For weeks, Rose, a trader, avoided crossing the border to the neighboring country to purchase business supplies after experiencing sexual harassment. The incident disrupted her business, caused her to lose regular clients, and reduced her family’s income. For several women in business, concerns about safety extend beyond the market premises or gate.
Globally, 1 in 3 women has experienced Gender-Based Violence, which costs countries an estimated loss of up to 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (World Bank). Evidence suggests that this issue is more prominent in developing economies, where such violence hampers women’s participation in the economy and affects their productivity.
Addressing this type of issue is critical and a priority for the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility. Five ICR Facility interventions focused on addressing Gender-Based Violence by:
Supporting the Bureau of Gender Affairs (Commonwealth of Dominica) to implement the 2023 Domestic Violence Act.
Working with the Association des Femmes d’Affaires du Burundi (AFAB) to develop a protocole to support women entrepreneurs who are victims of harassment.
Training of trainers from the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Nigeria to advocate for the rights of women market traders and for fair taxation levies.
Technical assistance to conduct a national gender audit in Malawi by the Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) to address gender related concerns including Gender-Based Violence and harassment in places of employment.
Technical assistance to the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) to tackle workplace Gender-Based Violence and harassment.
Integrating Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in investment climate reform processes
Gender equality and the economic empowerment of women and other excluded groups have large economic necessities. When women fully participate in the economy, it boosts growth and enhances economic resilience. Applying a GESI lens to technical assistance brings attention to the barriers limiting inclusion and the opportunities for more effective, and equitable support. The ICR Facility works in African, Caribbean and Pacific states to improve the business environment and make it more inclusive for women and youth entrepreneurs.
The ICR Facility’s work on Gender-Based Violence and workplace harassment in five countries
With support from the ICR Facility, the Bureau of Gender Affairs in Dominica received technical assistance to implement the 2023 Domestic Violence Protection Act, approved in April 2023. This act aims to provide greater protection for victims of domestic violence and makes provisions for granting protection orders and related matters, including women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. The act introduces key changes such as allowing police officers to make arrests without a warrant in certain circumstances and broadening the definition of domestic violence to include non-physical abuse. In consideration of the link between Gender-Based Violence and women’s economic exclusion, the ICR Facility’s intervention in Dominica supported the translation of the new legal framework into actionable, system-wide change. The ICR Facility supported the development of a participatory implementation plan, including a stakeholder mapping, a review of support services, and institutional consultations. The collaboration has contributed to building a more gender-responsive institutional framework to reduce impunity for violence and eliminate critical barriers to women’s full participation in the economy.
In Burundi, the ICR Facility worked closely with local stakeholders as part of the process to develop a practical, gender-responsive protocol for the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (PSEAH) in the business environment. In response to a request from the Association des Femmes d’Affaires du Burundi (AFAB), the ICR Facility provided technical assistance to co-create a code of conduct and complaint mechanism tailored to women entrepreneurs. The ICR Facility worked together with AFAB, relevant government ministries, the Chamber of Commerce (CFCIB), women’s legal associations, and a local consultant based in Bujumbura. These actors were engaged through consultations, workshops, and validation meetings to ensure the protocol was context-specific, locally owned, and actionable for women entrepreneurs and their networks.
In the context of Nigeria, while the Business and Professional Women (BPW) Nigeria develops the business, professional, and leadership potential of women through advocacy, education, mentoring, networking, skill building, and economic empowerment, there are still critical gaps that limit women’s full participation in business. The ICR Facility took a step to address some of these, particularly by tackling gender-based harassment, multiple and informal taxation, and the lack of clear policy engagement pathways for market women. A women’s business network including market traders was trained to strengthen their knowledge and capacity to challenge violence and the unjust taxation while also empowering them to lobby local, state, and national authorities for clear, fair, and transparent tax policies. The training focused on developing a rights-based advocacy skills-set and to raise awareness on key legal frameworks, such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP) and the National Tax Policy and engagement with the Joint Tax Board (JTB).
