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Civil Society Reference Groups (CSRGs) have been formed at the national, regional and global levels to advise, monitor and hold Spotlight Initiative programmes accountable to women, girls and feminist movements. As a reflection of participatory monitoring, national CRSGs have developed independent scorecards to monitor Spotlight Initiative’s processes and systems, with a focus on civil society participation in programme design, access to funding, and engagement in implementation, among other areas. The scorecards, and approach to the scorecard, represents an increasingly (participatory) way…

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, many Spotlight Initiative programmes were already being implemented and teams had to quickly adapt implementation to changing realities. Overall, Spotlight Initiative rapidly accelerated and redirected more than USD 21 million across programmes to address VAWG in the context of COVID-19. For example:

Mobile and remote services were developed and reinforced to address the acute needs of women and girls. For example, the Zimbabwe programme scaled up mobile one-stop centre service provision, exceeding the set target by 300% and bringing women with…

In Zimbabwe and Malawi, Spotlight Initiative programmes supported the development of sexual harassment policies at multiple levels.

In Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, the programme filled a critical gap by supporting companies to develop gender-based violence and sexual harassment policies through the creation of the Strategy for the Elimination of Sexual Harassment and Gender-based Violence in the Workplace in Zimbabwe 2021-2025. This was developed through a consultative process with feedback from diverse stakeholders including the government, trade unions…

In December 2019, Spotlight Initiative established a fleet of Mobile One Stop Centres across Zimbabwe, which aimed to dismantle the barriers that survivors in remote and hard to reach areas faced in accessing GBV response services. As part of this, they supported volunteers engaged in GBV referrals by providing them with data and airtime packages to enable continuous two-way communication between volunteers, survivors, hotlines, and Mobile One Stop Centre teams. They also coordinated shuttle services and fuel for survivors who needed to reach the centres.

Results and feedback from survivors…

In Zimbabwe, the UN Trust Fund partnered with Family AIDS Caring Trust Zimbabwe, a women-led organisation dedicated to improving the lives of marginalised communities through health and poverty reduction interventions. The UN Trust Fund supported project “Voices from the Fringes” addresses violence against young women, adolescent girls and self-identified female sex workers, and works to promote their sexual and reproductive health and rights in five districts across Zimbabwe. Family AIDS Caring Trust reported that, of the 137 self-identified female sex workers with whom they worked, 98%…

In December 2019, Spotlight Initiative established a fleet of trucks equipped as Mobile One Stop Centres across Zimbabwe to help dismantle the barriers that survivors in remote and hard to reach areas faced to accessing VAWG response services. As part of this, they supported volunteers engaged in VAWG referrals by providing them with data and airtime packages, to enable continuous two-way communication between volunteers, survivors, hotlines, and Mobile One Stop Centre teams. They also supported the coordination of shuttle services and fuel to support survivors to travel to Mobile One Stop…

In December 2019, the United Nations in Zimbabwe established a fleet of Mobile One Stop Centres across the country to help dismantle the barriers the survivors in remote and hard to reach areas faced to accessing GBV response services. As part of this, they supported volunteers engaged in GBV referrals by providing them with data and airtime packages, to enable continuous two-way communication between volunteers, survivors, hotlines, and Mobile One Stop Centre teams. They also supported the coordination of shuttle services and fuel to support survivors to travel to Mobile One Stop Centres as…