Economic analyses on the cost of Gender-Based Violence in Namibia

Violence against women is acknowledged globally as a fundamental human rights violation. Gender-Based Violence [GBV] is prevalent across high, middle, and low-income countries. It produces high economic costs in terms of expenditures on service provisions, lost income, and decreased productivity, including adverse consequences on future human capital formation for women and their families. This paper aims to make a significant contribution to the discussion through the conceptual mapping of the links between GBV and its economic impact. It reviews costing methods and identifies types of costs that potentially can be estimated given the different degrees of data availability. This study which is based on 2018 data, argues strongly for a focus on assessing the financial consequences of GBV, as it comprises a crucial element of economic growth. The empirical estimation suggests that this impact is significant, and in the case of Namibia, this cost is equivalent to 6.01 per cent of GDP in 2018.