Public-Talk #25. SDG 5 AND SDG 8: UNDERSTANDING THE COST OF VAW: CENTRAL ASIA – BY MS. ANTONINA KSEINOVA, 14 SEPTEMBER, 2023

Area: Violence Against Women (VAW), Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Sustainability, Gender Studies, Women Empowerment, Nonprofit, Security, Economics, Development
Speaker: Ms. Antonina Kseinova, UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia Intern, MA in International Security Studies (University of Trento & Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Italy)
Source: Release and Post Release

OVERVIEW

This lecture ‘SDG 5 and SDG 8: Understanding the Cost of VAW: Central Asia’ covered the economic costs of GBV at different levels: individual, local, national and international. The aim of the lecture was to present a comprehensive picture on the criticality of the issue of GBV and its repercussions for sustainable development and prosperity of a society. Additionally, a special focus was given to most widespread rape myths and cultural intricacies of the region that deepen the problem. GBV carries a heavy economic cost for society, resulting in women and girls’ underachievement in education, work and overall productivity. According to some studies, this cost can range from 1% to 3% of a country’s GDP.