Arts-based approaches for addressing GBV in humanitarian crises: lessons from the Rohingya response in Bangladesh

This report examines how and to what extent arts-based approaches have contributed to addressing gender-based violence (GBV) among the Rohingya population living in camps in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh. It also asks what early indications of durability and continuation arts-based approaches have shown amid global aid cuts and reduced support for women’s rights. It draws on a mixed-methods study which examines three different art initiatives that raise issues related to GBV in different ways: a Nakshi Kantha (traditional hand-embroidered quilt) project, a mural arts intervention and a folk song initiative.

Key messages

• The key contribution of these arts initiatives was to make GBV easier to talk about. In all initiatives participants became more likely to share messages about GBV than non-participants.
• Arts-based GBV prevention work must stay connected to confidential, survivor-centred services and referral pathways so that increased talk about GBV is matched by somewhere safe for that talk to go.
• Arts interventions should be designed for cultural fit from the start, working through art forms, idioms, and messengers the community already values, while recognising that aspects of design that enable women's participation can also limit what can be said and how far messages travel.