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Even the most well-designed VAWG programmes can be thrown off course by unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict situations, or humanitarian emergencies. These external shocks can have a profound impact on programme activities and can exacerbate violence against women and girls in target communities, as was the case in many Spotlight Initiative country programmes during COVID-19. It is therefore important to ensure that programmes can adapt, innovate and pivot to respond to shifting needs, including building the capacity and resilience of programme actors to adapt to these…

VAWG programmes aim to shift gender and power inequalities and therefore can lead to backlash from community members, men and power holders – such as resistance, controlling behaviours and/or further violence. Practitioners often encounter some form of resistance in their day-to-day experiences of working in this space: institutional inertia, denial of support for feminist work, pushback on “progressive” feminist agendas, or attacks on civil society spaces.

Therefore, all programmes should establish a project risk matrix and monitoring system, including participant feedback surveys…

Programming to prevent VAWG needs to be sufficiently intensive to achieve transformative change. One-off or ad-hoc training and awareness-raising sessions are not effective; instead, evidence shows the importance of reaching enough participants on a structured and repeated basis to facilitate changes in attitudes, behaviours and norms.

Approaches need to enable a comprehensive exploration of different topics related to violence, such as gender norms, family relations, financial management, and effective communication. They need to invest the time and resources to enable participants to…

Implementing VAWG programming can be both physically and emotionally demanding. It is likely that staff and/or facilitators will engage with women and girls who are experiencing or have already experienced abuse and may be at severe risk of further harm. Discussing violence can trigger past trauma for both programme participants and the staff working with them. Equally, some participants will need immediate support to cope with ongoing abuse, but options to escape abuse may be limited by a range of social, economic and practical factors and this can be stressful both for the women involved and…

To implement VAWG interventions effectively, the careful selection, training and support of facilitators who deliver interventions is essential. These individuals are programme role models and play a key role in facilitating critical reflection on gender and violence. Key selection criteria for facilitators include:

Skills in facilitation and basic counselling
Gender-equitable and non-violent attitudes and behaviours.
(Ideally) share demographic characteristics with beneficiaries (e.g. age/gender)
People who are respected in their communities, so they are able to attract and retain…

The knowledge, skills and capacity of implementing partners are essential to achieving effective VAWG programme implementation as they work to implement interventions directly with women, children and communities. Therefore, it is essential to develop a well-defined implementation plan that allocates sufficient resources (staff time and budget) and includes capacity development through training, ongoing support and collaboration.

Capacity development requires an effective strategy focusing on strengthening the existing organisational and individual capacities in a collaborative way…

Governance mechanisms should be regularly evaluated to ensure their effectiveness for all stakeholders. This can be gathered through anonymous surveys or periodic evaluations by third parties. Civil society reference groups can also be established at global, regional and national levels for governance to engage and consult diverse women’s rights and feminist activists as well as subject-matter experts and groups representing marginalised communities.

Accountability can be further encouraged using scorecards; partners and stakeholders, including civil society reference groups, can…

In order for governance mechanisms to operate effectively, and in line with international best practice, it is important to establish and operate within a clear mandate. Prior to launch, potential partners should engage in a participatory process of defining the issues that need addressing, goals, roles, and boundaries of the partnership. Agreeing on a clear purpose, scope and principles can help align partners around a common agenda and avoid mission drift. The governance group should then operationalise this mandate through annual workplans, costed budgets, regular meetings and knowledge…

Governance arrangements rely on efficient and effective decision-making and oversight to ensure streamlined resource allocation processes and clear lines of accountability. Following consultations, all relevant governance stakeholders, including governmental and civil society organisations, should determine and agree clear roles and responsibilities. These should be formalised to ensure consistent understanding over time, for instance, with terms of reference and diagrams to demonstrate governance arrangements, decision-making processes, tools and financial flows.

In diverse partnerships and governance structures, it is important for all members to be aware of differing levels of power, influence and resources between partners. Recognising and addressing power imbalances and inequalities within programmes can help ensure that governance is fair, inclusive and equitable. Examples of assuring meaningful engagement include:

Adequate representation in decision-making mechanisms, with considerable voting representation
Invitations to and full engagement in multi-stakeholder consultations and meetings
Clearly allocated resources and support to…