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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…

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 2020, Spotlight Initiative supported a National Parenting Programme in Grenada with a campaign called “Step Up Your Parenting Game”. This campaign targeted men and women who were parents and guardians. The focus of the messaging was on improving parenting approaches for the benefits of their children. This campaign included a number of sub-messages including:

“No matter who, no matter, what, there is no excuse for abuse”
“Children need their fathers: they need love, support and encouragement”
“Feeling stressed? Check your B.E.T. (body, environment, thoughts)”
“Communicate with your…

In Nigeria, Spotlight programme has implemented the STEAM Flagship for Women and Girls, an integrated approach and good practice for developing life skills through “21st century entrepreneurship training” for women and girl survivors of violence, including those who have suffered harmful practices. STEAM stands for SRHR information; Technology skills for sales and marketing; Ending VAWG and harmful practices information; Accounting and business management skills; Manufacturing and start-up support. Women and girls in the programme received training as peer educators on sexual and reproductive…

In 2020, Spotlight Initiative supported a National Parenting Programme in Grenada with a campaign called “Step Up Your Parenting Game”. This campaign targeted men and women who were parents and guardians. The focus of the messaging was on improving parenting approaches for the benefits of their children. This campaign included a number of sub-messages including

“No matter who, no matter what, there is no excuse for abuse”
“Children need their fathers: they need love, support and encouragement”
“Feeling stressed? Check your B.E.T. (body, environment, thoughts)”
“Communicate with your…

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…

Spotlight Initiative conducted training using the Gender Action Learning System (GALS) in partnership with the Public Foundation “Education for Community Development”. They worked at individual, family and institutional levels to help promote equitable attitudes around gender to end VAWG. This training was provided to fathers and following their participation in GALS training, 40% of fathers showed improved communication with their families on family matters and reported valuing everyone’s contribution. This is a significant improvement from baseline data, which showed deeply rooted…

In Uganda, where Spotlight Initiative programme was implementing the SASA! community mobilisation programme, the team adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by creating safety circles to connect regularly via WhatsApp and text, and ensuring community activists and leaders checked in with at-risk women via phone or in-person while social distancing.

In refugee settings in Uganda, the rollout and scale-up of the SASA! programming supported an increase in reporting on intimate partner violence and child marriage, demonstrating that women felt more confident to report violence. 100% of these reported…