CHE research showcased in two policy briefs from the World Bank

Associate Professor Rodrigo Moreno-Serra led the research project titled ‘COVID-19, social distancing and violence against women in Brazil (BRAVE)’ and findings from that work have been included in two World Bank Policy briefs: 'Covid-19 and Femicides in Brazil’ and ‘Covid-19 and Violence against Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries’.

Partnerships

Dr Moreno-Serra says partnerships with gender policy specialists at the World Bank are a vital means of ensuring that knowledge generated by the BRAVE project leads to better gender policies in Latin America and other low- and middle-income countries. 

He said: “Gender-based violence is a major issue in Brazil and Latin America more generally, and the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on this violence are still being revealed. 

“The BRAVE project has improved our understanding of this issue, which we expect will help to inform national policies around safeguarding women, and consequently contribute towards supporting Brazil and the region in curbing gender-based violence.”

Improvement

And he hopes the project will drive further policy improvement in the future. “We have built exciting partnerships during BRAVE with research groups, local and regional policymakers,” he said. “We are keen on leveraging these partnerships for further policy-oriented research in areas such as the pathways that link particular public policies - for instance, cash transfers - to impacts on gender-based violence.”

The research was led by the University of York in partnership with the research group Brazilian Women in Economics, hosted by the University of Sao Paulo, along with policy partners in Brazil and at the World Bank.