Understanding the Interaction Between Women’s Economic Empowerment and Gender Based Violence: Study on ACF’s cash transfer programme in northern Uganda

This paper presents findings of a qualitative study conducted in Northern Uganda, on the effects of a cash transfer programme on gender relations and GBV in a post – conflict context. The intervention in focus is Action Against Hunger |ACF International (ACF)’s ‘Combating Gender Based Violence and Enhancing Economic Empowerment of Women in Northern Uganda’, implemented in Amuru, Nwoya and Otuke counties in Acholi and Lango sub – regions since 2011. In the aftermath of the civil war, ACF first introduced an unconditional cash transfer programme in 2009, ‘Livelihoods and Economic Recovery in Northern Uganda’ (LEARN) that focused solely on livelihood development for families returning from refugee camps and former abductees of LRA. Subsequently, the project design adopted a wider mandate and incorporated a two pronged strategy a) to support Gender Based Violence (GBV) vulnerable households in income generating activities and to enable access to microfinance b) to reduce incidences of GBV at the household and community level. The programme encompasses four main components; unconditional cash transfers, Voluntary Savings and Lending Organizations (VSLAs), Livelihoods skills training and GBV prevention awareness raising activities.