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Capacity building for WROs and CSOs should be built on the recognition that WROs and CSOs are vital to establishing, participating and strengthening women’s movements and driving efforts to end VAWG. Capacity building efforts should therefore focus on strengthening WROs and CSOs to continue this vital work. Capacity building efforts should be designed in collaboration with WROs and CSOs, using a participatory approach, to ensure they reflect the needs and priorities of WROs and CSOs themselves. Capacity strengthening might be focused on meeting a programme’s aims, but can also go beyond the…

In order to ensure that they leave no one behind, EVAWG coalitions need to recognise that women and girls may face multiple forms of discrimination such as class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, and age. Initiatives supporting coalitions should promote an intersectional approach to EVAWG activities, recognising the interconnected nature of social identities. They should also ensure that the voices of women and girls that are marginalised within communities are prioritised and amplified within coalitions. This is key to ensuring that activities carried out by EVAWG…

Donors, governments and INGOs often have access to extensive networks of influential stakeholders and decision-makers. They can support women’s movements by both amplifying their messages through these networks and facilitating networking opportunities with these stakeholders. In this way, donors, governments and INGOs can play a vital role in ensuring the voices, concerns, and ideas of women’s movements are heard by those in positions of power and are more likely to be considered during decision-making processes.

It is important that coalition building is led by civil society. Organisations and donors wanting to strengthen EVAWG coalitions could look to work with existing coalitions and structures, offering to play a role in funding or convening meetings and networking opportunities. For example, this might involve hosting meetings in a central location where the coalition members can come together to plan their activities. Different coalition members may face varying challenges in attending these meetings. For example, CSOs with limited funding may find it hard to cover the costs of travelling to and…

Since coalitions are usually made up of organisations with different skillsets, they may benefit from opportunities for knowledge sharing and reciprocal learning. Reciprocal learning involves different organisations sharing skills with each other, which could be achieved through communities of practice. For example, representatives from international NGOs might be well placed to support CSOs in building their skills in understanding how to navigate funding structures, while CSOs might be well placed to support international NGOs in identifying what activities are likely to be effective within…

Diverse opinions and priorities can lead to tensions within coalitions of organisations. In addition, power dynamics exist within any group and, if not addressed, may lead to some organisations having greater influence over decisions than others. It is important for initiatives supporting EVAWG coalitions to be mindful of the potential tensions and power dynamics and put in place systems to address these. For example, this could involve rotating leadership responsibilities between organisations, introducing a system whereby organisations are asked anonymously to express any concerns they have…

During the establishment of EVAWG coalitions, programmes can support coalition partners to develop shared goals, strategies, and plans. These will differ context-to-context and must be owned and led by members to support sustainability. For example, they could consider:

Which individual/organisation will take a leadership role
How to tap into existing networks and connections that can help advance the agenda
How to develop equitable decision-making processes
The roles of each partner
The budget available for activities
How often and by what method coalition partners will…

EVAWG initiatives supporting coalitions should conduct a needs assessment at the start of their engagement to establish where support would be most beneficial. This analysis can also help identify which groups are missing from coalitions, what the barriers are to them joining a coalition, and what can be done to help dismantle these barriers. This analysis could be conducted through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, or a survey. See the how to conduct research to inform programme design page for more information about how to conduct a needs assessment.

Despite their essential role in providing VAWG response services, holding service providers, decision-makers and programmes accountable to communities, and driving social norms and policy change, WROs are acutely underfunded. They receive only around 5% of aid money committed to ending VAWG.

Programmes and donors should partner with WROs and provide long-term, flexible, and core funding directly to these organizations. This funding should support WROs to pursue the aims and objectives they have identified as priorities within their communities. It should go beyond project funding, to…

Strong and autonomous women’s rights movements are key to driving policy change to advance women’s rights and end VAWG. For example, a study of 70 countries between 1975 and 2005 concluded that a strong, autonomous women’s movement is a significant predictor of government action on violence against women and girls (VAWG). This is because these movements often engage in sustained and impassioned advocacy with politicians and decision-makers. The tireless activism of women’s rights movements and collective action, especially around key moments such as general elections, can be effective at…