The cost of violence against women in formal micro-enterprises: the case of Peru
In Latin America, microenterprises and other forms of micro-entrepreneurship account for over 95 % of all business activity and are an important source of employment and livelihoods for millions, especially for women.
Due to their sheer number, the microenterprise is of great interest to both government and the financial sector. Governments view the microenterprises as a source of economic development and thus have designed policies and allocated resources to promote them; and the financial sector has found them to be a profitable market niche, and a source of attractive profits. At the same time, this growth potential is affected by the scourge of violence against women, violence which occurs everywhere, but which causes relatively more damage in developing economies.
Gender violence aggravates poverty across societies, affects economies and destroys businesses, as shown in a number of diverse studies from around the world and those carried out by the Universidad de San Martín de Porres and German Cooperation, implemented by the GIZ, through its Regional ComVoMujer Program. In 2012, ComVoMujer conducted pioneering research in Ecuador to determine the costs of violence against women in relationships (VAW) in microenterprises and micro-entrepreneurship. In addition to being the first national estimate of costs of violence in microenterprises in Latin America, it gave rise to numerous new hypotheses and theories.
Today, three years later, it is possible to estimate the economic impact of violence against women in relationships in formal Peruvian microenterprises. Using primary data and new methodologies, we now have an accurate diagnosis: Peruvian microenterprises lose between 1 982 and 2 417 million dollars a year, as a result of violence against women, or about 1.2 % of the national GDP.
Other significant contributions shown here are the validation of the existence of three scenarios of VAW and the relationship between VAW and empowerment. It has also been shown that subordination or submission of women does as much harm as violence itself, resulting in impoverished resources and capabilities.
In short, this document is born from the connected effort of a work team with wide experience and, of course, the testimony of the 357 women who answered the survey with veracity and trust.
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