In an effort to address the idea of social protection in terms of gender, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) released a report linking South Asian women's home ownership with decreased risk for domestic violence. The report articulates current discourse on the idea of social protection, both formal and informal process around it, and evolution of the term and its meaning as different organizations understand its significance. ICRW identifies home ownership as a form of social protection for women from the risks-economic, physical, mental-associated with domestic violence. ICRW synthesized the report based on the findings of associated researchers from three studies in India and Sri Lanka. The aim of the study was to "extend the concept of social protection beyond traditional economic and social instruments provided by public and private sectors, to include property ownership as a rights-based resource claimed by individuals and protected by law."
Central to this was the idea that women's ownership of home based assets increased their social protection from domestic violence and its associated risks by increasing women's ability to negotiate their rights and address vulnerability in different cultural contexts. The study: uses empirical data to examine such relationships; identifies cultural concepts of women's ownership and property rights; uses the information to increase dialogue on women's ownership rights and the idea of social protection.
Compiled from: Panda, Pradeep; Gupta, Jayoti; Bulankulame, Indika; Bhatla, Nandita; Chakraborty, Swati; Duvvury, Nata Property Ownership & Inheritance Rights of Women for Social Protection-The South Asia Experience. International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). 2006. (PDF, 116 pages).