Bhutan’s National Strategy aims to combat gender-based violence, highlighting the prevalence of intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse among women. The report highlights factors like low education, childhood trauma, alcohol abuse, harmful masculinity, and gender inequality, emphasizing the urgent need for change. Through a multifaceted strategy that emphasizes promoting gender equality, changing social norms, bolstering data gathering, and offering inclusive services that enable survivors to live violence-free, the strategy seeks to eradicate GBV. Youngsters who witness violence are more likely to experience emotional harm and to continue using violence as adults.
The report highlights the unequal distribution of GBV services across Bhutan, with most services concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural regions underserved. The country has only one One-Stop Service Centre and most shelters are city-based. The report highlights a protection gap in Bhutan’s GBV response, including lack of safe shelters, standardized protocols, and insufficient funding. The National Strategy aims to improve access, promote prevention, and strengthen data. Bhutan’s strategy focuses on zero tolerance for GBV, involving education, awareness campaigns, and community engagement. It also plans to strengthen GBV prevention, establish a comprehensive data collection system, and expand empowerment programs.
