Tuesday’s post kicking off Agrilinks’ theme for October invited you to join us in thinking about gender dimensions in agriculture and food systems, especially the costs of gender-based violence (GBV).

Today, we’d like to hear from you. This short quiz tests your knowledge of some of the hidden costs of GBV in agriculture — to households, communities, and market systems. Take a look, and then let us know how you did by tweeting your score, questions, and GBV in agriculture data points to @Agrilinks or sharing in a comment on this post. (You’ll find the answers and selected sources below the questions.)

Then, check back to Agrilinks throughout the month to learn more about these and other “hidden figures” in agriculture.

1. In developing countries, how much of the agricultural workforce is made up of women?
   1. 43%
   2. 51%
   3. 73%
2. There aren’t a lot of global statistics available on the costs of GBV in agriculture. We do, however, have some country-level data on its business costs. In Peru, companies lose more than $___ billion a year as a result of absenteeism, staff turnover, and lost productivity resulting from domestic violence, the equivalent of 3.7% of GDP.
   1. $2.8 billion
   2. $4.2 billion
   3. $6.7 billion
3. What are some of the factors that make GBV less likely? Select all that apply.
   1. Social norms that promote gender equality
   2. Completion of secondary education
   3. Engaging men as change agents

One final note. We know talking about GBV, even from a technical or programmatic perspective, can be complicated. We also know experiences of GBV are not limited to women and girls, or limited to a gender binary. These are important gaps in our base of evidence, which the Feed the Future Advancing Women’s Empowerment Program is hoping to help fill. For the rest of October, we hope you’ll join this conversation by sharing your programs’ stories, evidence, and ideas for positive change.

Answers and Selected Data Sources

Q1: 1 – 43%
See FAO, The Role of Women in Agriculture, p. 1.

Q2: 3 – $6.7 billion per year
See GIZ, Violence against women and its financial consequences for businesses in Peru, p. 13.

Q3: 1, 2, and 3 – All of these factors
See What Works, What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls: Evidence Reviews, pp. 15–17, for factors a and b; and UN Women, Handbook on Addressing Violence and Harassment against Women in the World of Work, pp. 85–87, for factor 3.