Rapid surveys on violence against women in crisis contexts: decision-making guidance based on the UN Women Rapid Gender Assessment surveys on violence against women during COVID-19

Abstract

Rapid surveys or assessments offer the possibility to collect data in contexts where classic data collection is not feasible (such as health, humanitarian, or climate crises) and when evidence-based urgent action is needed to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Until the past 5 years, rapid surveys were not widely used by practitioners, researchers, or policy makers to measure the effect of crises on violence against women due to a paucity of empirical evidence on their safety and likely utility in such contexts. In recent years, and particularly during the COVID-19 global pandemic, UN Women led the piloting and implementation of such surveys in various countries. We use our experiences from this work and other studies to offer concrete decision-making guidance-in the form of a checklist-for whether to conduct rapid surveys on violence against women in crisis contexts, with consideration of their value, risks, and the minimum safeguards needed to implement this type of work.