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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 acknowledges the central role of journalists and their contribution to public discourse as well as the potential of this group to change existing narratives so that they support upholding and advancing women’s rights and gender equality. Through the support of six Spotlight Initiative programmes in 2021, 134 news outlets now have peer-validated news and media standards on ethical and gender-sensitive reporting. They join more than 600 media houses engaged by Spotlight Initiative that have committed to better reporting on VAWG.

Eight Spotlight Initiative programmes also…

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…