Gender-Based Violence takes an economic toll on countries in LAC. Violence is among the leading causes of mortality among men in the region. The effects of violence on savings, investment and growth are surprisingly large. Domestic violence is not only a serious public health problem and a violation of women's human rights, but also has large economic costs—affecting productivity, earnings, and taxing health care and judicial systems. Through pilot projects and technical assistance to Bank projects, the World Bank works to combat gender-based violence in the region. During the last decade, violence against women and girls, also referred to as gender-based violence, has gained international recognition as a grave social and human rights concern affecting virtually all societies.

Research has demonstrated that gender-based violence severely limits women's contributions to social and economic development. Gender-based violence is also a major cause of ill health among women and girls, an impediment to the accumulation of human capital, and a major factor in the inter-generational transmission of violence from parents to children.

Governments and non-governmental organizations in the Latin American and Caribbean region have begun work on the issue, exploring innovative approaches to prevent gender-based violence and offer quality services to its survivors. Important lessons learned to-date include the need to focus on the prevention of violence, not just on services for survivors; the importance of changing societal norms that foster violence; and the imperative of employing a multi-sectoral approach that targets individuals, communities and institutions, as well as and laws and policies.