Women’s participation in politics: technical note

Sexual corruption, defined as the abuse of entrusted authority to obtain sexual acts, undermines integrity, impartiality, and justice. In doing so, it damages public trust in governments, it poses a barrier to sustainable development and is a violation of human rights, primarily affecting women and girls. The purpose of this evidence brief is to provide knowledge about sexual corruption, why it is important to address in development cooperation, and what donors can do to prevent and respond to it.

This evaluation, commissioned by Sida’s Evaluation Unit at the Department of Operational Support in collaboration with the Department for Europe and Latin America, examines Sida’s democratisation support in Guatemala, Liberia, Moldova, Myanmar, and Tanzania (2014–2023) to generate learning and guide adaptation amid rising autocratisation. It reviews strategic and operational approaches. Sida’s multifaceted model – combining flexible funding, dialogue, rela-tionshipbuilding, and strategic risktaking – has been underpinned by longterm, trustbased partnerships and local ownership. Country portfolios achieved notable results, particularly where support was sustained, locally anchored, and responsive to shifting political dynamics. However, entrenched power structures, shrinking civic space, and weak state ownership sometimes limited transformational results; gains were often fragile, especially under democratic backsliding. Recommendations include strengthening internal learning systems and investing in democratisation expertise to sustain results in a rapidly shifting global land scape.