RESEARCH ON GENDER FRIENDLY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES IN BANGLADESH

The Combatting Gender-Based Violence in Bangladesh (CGBV) project of UN Women started in 2018 with an aim to enhance the capacity of educational institutions and civil society to design, implement, and sustain primary prevention of gendered violence. It further aims to strengthen government mechanisms and strategies identified under Bangladesh’s Seventh Five-Year Plan and the National Women Development Policy. As part of the project, UN Women partnered with six educational institutions from Cumilla, Bogura and Patuakhali districts to implement safe campus interventions and adopt a ‘whole of school approach’ to prevent sexual harassment (SH) and other forms of violence against women on campus premises.

This approach requires embedding systemic change within educational institutions through policy, practice, procedures, staffing, environment, leadership, and culture. Government Azizul Haque College (GAHC) is among the selected educational institutions. A baseline survey was conducted in the university to assess the extent and awareness of SH on campus, existing institutional frameworks for addressing and preventing SH, and determining appropriate responses including prevention strategies for programmatic intervention.