Advanced Search
In Belize, the Spotlight Initiative programme made significant advances in strengthening and scaling up Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) at the secondary school level through a partnership with the Ministry of Education. The CSE was revised to meet international standards and scaled up to all secondary schools, sharing important anti-VAWG messages.
"CSE training is inclusive and open to everyone and addressed sexual education for all genders and orientations." - Community-level Peer Educator in Belize City
However, not all adolescents and youth attend school. In an effort to…
Spotlight Initiative has supported the review and reform of legal systems and frameworks to ensure that root causes, consequences and risk factors of violence against women and girls are comprehensively addressed and the specific needs of individuals facing intersecting forms of discrimination, such as LGTBQI+ individuals are effectively addressed.
In Liberia, Spotlight Initiative conducted a legislative review of the Inheritance Law, Rape Law and Domestic Violence Law with government officials and CSO representatives to ensure the inclusion of a comprehensive approach to targeting all…
Participatory monitoring ensures a needs-driven approach that adapts as new needs arise, enabling programmes to help identify appropriate interventions to meet the specific needs of survivors and civil society organisations.
Spotlight Initiative in Belize embraced a collaborative approach with civil society partners throughout the programming cycle, including in monitoring and reporting processes. Through community-based dialogues with implementing partners and beneficiaries, stakeholder consultations, and programmatic visits, the voices of civil society partners were meaningfully reflected…
Independent monitoring and reporting by civil society on programmatic contributions can be critical to upholding programme legitimacy, relevance and accountability. In 2020, the Count Me In! Consortium and several members of Spotlight Initiative Civil Society Reference Groups collectively developed a Civil Society Monitoring Toolkit to monitor the work and contributions of Spotlight Initiative. Featuring a set of 26 indicators, the Reference Groups can use the toolkit to monitor the implementation of Spotlight Initiative programming at country, regional and global levels, with indicators…
Representatives of women’s rights groups and human rights-based civil society organisations - including those representing groups facing intersecting forms of discrimination- have been engaged in shaping Spotlight Initiative from its inception in governance and advisory roles. Spotlight Initiative teams have established Regional, National, and Global Civil Society Reference Groups (CSRGs), engaging diverse women’s rights and feminist activists as well as subject-matter experts and marginalised groups. CSRGs advise on and monitor implementation, recommend changes, and hold Spotlight Initiative…
The Spotlight’s Initiative Latin American Regional Programme developed an innovative survey tool called the Diagnostic Tool on Violence against Women. The goal of the tool is to lay bare the sexist behaviour in the leadership and culture of an organisation, and to identify organisational practices that can be designed and integrated to prevent and address VAWG. The survey is answered online through the Indic@Igualdad (Equality@Work) platform. There are multiple sections of the survey that ask staff to report on various areas related to VAWG.
From the results, an Organisational Violence…
In Belize, Spotlight Initiative introduced 'mobile women's centres' in coordination with civil society organisations. The centres' success depends on the meaningful engagement of these groups, who promoted local ownership and trust with communities.
“[The centre is] a great help to women like me. We can get services by visiting the nurse or advice on legal matters which we often don’t get because it comes with a cost. I know the counselling helps so many women here. They feel good being able to talk to someone and get the advice they need. It gives me hope to push forward despite my…
In Belize, the extreme shock of two hurricanes coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic led to tension in many homes. Spotlight Initiative engaged parents and children, including those with disabilities, in parenting programmes that addressed gender norms, biased attitudes and family violence, and offered critical mental health support and food assistance, including referrals to other services. Through this process, the programme found that parents were more willing to speak about family violence when their basic humanitarian needs have been met, underscoring the importance of a comprehensive…
In December 2021, Spotlight Initiative launched the WithHer Fund in partnership with the UN Foundation to provide flexible financial support to smaller, local, grassroots and WROs working to end violence against women and girls in their communities.
The fund operates under feminist grant-making principles, focusing on flexibility, trust and transparency. To overcome common funding barriers faced by small organisations, the WithHer Fund uses a simplified application and reporting process.
The first cohort of WithHer Fund grantees was chosen based on specific criteria, including the…
The Gender-Based Violence Constant Companion Pocket Guide, developed by the Spotlight Initiative Belize programme contains basic tools for field practitioners to know what to do in case a GBV incident is disclosed to them, specifically:
How to support a survivor of gender-based violence, including Do’s and Don’ts of responding to a disclosure
Who discloses their experience of GBV, accompanied by a safe and ethical response to disclosure flowchart
Location-specific contact details for the local GBV focal point and advice on what to do in contexts where there is no GBV actor available
Th…