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VIENTIANE, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Resources required for delivering across-the-board support services for Lao women and girls experiencing violence for 2015-2017 has reached an estimated 13.5 million U.S. dollars, Lao state-run online newspaper Vientiane Times reported Thursday.
This figure was disclosed Thursday in Lao capital Vientiane at a meeting to launch the results of a study on the costs of violence against women.
The meeting was co-chaired by acting President of National Commission for the Advancement of Women Bandith Pathoumvanh and UN Women Asia Pacific Deputy Regional Director Anna-Karin Jatfors.
The study is particularly timely considering the launch of the first national violence prevalence survey in Laos earlier this year.
Having data and evidence on the prevalence and costs of violence and responses were a critical first step for preventing and eliminating such violence, Jatfors said.
The estimation derives from interviews and data collected from the sectors of Women's Union, public security, hospitals, people's supreme court, and village units in 12 districts of six Lao provinces who provide support services for women and girls who experience violence.
Jatfors said there was increasing evidence that the violence faced by Lao women and girls, and the limited enforcement and implementation of laws that existed to protect them, was resulting in significant costs.
These costs are born by women themselves, their families, communities and society at large.
Understanding these costs in economic terms can help governments to provide a more effective response to the reality on the ground.
She highlighted the study which examined the costs of providing services to women and girls affected by violence in Laos, Timor-Leste and Indonesia. As such, it aims to provide law makers with critical new evidence to close the implementation gap between policies and practice and ensure that the comprehensive service packages outlined in the National Action Plans and in other key policy documentation were duly planned and budgeted for.
"Importantly, this study finds that the costs of delivering a minimum package of essential services for women and girls who experience violence is not prohibitive, accounting for less than a quarter of a percent of GDP for Laos," Jatfors added. Enditem
