MAURITIUS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COUNCIL
The Gender-Based Violence Observatory (GBVO)
The GBVO is an initiative of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare. The GBVO was set up to respond to the broad consensus for the need to understand trends in GBV and plug the gaps in the GBV data collection system to inform policy makers and assist the design and implementation of effective policies to combat GBV.
The GBVO seeks to fulfill the following objectives:
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To become the coordinating agency and focal point for the compilation and analysis of official data on all forms of GBV
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Contribute to the digitalisation of GBV related information to facilitate M&E
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Impact Assessment exercises of on-going policies and initiatives to combat GBV
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Develop partnerships, federate public policy and lobby resources and actions against GBV, with an emphasis on Socially Innovative approaches.
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To make evidence-based recommendations and proposals to improve the services and facilities offered by Government and civil society in the area of GBV
The GBVO became fully operational in May 2022 with the recruitment of its staff, the setting up of its steering committee comprising key stakeholders and co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare (MGEFW) and the Executive Director of the MRIC.
Key achievements for 2023
Among its main tangible outputs which were presented to the High Level Committee on GBV chaired by the Hon. Prime Minister and thereafter publicly disseminated are the following:
01
The first edition of the GBVO Research Bulletin
The GBVO Research Bulletin provides (a) an analysis of GBV trends across different agencies which compile GBV data; (b) a synthesis of the extant academic and empirical literature on this phenomenon locally identifying in the process the understudied areas which warrant focus; (c) a small-scale research exercise using narrative inquiry methodology to elicit voices of victims of domestic violence and their interface with service providers and (d) a study to map and critically assess the GBV data collection system in Mauritius which the GBVO commissioned Australian GBV expert Jason Meyer to undertake with recommendations as to how to enhance the GBV data collection system locally.
02
Launch of an interactive GBVO Website and Dashboard to display officially available secondary data
The GBVO Website and Dashboard has been designed to serve as a dynamic platform to provide latest officially available data and trends analysis on GBV, links to resources and sources of help, disseminate policy documents, research articles and reports along with up-to-date upcoming events/news on gender-based violence and the observatory. Any stakeholder directly or indirectly concerned with the phenomenon of GBV including survivors, policy makers, academics, advocacy groups and the public at large will find in this website an informative, intuitive, easy-to-use interface. The website will also include a dashboard to provide graphical representation of historical data on certain key indicators for which official data is available.
03
Video-Clips to promote Legal Literacy
The GBVO has also released a series of 14 video clips (7 English and 7 Creole versions) with the aim to inform and sensitise the public and women in particular as to what the law provides for Domestic Violence Victims. This takes the form of a series of animated video clips available on the GBVO website and across social media to inform and sensitize the public at large and victims of domestic violence in particular as to what the law provides for and what their rights are in a demystified and an easily accessible jargon. This project can potentially fill an important gap in terms of limited knowledge of victims about their rights and what the law provides – a finding emanating from key stakeholders consulted.
Public Launch Event on the occasion of IDEVAW – 25th of November 2023
The GBVO Bulletin, website and clips were the main substance of the public launch event organized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare on the occasion of the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) on Saturday 25th of November 2023 at the Octave Wiehe Auditorium, Reduit.
The Hon Prime Minister who was chief guest of this event launched these materials in the presence of the Hon Min of Gender Equality and Family Welfare and the Hon Minister of Information Technology Communication and Innovation.
The event was attended by some 800 participants. The GBVO website is now live and the legal literacy video clips are being broadcast by the MBC during the 16-day activism campaign following the IDEVAW with funding support from the UNFPA.