Malawi adopted the Gender Equality Act (2013) and the amended Employment Act (2021) which provide a legal foundation for safe and decent work for all. However, implementing these laws effectively requires consistent standards across all sectors to strengthen workplace equality. Without these, businesses lack clear and enforceable policies on Gender-Based Violence and harassment, which weakens accountability. The ICR Facility’s work included a national audit, capacity-building sessions and a practical training manual to guide workplace assessments and responses. The team also developed action plan to guide implementation of recommendations. Since then, ECAM has used the audit to influence legal reviews, engage CEOs and boards on ILO C190, and develop a validated model policy on workplace violence and harassment. It has also mobilised companies to adopt GBV policies, doubling participation in the Gender Equality category of the 2023 Employer of the Year Awards. ECAM is now setting up a task force to deliver training and drive inclusive change. Learnings from the intervention can be found here and a training guide here.
Similarly, in 2023, the collaboration between the ICR Facility and the Employers’ Confederation of Zimbabwe (EMCOZ) focused on strengthening workplace practices to prevent and respond to Gender-Based Violence and harassment (GBVH). While these issues affect many workers across the country, they frequently go unreported. Zimbabwe’s laws are gradually catching up with international standards like ILO Convention 190, but the process has been slow, leaving many workplaces without adequate protection measures. Rather than making assumptions, the ICR Facility started with facts. We conducted comprehensive workplace audits across Zimbabwean enterprises to understand exactly what was happening, identifying patterns, uncovering root causes, and pinpointing where current systems were failing workers. Following these audits and awareness-raising sessions during EMCOZ events, companies began establishing gender committees, appointing focal points, and reviewing workplace policies to address gender equality and GBVH. A key milestone was the development of a sector-specific gender policy by the National Employers Council for the Catering Industry. EMCOZ also continues to advocate for the domestication of ILO Convention C190, engaging with government and social partners to promote inclusive and gender-responsive workplaces.
What we have learned
Data and what happens without it
What isn’t measured gets ignored, and without data, policymakers cannot be held accountable. The lack of accurate and disaggregated data is a barrier to youth and women’s economic inclusion. The lack of data maintains invisible struggles for informal traders, survivors of economic violence, and young entrepreneurs who are already facing systemic bias. In Dominica, the absence of case tracking systems limits support from reaching survivors while in Nigeria and Burundi, informal practice and absence of documentation, extortion and harassment are not addressed in policy.
Prevention over response and awareness as a first line of defense
While different conversations on violence focus on post-harm responses, what we have learned in these five countries demonstrates that knowing your rights can prevent harm before it begins. Given the complexity of policy implementation, prevention is imperative for safety. In Nigeria, rights-based training can empower market women to challenge illegal levies and to navigate power dynamics with local officials. In Burundi, targeted awareness campaigns have an enormous potential to shift norms that dismiss harassment as ‘normal.’ In Dominica, community-level rights education will help women recognize violence in its various forms.
Capacity and confidence building
In line with strong laws and support, transformative change sometimes comes from within. This occurs as rights-holders learn and are confident to speak up and trust that someone will listen. In Burundi, AFAB provided technical support to 2,000 women across 11 sectors, offering business training and ethical guidance to protect workplace dignity. In Dominica, police officers, health workers, and social services staff need to be trained to serve survivors with care. When institutions are capacitated, systems change. When vulnerable groups are capacitated, they are able to contribute to systematic change and demand better and equitable services.
The power of collective action
The experiences in Malawi and Zimbabwe show that meaningful workplace change happens when everyone works together. Individual efforts have limited impact, but when workers, employers, and unions unite with the right tools and expertise, they can achieve results no single organization could accomplish alone. When organizations receive data, practical tools, and technical support, they become powerful advocates who can influence policy decisions and turn gender equality commitments into workplace reality. This collaborative approach creates shared ownership of solutions and generates momentum that lasts beyond individual projects.
Gender-Based Violence and workplace harassment take many forms and require tailored responses
In any workplace setting, Gender-Based Violence and harassment are often hidden and go unreported. They range from obvious acts like verbal abuse or unwanted sexual attention to subtle behaviours including exclusion, or misuse of authority. Because these issues look different across industries and cultures, one-size-fits-all solutions don’t work. Effective responses must understand how these behaviours connect to power structures and are either reinforced or ignored by workplace systems.
The publication of this ICR Story was led by SNV (author: Sarah M. Natumanya). This was produced with the financial support of the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the British Council.
The ICR Facility is implemented GIZ, the British Council, Expertise France, and SNV. The contents of the publication are the sole responsibility of the British Council and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU, OACPS, BMZ or the other implementing partners.
