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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…

Spotlight Initiative relies on a multi-tiered and multi-sector governance structure at the global and programme levels to make decisions and steer work toward its objective of ending violence against women and girls. From the onset, Spotlight Initiative established a clear governance architecture and administrative arrangement, with three core functions: governance by global and country decision-making bodies, daily management and administration supported by dedicated teams, and implementation by the Recipient UN Organisations (RUNOs).


“A key good practice agreed across all Reference…

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 Count Me In! (CMI!) Consortium is a coalition of intersectional feminist groups that have supported Spotlight Initiative and its civil society partners since 2017. Their focus has been on helping Spotlight Initiative to centre in its efforts women, girls and trans, non-binary, and intersex people who are most marginalised, and often face disproportionate rates of violence. Through consultative processes, engaging hundreds of women’s rights and feminist activists, the CMI! Consortium has successfully lobbied to strengthen feminists’ and women’s rights activists’ role in Spotlight Initiative…

Spotlight Initiative represents a unique case of large-scale, ambitious investment in ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG). It has moved beyond fragmented project-based funding of VAWG prevention and response towards a more systemic strategy. Spotlight Initiative was launched in over 25 countries with substantial seed investment of €500 million from the European Union, signifying an unprecedented commitment to end VAWG.  

Central to its approach is the financing and participation of civil society and grassroots organisations, ensuring that the increased investment reaches those…