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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…

Spotlight Initiative’s overarching goal in its Theory of Change (ToC) is to ensure that all women, especially those who are marginalised and vulnerable, live free from violence and harmful practices. Together with its partners, Spotlight Initiative aims to make concrete changes in six Outcome Areas or Pillars to end VAWG. Changes in these six Outcome Areas contribute to achieving SDG 5 and SDG 16. ToC “if/then” logic statements were then crafted for each Outcome to describe the desired results.

Example: IF/THEN TOC for Outcome 1 (Legislative and policy frameworks) 

IF
(1) Women and VAWG…

In Mexico, domestic violence related calls to 911 sharply increased by 46% in the first few months of 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was significant demand for shelters and not enough rooms available. To respond to this, the Spotlight Initiative programme, the national government, local governments and a hotel corporation built a multi-stakeholder partnership to provide free accommodation in hotels for women experiencing violence as an interim strategy. This was a complex partnership due to the diversity of actors from the public and private sector. To address this, a…

The Mutuelle de solidarité (MuSo or Solidarity Fund for VAWG Survivors in English) responds to the economic dependence of women survivors of violence. It is both a popular financing tool and a self-help group. Since 2020, as part of Spotlight initiative, CAPAC - Centre d'Animation Paysanne et d'Action Communautaire - has been developing this solidarity fund system among women in Haiti to enable them not only to accumulate savings and grant loans tailored to their needs, but also to facilitate access to a contingency fund and external financing.

Results

By the end of 2021, a total of 12…

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Spotlight Initiative tested approaches to working virtually to continue to address violence effectively. Helpline responders and counsellors learned to provide more psychosocial counselling and referral guidance by phone. Key staff from first responders and frontline agencies were trained in using remote means of communication as part of crisis management. The Gender-Based Violence Unit in the Division of Gender and Family Affairs of the Ministry of Social Development, Housing and Community Empowerment developed a COVID-19 response protocol with guidelines for…

Spotlight Initiative in Trinidad and Tobago connected new domestic violence legislation with healthcare services. The programme produced the National Clinical and Policy Guidelines on Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence, endorsed by the National Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health Committee. The Guidelines help healthcare providers to respond to survivors’ physical, mental, and social needs and make sure they get appropriate follow-up care.

Quality and accessible data are critical to inform clinical and policy decision-making. Spotlight Initiative…

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…