Community violence manifests in myriad forms, from gang violence to organized crime. The gamut of ways in which violence materializes implies a litany of societal cleavages, weak governance, and discordant agendas. Too often, efforts to prevent violence either diagnose the causes of violence too narrowly or fail to connect violence prevention on the individual level…
Luke Waggoner is a former senior democracy and governance specialist at Chemonics.
Colombia, like other countries, implemented stay-at-home measures and restricted certain social services to limit the spread of COVID-19 beginning in mid-March 2020. Women and girls have disproportionately faced increased risks of experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) due to the socioeconomic fallout, and women in Colombia often lack consistent and reliable pathways to report violence. In response,…
In Mexico, crimes such as assaults, muggings, public disturbances, and robberies are frequent. Because local authorities often do not address these crimes, citizens lose trust in government and become reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement. This dynamic weakens the ability of the justice system to successfully investigate and prosecute crimes. The Violence Prevention and Reduction…
For more than a decade, Mexico has experienced violence and insecurity fueled by transnational criminal organizations. The toll on civilians has been high, with more than 200,000 deaths since 2006, including targeted killings of more than 100 journalists and human rights defenders, and more than 9,000 documented cases of torture. To reduce impunity and help…
Juan is an expert in social policy, with over 14 years of experience working on the implementation and evaluation of Colombian national policies to overcome extreme poverty. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Party – Technical for the $40 million USAID/Colombia Migration Management Activity, the first task order under the Venezuela Response Integration…
When many people think of the concept of trauma, they imagine a specific and singular event that causes overwhelming stress for the person affected. In reality, trauma can be understood as an experience, a series of events, or set of circumstances that can have lasting and adverse effects on individual and community physical, social, and…
Sexual Harassment, Exploitation, and Abuse: A Toolkit for Building a Prevention and Response Program
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse is a problem that affects all sectors’ workforces, all corners of the globe, and people living across the full spectrum of sexualities and gender identities. Strong workplace anti-sexual harassment and assault mechanisms provide pathways for staff to access appropriate protection without fear of retaliation and promote an environment where individuals…
1) Why do you think it is important to expand activities to Beni and Butembo? As a Congolese citizen, I’m aware of the challenges in various parts of my country, and in particular, in Beni and Butembo in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Approximately 1 million inhabitants of these cities face heightened insecurity from…
Mohammad Youssef is an expert in information security with 15 years of experience across the Middle East region and in conflict environments, including Syria, Turkey, Egypt, and Algeria with a variety of local and international companies in different sectors. He currently leads implementation in Syria to provide modern education support, stabilization, counter-violent extremism, and governance…
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is an important economic activity in many rural areas, with a long tradition in Colombia. High rates of informality undermine governance, security, and legal economies, and cause significant environmental and social impacts. As the government of Colombia consolidates post-conflict conditions, the United States and Switzerland are providing assistance through…
Understanding cultural norms is essential to achieving results in development interventions and preventing interventions from causing unintended negative consequences. However, capturing norms within everyday contexts in ways that can be monitored and evaluated can be expensive and time consuming and is not always feasible. We tested a novel method, the cultural consensus analysis (CCA), in…