Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is widely recognized as an impediment to the social and economic development of communities and States and the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Experiencing violence precludes women from contributing to and benefiting from development initiatives by limiting their agency, that is, their choices and ability to act. The deprivation of women resulting from VAWG should be of central concern to governments as an intrinsic human rights issue and due to its impact on economic growth and poverty reduction. Child marriage - a form of violence against women - epitomizes a profound lack of voice and agency and affects multiple areas of a girl's life by lowering her education, increasing her fertility, reducing her labor force participation, and curtailing her future earnings prospects. Addressing violence against women and girls requires a comprehensive combination of prevention and protection measures involving a multi-level, multi-stakeholder approach, and sustained engagement leveraging various sector entries. The most effective initiatives address underlying risk factors for violence, including social norms regarding gender roles and the acceptability of violence. A 2020 meta-analysis of 104 rigorous impact evaluations of interventions to prevent women's experience and men's perpetration of physical and or sexual intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence shows that nine categories of interventions were effective in reducing VAWG, including cash transfers or economic empowerment programs for women when combined with group discussions on VAWG and gender transformative programming, couples' interventions, parenting programs to prevent domestic violence and child maltreatment, community activism to shift harmful gender norms, and school-based intervention to prevent dating violence. In Latin America and Caribbean (LAC), the World Bank has engaged with countries and partners to support the integration of VAWG components in sector-specific projects in areas such as transport, education, social protection, and forced displacement. Projects have integrated measures to prevent and respond to VAWG through improved access to justice and services, implementation of communications campaigns, training, safeguards, and enhanced national data systems.