RENEW — Bhutan's Royally Founded Network of Community Centres for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women) was established in 2004 under the patronage of Bhutan's Gyalyum (Queen Mother) Sangay Choden Wangchuck, at a time when Bhutan's National Commission for Women and Children found gender-based violence widely normalised as "part of married life" rather than recognised as abuse.

RENEW runs a three-pillar model: prevention (awareness-raising, training, volunteer networks), intervention (individual and family counselling, legal aid, safe housing including the Gawailing "Happy Home" shelter, and sexual and reproductive health referrals) and reintegration (livelihood training, microfinance and education scholarships for survivors). It became an Associate Member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in 2009. From a single centre in Phuentsholing, its community centres have expanded to 14 of Bhutan's 20 districts, according to UNICEF Bhutan.

Bhutan's National Commission for Women and Children estimates an average of five women and children experience abuse every day nationwide. During COVID-19 lockdowns, RENEW recorded 1,069 people reporting abuse in 2020 versus 696 in 2019 — a 53.5% rise reported by South Asia Monitor and echoed in UNICEF and UNFPA Bhutan coverage of the pandemic's "shadow" violence surge. RENEW attributed part of the increase to more people reaching its helpline and Facebook channel while physical centres were closed, with services up 61% in September 2020 versus September 2019 after restrictions eased. The scale of unmet need implied by the national daily-average estimate, against a still-expanding 14-district footprint, means coverage gaps remain outside RENEW's catchment areas — a limitation acknowledged by RENEW and UN agencies alike.

Read the full analysis: https://renew.org.bt/