PHNOM PENH, July 9 (Xinhua) -- A research team from KHANA Center for Population Health Research in Cambodia has won funding to implement a 24-hour platform for gender-based violence response and support for female entertainment workers in the country, said a World Bank's press statement on Thursday.
The 2020 Development Marketplace: Innovations to Address Gender-Based Violence award will enable the researchers at KHANA organization to test the feasibility and effectiveness of the "SMARTgirl Chatline," which provides 24-hour support via WhatsApp to female entertainment workers who are at risk or survivors of gender-based violence, the statement said.
"Gender equality is a high priority for the World Bank in Cambodia and it is a strong theme in our Country Partnership Framework," said Inguna Dobraja, World Bank country manager for Cambodia.
"The project by KHANA is an important effort to find ways to keep female workers safe, especially those at the highest risk," she added.
The Development Marketplace, jointly funded by the World Bank and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), is an annual, global competition for researchers to find innovative solutions that can help individuals, communities, and nations prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, violence against women and girls, in particular domestic violence, has intensified around the world due to confinement and lack of access to services, the statement said.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in three women worldwide have experienced partner or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetimes, it said, adding that researchers have found that gender norms are often at the root of gender-based violence and that shifting community attitudes are critical to helping prevent gender-based violence.
"Research and uptake of research findings are essential for understanding the drivers of violence and the contexts within which they flourish to help identify ways in which we can bring about sustained social change to end violence against women and children." SVRI's Executive Director Elizabeth Dartnall said in the statement. Enditem
