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Elevating ending VAWG on the political agenda: Spotlight Initiative works at all levels of government to elevate the strategic positioning of VAWG on the political agenda. It has directly engaged at the highest level with Prime Ministers and Heads of State to generate political will through the UN Resident Coordinators and included government co-chairs on National Steering Committees.

Strengthening capacity of government actors: Spotlight Initiative worked to strengthen capacities of key government ministries and agencies at local, subnational and national levels.

Strengthening laws and…

Spotlight Initiative has engaged the media in a variety of different ways and with a range of objectives, from raising awareness on VAWG and challenging harmful norms, to strengthening gender responsive coverage and reporting of GBV cases. By working with the media in these ways, Spotlight Initiative aims to generate widespread awareness, influence societal norms, empower survivors, and drive policy changes to end violence against women and girls. Key learnings include:

Leverage the power of the media through targeted behavioural-change campaigns. For example, work with radio, printed…

Spotlight Initiative has taken a variety of innovative approaches to working with and for adolescent girls:

Using a Safe Spaces Model across programmes and contexts to support girls in developing life skills and increasing awareness of health, rights and services. Read more about the Safe Spaces approach in Malawi and the case studies on Niger and Nigeria. 
Using technology and games development to increase awareness of VAWG among young people. See the case study on Kyrgyzstan below.
Supporting comprehensive sexuality education: For example, in Argentina, adolescent girls and boys have…

Spotlight Initiative has supported capacity-strengthening efforts with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including civil society organisations (CSOs), Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs), media broadcasters, journalists, national governments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Spotlight Initiative developed a guidance manual on capacity building which committed to the following:

Engage stakeholders in reciprocal learning: Spotlight Initiative programmes were designed from the outset to involve all stakeholders that could benefit from a capacity building initiative in…

Select implementing partner according to context and need: At the programme level, Spotlight Initiative's implementing partners include CSOs, government partners, private sector actors, academic institutions, and consultants. The type and number of implementing partners varies by country and is tailored to the local context and needs. In some programmes, there are fewer than ten implementing partners, mostly with previous UN experience, like in Mali and Niger. In contrast, other programmes, like those in Zimbabwe and Malawi, involve over 30 implementing partners, with most being new to…

Multi-stakeholder partnerships are a central aspect of Spotlight Initiative governance, programme implementation, monitoring and learning,

Setting up multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms: National and Regional Steering Committees provide implementation oversight and coordination of Spotlight Initiative country and regional programmes and are composed of UN, government, donor and civil society partners to ensure meaningful representation and participation. Multi-stakeholder partnerships and mechanisms are a key part of the Spotlight Initiative Approach and Theory of Change, with core…

Spotlight Initiative has employed a range of strategies and approaches to work with traditional and faith leaders to end violence against women and girls (VAWG):

Shaping customary and religious rules and the practices of informal courts. Programmes work to partner with traditional and/or faith leaders and secure their commitment to gender-responsive approaches in laws and policies to address VAWG.
Training cultural and traditional leaders to engage in gender-sensitive alternate dispute resolution within their communities, especially when formal processes are not available, accessible or…

Drawing on analysis from across all country and regional programmes, trust funds, and a global learning exchange, Spotlight Initiative has gathered a number of insights and lessons learned about engaging the private sector to prevent and respond to VAWG: 


Increase the visibility and awareness of VAWG in the workplace, which strengthens leadership and political buy-in to address violence. In Belize, Spotlight Initiative’s team engaged private sector companies in an awareness-raising campaign to raise the visibility of VAWG issues within the workplace, designing posters with key messaging…

Spotlight Initiative has used four key strategies in its programmes to engage men and boys in work to end VAWG:

Engage male leaders and role models in the community to challenge social norms used to justify VAWG. Spotlight Initiative programmes have worked with sports stars, male celebrities, and religious leaders to denounce VAWG, promote respectful behaviour towards women; and raise awareness of the impacts of VAWG. For example:

In Nigeria and Argentina, programmes have worked with sports stars in football to denounce VAWG and promote respectful behaviour towards women.
In Tajikistan…

CSOs and WROs are key partners of Spotlight Initiative. Priority civil society partners include WROs, feminist activists and women’s movements, as well as CSOs representing groups facing intersecting forms of discrimination. These include but are not limited to, women and girls living in rural communities, women and girls from ethnic minorities and indigenous communities, women and girls living with HIV/AIDS, LGBTQI+ persons, women and girls with disabilities, domestic and informal workers, and sex workers. Spotlight Initiative’s partnership with civil society is guided by three principles: (1…