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Mozambique has introduced a digital police database for registration of GBV cases, known as “InfoViolência”. Instead of using paper, a police officer inserts the survivor’s data on a tablet connected with a server, thereby increasing efficiency and safety by digitizing the registration process. Ultimately, it will open the door to an integrated database that encompasses the whole GBV referral system in the country – a national digital platform to register and manage reported cases of violence.


"Once fully operational, Infoviolência will allow for more GBV survivors to be assisted, and for…

In December 2019, the United Nations in Zimbabwe established a fleet of Mobile One Stop Centres across the country to help dismantle the barriers the survivors in remote and hard to reach areas faced to accessing GBV response services. As part of this, they supported volunteers engaged in GBV referrals by providing them with data and airtime packages, to enable continuous two-way communication between volunteers, survivors, hotlines, and Mobile One Stop Centre teams. They also supported the coordination of shuttle services and fuel to support survivors to travel to Mobile One Stop Centres as…

In 2020, the Spotlight Initiative programme in Malawi received reports that many survivors from the rural communities in which they worked were unable to access justice and essential services because they lived long distances from these services and couldn’t afford the cost of public transport. In response, Spotlight Initiative developed funds to help survivors overcome these economic barriers. They worked with traditional authorities to establish community committees which oversaw the distribution of these funds.

These committees sat within the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and…

In 2021, Spotlight Initiative partnered with Deaf Women Included (DWI) to conduct a mapping of VAWG response services in Hurungwe and Guruve districts in Zimbabwe. The aim of this mapping was to identify existing VAWG and Sexual and Reproductive Health services within the districts and the extent to which these services were inclusive of survivors with disabilities. This initiative followed community dialogues with community leaders and women with disabilities that brought to light some of the barriers survivors with disabilities faced to accessing essential services.

This initiative used…

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…

During COVID-19, Spotlight Initiative programmes needed to rapidly pivot programming to respond to the increase in violence against women and girls during the pandemic.

To meet the immediate needs of women and girls experiencing or at risk of violence, Spotlight Initiative Samoa programme took a flexible approach by repurposing its funds to work with the Ministry for Women, Community and Social Development and frontline service providers such as civil society organisations to create and distribute 400 “Prevention Packs” containing information and materials on COVID-19 and GBV translated in…

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…