess the progress made over the past decade. The report includes recommendations to guide Australia's policy engagement and aid investments on EVAWG over the next decade.

We examined progress, on a large scale, across multiple countries, over a decade. We travelled to multiple countries across the Asia-Pacific region, reviewed countless documents, and conducted interviews and group discussions with hundreds of people working on the ground, from magistrates to police, health-care workers to activists, policy makers to religious leaders.

The evaluation focused on the five countries that were case studies for the 2008 report—Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. Two additional countries, Indonesia and Pakistan, where Australia has significant EVAWG programs, were also included. The evaluation makes recommendations to guide Australia’s aid program and policy engagement on EVAWG over the next decade.

While there has been significant progress in EVAWG in the region, there is still a long way to go. To ensure we don’t lose the fragile, hard-won gains of the past decade, Australia must sustain and strengthen funding and leadership, including through regional and flexible funding mechanisms.

It’s vital to continue core funding to local women’s organisations to strengthen their catalytic and critical work. Australia should stay the course when it comes to investment in access to justice and support services, with a focus on expanding access in rural areas and for marginalised women and girls.

Now is the time to expand efforts to prevent VAWG, including providing local organisations with long-term funding to address harmful social norms. Building the evidence-base and capacity for prevention, as well as promoting more shared learning, is also key.