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Data shows that children in Papua New Guinea commonly experience physical and/or verbal abuse and/or neglect from their parents/caregivers. The levels of abuse are higher for disabled and adopted children. In addition, many children witness violence between their parents and among other family members. The Spotlight Initiative (led by UNICEF), in partnership with faith-based organisations (FBOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs), launched the Parenting for Childhood Development (P4CD) programme in six provinces of Papua New Guinea. This programme consisted of a series of training…
In Mali, Spotlight Initiative supported the establishment of 829 model husband clubs for currently married men aged 20-40 (Club des Maris – CDM) and men planning to marry aged 14-24 (Clubs des Futurs Maris – CDFM). A Model Husbands club is a voluntary space that brings men together to collectively reflect and take action to become a model husband. The clubs are participatory and open spaces for discussion, sharing and decision-making built on the values of active listening, equality and respect. The six thematic sessions are built on a gender transformative approach, are led by men in the…
This programme worked with Muslim religious leaders – and in partnership with Tajikistan’s State Agency Committee on Religious Affairs and the Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations, and Ceremonies (CRA) - with a view to shifting attitudes, practices and norms to improve gender equality, promote healthy relationships in families, promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and prevent gender-based violence, including domestic violence and early marriage. It trained 270 Imams using the ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ handbook and encouraged them to address these issues in sermons and through their…
In 2019, Spotlight Initiative programmes conducted a contextual analysis across the Pacific region to better understand the policy and legal context that contributed to high rates of VAWG. This analysis showed that domestic violence legal frameworks exist in the form of Family Protection Acts in countries such as Samoa and Fiji. However, sexual and reproductive coercion was not criminalised as a form of domestic violence. In some countries, there were also discrepancies between different laws and policies, due in part to a lack of coordination between government ministries when developing new…
Spotlight Initiative has supported the review and reform of legal systems and frameworks to ensure that root causes, consequences and risk factors of violence against women and girls are comprehensively addressed and the specific needs of individuals facing intersecting forms of discrimination, such as LGTBQI+ individuals are effectively addressed.
In Liberia, Spotlight Initiative conducted a legislative review of the Inheritance Law, Rape Law and Domestic Violence Law with government officials and CSO representatives to ensure the inclusion of a comprehensive approach to targeting all…
The guide “I belong to me” was written and illustrated by African women from different backgrounds and parts of the continent. It is intended to promote discussion between African parents and their pre-adolescent children around African culture and Harmful Practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage. It follows the story of an 11-year old girl called Saleema who travels to different cities across the continent where the main African policies on girls and women’s rights have been adapted, in order for her to discover there is legitimacy and power in her voice. The book…
Spotlight Initiative, in consortia with World Vision and the national CSO Psychosocial Recovery and Development in East Timor (PRADET), designed and tested a model for empowering and providing psychosocial support to girls and adolescents who are survivors or at risk of sexual gender-based violence (GBV) in Timor-Leste. The process was informed by a mapping exercise in Ermera municipality, which sought to identify specialised survivor-centred services for adolescents outside of the capital, and involved 1,049 adolescents (522 boys and 527 girls) who provided insights on their specific sexual…
The Safe Space Mentorship Programme (SSMP) in Malawi supports gender equitable social norms, attitudes and behavioural change at community and individual levels. Supporting girls and young women from 10 to 24 years old, SSMP is a weekly programme that runs for 6 months addressing gender perspectives, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender-based violence (GBV), harmful practices, referral pathways, and life skills from a rights-based perspective. Its purpose is to empower young women and girls to recognise that violence is illegal, how it violates their basic human rights, and…
In 2022, the Spotlight Initiative Latin America Regional Programme was able to map and collect more than 600 gender-based violence prevention strategies from 18 countries, generating important recommendations on effective GBV prevention strategies. Some of the recommendations include:
Reinforcing critical approaches, intersectional analysis, and taking a multicultural dimension
Identifying conditions and barriers of access to information and state actions and policies
Enhancing sustainability and scaling up of processes, and leadership that promotes the building of social norms that…
The Spotlight Initiative programme in Liberia developed a Comprehensive Prevention Strategy for the prevention of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices through a coordinated and multi-stakeholder partnership. It is the first comprehensive prevention strategy in the region and in Africa which is:
Informed by a literature review and a participatory approach to primary and secondary data collection and analysis to assess risk and protective factors; engaging stakeholders at national, county and community levels including Government ministries, law enforcement, the…