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Programmes must ensure that women and girls’ rights are safeguarded at all times during efforts to engage traditional and faith leaders. Engagement with traditional and faith leaders can be transformative but can also lead to backlash against women and girls (as well as programme staff, beneficiaries, activists, and other community members). All programming must conduct a comprehensive risk analysis starting from the design phase and throughout implementation, ensuring that mitigation measures are put in place to minimise these risks and put in place processes to support women and girls if…

Efforts to engage faith and traditional leaders to end VAWG must recognise that women and girls are not a homogenous group and may face different risks of violence due to their backgrounds or identity features. For example, women and girls with diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions or identities and those with disabilities or from particular ethnic groups may be at greater risk of VAWG than other women and girls.

Different faith communities have varying views towards people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions (SOGIE). In some contexts, people with…

Understandings of the roles of men and women are fluid and differ between locations and faiths. Efforts to engage traditional and faith leaders in efforts to end VAWG should seek to understand how the core values of different faiths may promote or condone VAWG and how these are shaped in specific socio-cultural contexts. Programmes should provide space for traditional and faith leaders to reflect on local understandings and often conflicting ideals of masculinity and femininity, manhood and womanhood, and how they relate to VAWG. Promoting both self and collective reflection is key to understa…

Efforts to engage traditional and faith leaders as allies in the pursuit of gender equality and the ending of VAWG must be shaped by the work of women’s rights organisations and be accountable to women’s organisations and movements. Where culturally safe and possible, these initiatives should also include WROs within their leadership and decision-making. Without this, programming to engage traditional and faith leaders may inadvertently reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and social norms and contradict or undermine the efforts of women’s rights movements. Efforts to engage traditional and…

Programmes seeking to engage with traditional and faith leaders should identify and build partnerships with those who are sympathetic to the idea of women’s rights and recognise the need to end VAWG. Not all traditional and faith leaders will be allies in these efforts. Programmes can conduct a mapping of traditional and faith leaders through a Gender Inclusion, Power and Politics analysis. This could be done in collaboration with local CSOs and WROs to identify which leaders have already expressed support for these groups and who may be open to using their influence to end VAWG. This analysis…

As companies are held accountable for their practices, they also become more transparent about their environmental and social justice commitments through investing in corporate responsibility initiatives, as well as reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) and impact metrics to track commitments and actions related to gender equality and VAWG in line with the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).

The WEPs highlight that businesses are responsible for gender equality across the company and its value chain, the marketplace and broader community. Encouraging Chief Executive…

Ongoing communication is crucial to maintaining a healthy partnership, adapting to changing circumstances and actively managing risks. When designing VAWG programmes that engage with the private sector, it is important to ensure that the programme can flex to a dynamic, rapidly evolving set of risks and opportunities often found in businesses. Being flexible is also important to address constraints faced by private sector partners, such as offering adequate preparation and training to support companies with how to deal with backlash, a rise in complaints, and an increased demand for support…

Workplaces can play a pivotal role in VAWG prevention by engaging men - including managers and ordinary workers - as agents of change, for example through building the capacity of employees on how to report workplace gender-based harassment. Working with companies to develop strong policies and procedures that protect women from violence and share critical information to increase their access to support services is essential to transforming internal practices in the private sector.

Programmes can provide companies with advisory and technical support on legal issues and gender expertise on…

Before partnering with the private sector, it is essential to assess any reputational, ethical, and physical risks. Make sure that partnering aligns with your programme’s goals and objectives, and engage in open and transparent discussions to explore how working together can be mutually beneficial and contribute to shared goals. In addition to the risks, the private sector can also bring potential benefits to increase the impact of a VAWG programme. Companies can bring valuable funds, as well as technical expertise and skills (pro-bono services), strategy and capacity development, materials…

Building trust and forming partnerships with various sectors, including non-traditional players, is crucial for success when working with the private sector. In Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad and Tobago, Spotlight Initiative recognized this as a key strategy to advance efforts against ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) and promoting gender equality. To begin, seek to understand the perspectives of local groups and corporate staff in specific country contexts. Assess their awareness of workplace violence against women, the level of support from management for gender equality…