Why, when and how do survivors currently access services?

Address barriers survivors face in accessing services

Address barriers survivors face in accessing services

Efforts to respond to VAWG largely focus on providing formal services and reporting mechanisms for survivors. However, it is important to remember that in many contexts, survivors face multiple and complex barriers to reporting violence and accessing and using formal services. These include practical, social or personal factors which lead survivors to decide not to access services even when available. This is particularly the case for survivors who are often socially excluded such as those with disabilities, adolescent girls and members of the LGBTQI+ community, who may face multiple, intersecting and specific barriers to accessing services.

Personal or community acceptance of VAWG, Community stigma against surivors, Financial dependency on perpetrators, Lack of trust in service providers and the police, Lack of access to services and reporting systems, Lack of knowledge or trust in services

Programming to support survivors of VAWG must start with a comprehensive analysis of these realities, working with survivors to understand their decision-making and identify and mitigate against barriers to reporting and accessing services. Otherwise, programmes risk reaching only the few that are able to or choose to access services and report violence, leaving the majority of survivors without the support they need. The factors that may prevent survivors accessing services include those opposite.

Read more
Guiding Principles
  • Survivor-Centred Approach
  • Do no harm approach
  • Leave No One Behind, Equity and Non-Discrimination
  • Universal design
  • Participatory Approach
Spotlight Initiative

Approach and Learning

Spotlight Initiative programmes have worked to understand and address the specific barriers that diverse groups of women and girls might face in accessing services. Key approaches and learnings include:

Providing survivor support funds. Spotlight Initiative is committed to supporting survivors without the financial means to access services, by establishing and distributing funds. In Malawi, they did this through the establishment of community funds. 

Mobile service provision for survivors in hard-to-reach areas. Spotlight Initiative also supports survivors in remote locations with mobile service provision through the use of specially designed trucks, and has established transport links and shuttle buses for survivors in rural areas to access mobile services. Read more on providing remote or mobile services.

Training volunteers to identify and accompany survivors. Spotlight Initiative has trained community volunteers to help identify potential survivors and offer them support. In Zimbabwe, Spotlight Initiative funded data and airtime packages that enable volunteers to offer continuous two-way conversations with survivors accessing services. In Uganda, Spotlight Initiative trained 900 women’s rights activists in refugee communities to strengthen capacity to report and reduce violence within their communities. 

Supporting disability inclusive services and referral pathways. Spotlight Initiative has worked with local partners to conduct mapping of disability inclusive GBV services, in order to improve their disability-inclusive programming. For example, they worked with Disabled Women Included in Zimbabwe to map where services were accessible to women and girls with disabilities. This mapping was used to train community stakeholders and service providers on disability inclusive service delivery and referral pathways. Read more on strengthening referral mechanisms.

Supporting child-friendly service provision: Spotlight Initiative has also worked to develop child-friendly one stop centres for child survivors of sexual violence. In Guyana, these child-friendly one stop centres were developed in collaboration with the Child Protection Agency of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and Child Link, a local NGO focused on child rights. These partnerships were key to developing services that met the needs of children, since the partners had a strong understanding of the needs of children locally.

Top Tips

How to address barriers survivors face in accessing services – top tips based on wider learning in the sector.

Click a tip for more information.
Work with survivors to conduct a comprehensive analysis of barriers to access
Ensure information about services is produced in accessible formats
Establish services that are welcoming and safe for children and young people
Distribute funds to survivors without the financial means to access services
Train community members to accompany survivors to access services and reporting mechanisms
Provide mobile services for survivors who unable to access stationary services
Establish a culture of respect and non-discrimination amongst service providers
Address the specific barriers faced by survivors with disabilities
Consider offering some services to women and girls more broadly