There is an increasing demand from stakeholders that, as CVA continues its rapid growth, it should take greater account of gender and inclusion issues because,  ‘Gender-responsive CVA which recognizes existing disparities and addresses the needs of all crisis-affected people equally, has the potential to positively impact women and girls by improving their protection and promoting their empowerment, while also strengthening sector-specific impacts which can lead to more resilient and empowered households and communities in recovery from crises.’ (Guidelines for Grand Bargain Cash and Gender Workstream).  The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency for action as it has affected women and excluded groups more severely through increasing care-giving, reducing employment opportunities disproportionately, exposing women to greater financial hardship and increased gender based violence.

The CALP Network continues to build on the 2018, our #GenderCash Symposium in Nairobi and the commitment enshrined in the Agenda for Collective Action that resulted.  The SOWC 2020 report found notable progress in work on gender and CVA, identified as a critical evidence gap in the last report: new guidelines have been produced on gender and CVA and gender and GBV and efforts have focused attention on synthesising and identifying more robust evidence.  The initial focus on GBV is now shifting towards gender equality and to better programming that can move beyond gender sensitivity towards becoming gender responsive – and even gender transformative.  However, while we see progress globally at the technical level, this has not yet translated into consistent changes in planning, implementation and monitoring.

Current priorities

We will continue to work closely with the Grand Bargain Cash sub-workstream leads, CARE and UN Women, to help deliver the sub-workstream workplan. The CALP Network will continue to encourage cash actors to widen their focus to be more inclusive, and champion a fuller understanding of how CVA can go beyond the notion of ‘do no harm’ towards appropriately addressing these socio-economic inequalities through the provision of other services and support.