Women’s economic empowerment is often touted as the magic bullet — one that can respond to and mitigate violence by increasing the bargaining power women have within their households, communities, and beyond.

The proposed panacea is enticing: increase women’s earnings and bargaining power, raise household incomes, reduce poverty, and promote more gender equality within and beyond the household. However, others contend that while the focus on economic empowerment is critical, these approaches need to address the social and gender norms that underlie and perpetuate behaviors such as violence, especially in contexts where women don’t have the freedom to dissolve their marriages, leave their partners, and take their families and property with them.

Research shows that when women participate in paid work, some men may perceive this as an infringement of their traditional role as the breadwinner and they may seek to retrieve power to compensate for their perceived displacement by retaliating with violence.

The recent #MeToo campaign highlights the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in the lives of working women. Clearly, women’s labor force participation alone is not going to resolve gender-based violence and sexual harassment. More comprehensive and thoughtful solutions are needed to respond to this crisis.

Read the full article about female economic empowerment and gender-based violence by Neetu John and Sarah Gammage at Devex International Development.