This Working Paper provides the background for a project aiming to illustrate the invisible drag that VAWG places at every level of the Pakistani economy and society: on families, communities, businesses, institutions, and on the country as a whole. This is a three-year multi-country project that estimates the costs of VAWG, both social and economic, to individuals and households, businesses and communities, and states. It breaks new ground in understanding the impact of VAWG on community cohesion, economic stability and development, and will provide further evidence for governments and the international community to address violence against women and girls globally. This paper outlines the nature of VAWG in Pakistan, and the social and economic context in which it occurs. It begins with an introduction to the status of women in Pakistan, and the prevalence and types of VAWG that affect them. It explores the various contexts that are affected by violence: economic, social and political, and discusses the action that has been taken to address violence to date. It goes on to identify some literature on the costs of violence to society and the economy, and to highlight the gaps in the literature, which this project aims to fill.

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