Call for RISE Grant Applications to Address Gender-Based Violence and Environment Linkages

Jun 18, 2020 | USAID
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USAID has reopened the RISE Challenge in order to identify and fund the innovative application of promising or proven interventions that prevent and respond to gender-based violence across programs that address the access, use, control, and management of natural resource.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is estimated to affect more than one in three women worldwide. This widespread problem takes a variety of forms, including sexual, psychological, community, economic, institutional and intimate partner violence. Long-term effects include diminishing women’s engagement in and benefits from economic and educational opportunities, reduced visibility and agency in programming and projects, and marginalisation from decision-making spheres.

Gender-based violence and environment linkages: The violence of inequality,finds that, across contexts, gender-based violence is used as a means of control in natural resource access, use, management and decision-making. Meanwhile, environmental degradation, loss of ecosystem benefits and unsustainable resource use are creating complex crises worldwide ⎼ exacerbating gender-based violence as billions of people rely on these diminishing natural resources and ecosystems for their lives and livelihoods.

Based on the study and its long history working to address gender inequalities and gender-based violence across sectors for decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GenDev) designed a Global Challenge.

USAID's Resilient, Inclusive, & Sustainable Environments (RISE): A Challenge to Address Gender-Based Violence in the Environment aims to identify and fund the innovation application of promising or proven interventions that prevent and respond to GBV related to natural resource access and control. In its first round, RISE recently announced five grant awards.