Gender-based violence (GBV) against women is the most egregious manifestation of gender inequality and a serious threat to women’s empowerment and economic participation. Among its key impacts are physical and mental health issues, social disruptions and economic costs ranging from healthcare and criminal justice expenses to decreased productivity and reduced participation in the workforce.
Violence against women is a pervasive issue that transcends socioeconomic boundaries, impacting women from all walks of life. Globally, one in three women are subjected to some form of gender-based violence by an intimate or nonintimate partner.
To address violence against women, enacting and implementing effective laws and policies is a fundamental and internationally recognized first step.
What laws and policies should countries prioritize? How can we keep track of reform efforts and inform legislative and policy changes?
Since 2010, the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) project has been producing data on the laws affecting the enabling environment for women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. For its latest 2024 edition, WBL developed a standalone indicator on women’s safety that can guide legal and policy reform efforts to address GBV.
Assessing the laws on the books at the economy, regional and global levels
The new WBL Safety indicator measures legal frameworks addressing four forms of violence against women that have significant impacts on women’s economic empowerment: child marriage, sexual harassment, domestic violence, and femicide.
Does the law address child marriage?
Child marriage undermines the agency and autonomy of young girls and denies them education and employment opportunities.
The practice of child marriage remains globally pervasive. One in five young women aged 20 to 24 years were married as children and an estimated 640 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood.
While legal reform is only one element of a package of policy reforms that are needed to address child marriage, it is a fundamental first step.
What does full legal protection against child marriage look like?
First and foremost, the legal age for marriage should be at least 18 for both girls and boys, without parental consent exceptions. This ensures that girls and boys can enter into marriage with free and full consent.
To effectively protect children, marriages in violation of this age requirement should be void or voidable. To ensure compliance, laws should establish penalties for anyone who allows, registers, or celebrates marriages in violation of the age requirements or for any party to the marriage who is over the legal age and knowingly enters into such a marriage.
Does the law address sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment can take various forms and occur in multiple settings such as at the workplace, in educational institutions, in public spaces or on transportation, and online.
Its impacts on women’s economic empowerment range from denied education and mobility to lower employment and productivity.
A survey conducted in 2024 shows that in the United States alone, 37 percent of women reported being harassed at work, while 73 percent reported being harassed in a public space. In the European Union, one in three women in the EU-27 (30.8 percent) have experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime according to the latest data from 2024.
Effective legal protection from sexual harassment requires the law to address its different forms and provide for criminal penalties or civil remedies, such as compensation or restitution.
Does the law address domestic violence?
Domestic violence is gender-based violence commonly directed against women, occurring in private, within the family or household, and within interpersonal relationships.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant form of domestic violence that includes physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse by intimate partners.
Globally, more than 640 million women aged 15 and older have been subjected to IPV.
Domestic violence has serious health consequences and affects women’s productivity, salary, and career advancement. Its economic costs are estimated at 5 percent of global gross domestic product.
Full legal protection from domestic violence should cover all its forms – physical, sexual (including marital rape), psychological, and economic – and should impose criminal sanctions and provide for protection orders.
Does the law address femicide?
Femicide is the intentional killing of a woman with a gender-related motivation. In 2023, around 51,100 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.
To fully protect against femicide, the law should explicitly typify it as a crime, with appropriate punishments proportionate to the gravity and features of the offence.
Putting it all together – the Safety legal frameworks score
The WBL Safety legal frameworks indicator provides the unweighted average of the scores in each of the four dimensions.
Even when legislation exists, gaps in implementation remain
Laws are the necessary first step to protect women from gender-based violence. But inadequate implementation and weak enforcement remain critical barriers.
The WBL Safety supportive frameworks indicator measures the existence of policy frameworks that support the implementation of laws addressing GBV.
It includes four key components: mechanisms such as policies, guidelines or services; special procedures; institutions; and budgetary allocations.
According to Women, Business and the Law 2024 findings, countries have established less than 40 percent of the frameworks necessary for an effective implementation of laws addressing child marriage, sexual harassment, domestic violence and femicide.
Has the government developed comprehensive mechanisms to address violence against women?
Comprehensive mechanisms to address GBV, as measured by the Safety supportive frameworks indicator, include:
1. Policies on child marriage
2. Guidelines on preventing sexual harassment in employment
3. Policies on addressing sexual harassment in public places
4. Health, psychological and legal aid services for women survivors of violence
5. Training for judicial and police personnel to adequately respond to violence against women
Systematic, multisectoral approaches based on policies, support services for survivors and capacity building of law enforcement are crucial elements to support the implementation of GBV laws.
For example, the provision of specialized police, combined with medical and legal services in Peru has been found to reduce the incidence of gender-based violence.
Are special procedures in place for cases of sexual harassment?
Special courts or procedures for cases of violence against women provide a more efficient, timelier handling of cases thanks to specific competencies or gender sensitivities, thus reducing case backlog and high costs for the complainant.
Special procedures for cases of sexual harassment in employment, education and cyber-harassment can include fast-track procedures, the existence of government entities in charge of receiving complaints of sexual harassment and referring them to courts, or protection orders for the removal of harassing online material from the internet.
Is a government entity responsible for monitoring and implementing national services, plans, and programs addressing violence against women?
Regular monitoring is critical to evaluate the implementation of GBV laws and their effectiveness.
It can identify gaps in scope, lack of a coordinated response, or inadequacy of implementing agencies.
Monitoring mechanisms can vary in form and scope, with mandates ranging from research and data collection to technical support and program evaluation.
Is an annual budgetary allocation devoted to violence against women risk mitigation, prevention, and response programs?
Without sufficient funding, legislation cannot be effectively implemented.
Government funding ensures the provision of support services, access to justice and prevention measures. It also reduces dependence on external actors, enhancing the ownership and sustainability of GBV prevention and response programs.
Putting it all together – the Safety supportive frameworks score
The Safety supportive frameworks indicator scores are derived by calculating the unweighted average of the four binary questions listed above.
Bridging the gap: Assessing global economies’ readiness to implement laws
The gap between legal frameworks – the laws on the books – and supportive frameworks – policy instruments to support their implementation – varies significantly across regions and income groups, highlighting the complex factors influencing women’s rights implementation.
In Europe and Central Asia, for example, Safety legal frameworks score 13 points higher than supportive measures, indicating challenges in translating legal provisions into practical actions.
Conversely, in economies from OECD high-income and East Asia and Pacific regions, supportive frameworks outperform legal ones. Several factors may contribute to this result, including comprehensive policies that extend beyond legal mandates, private sector and NGO engagement, cultural shifts, and substantial economic resources, along with government commitment influenced by international standards.
From an income group perspective, high-income economies generally show higher scores for supportive frameworks compared to legal ones, though both remain at or below 50, indicating substantial room for improvement. This pattern may also reflect a cultural and economic environment that enhances gender equality measures beyond legal requirements.
The way forward
While some regions and income groups already have policy measures in place to address violence against women, others struggle to translate legal provisions into effective actions. This highlights the need for a holistic approach that includes not only robust legal frameworks but also comprehensive policies, cultural shifts, and sustained governmental support. Data from Women, Business and the Law’s new Safety indicator can drive this significant change, by identifying gaps and informing legal and policy reforms to enable women to thrive in a safer world.
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