Election observation and violence monitoring initiatives can provide a platform for data gathering in relation to VAWE. There is scope to improve monitoring of VAWE in election observation. In recent years, organizations like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Carter Center have made efforts to mainstream gender within their election observation missions (EOM), by developing specific guidelines for observing women’s participation in elections, collecting sex-disaggregated data, increasing the use of long-term observers and appointing gender advisors in core teams. Domestic observation and monitoring groups around the world have also integrated a gender perspective into their work and in some cases they have launched projects to specifically monitor VAWE, creating early warning and rapid response mechanisms.[1]

Example: In the framework of the project Votes Without Violence, NDI has partnered with domestic civil society organizations to launch election observation missions with a strong gender component in Myanmar, Nigeria, Guatemala, Tanzania, Burma and Côte d’Ivoire. This initiative allows observers to report VAWE throughout the electoral cycle. Sex-disaggregated data is channeled into an online visualization tool to raise awareness on how VAWE restricts women’s right to participate in public life. In the 2015 Guatemalan elections, NDI partnered with Acción Ciudadana (Citizen Action) to monitor campaign finance and electoral violence with a focus on VAWE. One of the major areas of concern was the use of violence to influence voters’ choices, especially women’s. During the 2015 electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire, NDI partnered with Plateforme des organisations de la société civile pour l’observation des élections (Platform of Civil Society Organizations Observing Elections or POECI). This collaboration allowed POECI to increase the number of women observers and to include specific questions concerning VAWE in their observation forms.[2]

Example: IFES’ Election Violence Education and Resolution (EVER) program is a primary example of specific violence micro-data collection tool. Under this program, IFES has monitored 15 elections in 13 countries since 2003, with sex-disaggregated data in six cases. The use of this methodology allowed IFES to publish in 2011 one of the most comprehensive cross-country studies available to date: “Breaking the Mold: Understanding Gender and Electoral Violence”.[3] This study collected data from six different countries between 2006 and 2010, including Timor-Leste, Burundi, Nepal, Bangladesh, Guinea and Guyana. Its findings show that women suffering from VAWE are frequently victims of intimidation (32 percent of cases), verbal harassment (11 percent), physical harm (10 percent) and group clashes (10 percent). As regards victim types, women are most often identified as victims when associated to a public role, since political party leaders, candidates and supporters reached 48 percent of all cases. Voters were the second most reported type of victim, with 22 percent of cases. Furthermore, drawing upon the methodology of the EVER program, IFES published in 2016 a typology and series of methodologies to assess VAWE.[4]

Example: Women Situation Rooms (WSR) aim to prevent and reduce electoral violence against women and promote their participation in elections. In the WSR, men and women from different sectors monitor VAWE throughout the country and warn government authorities and security forces when a rapid response is required. They are composed of a secretariat, a call center, a group of eminent women leaders and election observers deployed in the field who report incidents. This initiative has been implemented in a number of countries, generally with support from UN Women and UNDP, including Ghana (2016), Uganda (2016), Nigeria (2015), Mali (2013), Kenya (2013), Senegal (2012), Sierra Leona (2012) and Liberia (2011). WSR have been recognized by the African Union and the United Nations as a good practice for conflict and violence prevention, and several reports underline its contribution to reduce sexual violence thanks to the early warning preventive approach. [5] In Nigeria, UN Women partnered with the Angie Brooks International Centre and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to launch in 2015 the “Nigerian Women’s Platform for Peaceful Elections”, with support from UNDP. This platform worked closely with the Nigerian police and the National Electoral Commission to provide a timely response to reported cases of electoral violence.[6]