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Spotlight Initiative provided training to 450 parents on positive parenting and skills for developing respectful family and gender-equitable relationships. Across Timor-Leste, the use of corporal punishment (physical violence) to discipline children is prevalent, with one study by UNICEF suggesting 83% of parents consider it necessary to frighten or threaten their children to ensure they behave well and 46% believing that physically punishing children is necessary to bring them up correctly. Spotlight Initiative parenting trainings involved a variety of activities, including role-playing to…

In 2021, Spotlight Initiative supported their CSO partner ALFELA to conduct a capacity assessment of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL). This involved interviewing 102 police officers from various departments to understanding PNTL’s response to VAWG cases. The assessment found that 55% of officers were not familiar with the Timor-Leste's law against domestic violence, 45% were not clear on how to handle cases, and only 60% knew how to properly categorise cases. Following on from this assessment, ALFELA conducted a day-long roundtable discussion with officers from the national Vulnerable…

Spotlight Initiative programmes strengthened existing, or created new, institutional mechanisms to foster coherent multi-sectoral approaches to preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. Nearly half of Spotlight Initiative programmes – including in Afghanistan, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe – either established or strengthened multi-stakeholder coordination mechanisms. In each case, coordination was established at the highest level, and the process included identifying relevant stakeholders, working with a clear mandate and governance structure…