To date, social protection has largely dealt with economic protection – namely shocks and chronic poverty of an economic nature. Social risks, such as gender inequality, domestic violence and social discrimination at the community, household and intra-household level, have largely been absent from the broader social protection debate. In reality, both economic and social risks are deeply intertwined and have significant implications for reducing poverty and vulnerability.

Drawing on examples from South Asia and East Africa, this Background Note discusses the importance of putting the ‘social’ back into social protection by taking both economic and social risks into account in order to enhance the effectiveness of social protection.