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Mitigating the risks of gender-based violence : a due diligence guide for investing Unicef and Criterion Institute

Contributor(s): Unicef | Criterion Institute.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Unicef, 2020Description: electronic document (22 pages) : PDF file.Subject(s): COVID-19 | ECONOMIC ASPECTS | PANDEMICS | PREVENTION | VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN | INTERNATIONALOnline resources: Click here to access online Summary: The purpose of this tool is to equip investors to understand the risk their investments are exposed to as a result of gender-based violence. This tool enables investors to determine how their existing due diligence process can be used to determine a potential investment’s exposure to the political, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks of gender-based violence. This tool is one component of a broader global effort to ensure the right to live free of violence. The global COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of incorporating gender-based violence into risk and mitigation analyses because violence is significantly on the rise across the globe. Gender-based violence is known to increase in emergency situations; during a global pandemic with long-lasting effects, rising rates of violence will likely impact every country and sector. Incorporating an analysis of gender-based violence can help to mitigate the risks of a future that looks very different than it did even three months ago. The impacts of gender-based violence on companies, sectors, and geographies, though material to finance, are rarely factored into investment analysis. To understand what risks gender-based violence presents to companies, we look at the policies, practices, and norms that affect the incidence of violence both inside and outside companies. The risks to a company come not only from the activities of the company, but also from other factors that impact violence within sectors, industries, and society. These factors include cultural norms, government policies, and the ways in which laws and policies are enforced. This tool is not intended to enable an investor to decrease gender-based violence in companies or communities. These issues are complex, and investors may not be best placed to influence or intervene. This tool seeks to ask questions and name gender-based violence as a material risk to investments and identify how investments can create positive change by raising awareness and increasing political and company management will to address the issue. This tool builds upon diligence processes that are standard worldwide. It is not comprehensive; rather, it is a starting place that will evolve as we learn more about best practice ways for incorporating an assessment of the risks of gender-based violence into a due diligence process. Finally, it is important to note that the priority of anyone addressing gender-based violence must be to put safety first and do no harm. Gender-based violence is a global human rights violation that is widespread and complex, and approaching it without expertise or care can result in unintended consequences. We encourage companies that want to invest in prevention and/or response to research this thoroughly and reach out to local or regional gender-based violence experts when shaping their approach. We provide guidance on leading with a safety-first approach in the ‘Do no harm’ section. (Introduction). Record #6723
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The purpose of this tool is to equip investors to understand the risk their investments are exposed to as a result of gender-based violence. This tool enables investors to determine how their existing due diligence process can be used to determine a potential investment’s exposure to the political, regulatory, operational, and reputational risks of gender-based violence. This tool is one component of a broader global effort to
ensure the right to live free of violence.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of incorporating gender-based violence into risk and mitigation analyses because violence is significantly on the rise across the globe. Gender-based violence is known to increase in emergency situations; during a global pandemic with long-lasting effects, rising rates of violence will likely impact every country and sector. Incorporating an analysis of gender-based violence can help to mitigate the risks of a future that looks very different than it did even three months ago.

The impacts of gender-based violence on companies, sectors, and geographies, though material to finance, are rarely factored into investment analysis. To understand what risks gender-based violence presents to companies, we look at the policies, practices, and norms that affect the incidence of violence both inside and outside companies. The risks to a company
come not only from the activities of the company, but also from other factors that impact violence within
sectors, industries, and society. These factors include cultural norms, government policies, and the ways in which laws and policies are enforced.

This tool is not intended to enable an investor to decrease gender-based violence in companies or communities. These issues are complex, and investors may not be best placed to influence or intervene. This tool seeks to ask questions and name gender-based violence as a material risk to investments and identify how investments can create positive change by raising awareness and increasing political and company
management will to address the issue.

This tool builds upon diligence processes that are standard worldwide. It is not comprehensive; rather, it is a starting place that will evolve as we learn more about best practice ways for incorporating an assessment of the risks of gender-based violence into a due diligence process. Finally, it is important to note that the priority of anyone addressing gender-based violence must be to put safety first and do no harm. Gender-based violence is a global human rights violation that is widespread and complex, and approaching it without expertise or care can result in unintended consequences. We
encourage companies that want to invest in prevention and/or response to research this thoroughly and reach out to local or regional gender-based violence experts when shaping their approach. We provide guidance on leading with a safety-first approach in the ‘Do no harm’ section. (Introduction). Record #6723

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