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To prevent VAWG, it’s important to have a deep understanding of the causes, dynamics and consequences of violence. Identifying and understanding the underlying causes and risk factors which promote violence can help design and inform prevention work. Similarly, understanding the protective factors which reduce the likelihood of violence occurring can help prevent VAWG. Prevention work needs to occur at all levels of the socio-ecological model - and across all the settings where people live, work, learn and socialise - in order to be effective. Good outcomes cannot be sustained when people move…

Women’s movements and women's rights organisations (WROs) play a specific and vital role in prevention work. Firstly, they play an important role in catalysing, driving and sustaining shifts in social norms. By working with local WROs on prevention efforts, these changes can be owned by local communities and can support sustainable, long-term behaviour change. Secondly, WROs have developed a range of innovative prevention strategies and programmes, such as SASA! developed by Raising Voices in Uganda, which reduced the prevalence of VAWG. Thirdly, they are well-positioned to inform and lead…

Evidence shows that VAWG is preventable. The core drivers of VAWG are socially determined, which means they can change. Research and evidence-based prevention strategies have shown substantial reduction in levels of violence, even after only a few years of implementation. Well-designed prevention programmes can shift norms, systems and behaviours that drive violence at different levels of the ‘social ecology’ (within personal and peer relationships, groups and communities, organisations and institutions, or society as a whole). Read more about understanding the drivers of VAWG.

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EVAWG initiatives should consider whether there are other key events happening in the area or around the time they are implementing a campaign that they can use to amplify their campaign. They may also wish to combine campaigns with in-person events, as evidence suggests that this can have a greater impact on challenging harmful attitudes, behaviours and norms. For example, during the 16 Days of Activism, there is already a lot of international attention on ending VAWG. EVAWG efforts could consider aligning their campaign with the theme of the 16 Days of Activism and using their hashtags on…

EVAWG campaigns should work with WROs and CSOs to identify how to reach audiences with diverse needs, who may otherwise be excluded from engaging with campaign materials. Campaigns should consider the following:

Languages: Campaigns should consider whether the campaign needs to be in one language or whether this will exclude target audience members who speak other languages. If there is a risk of exclusion, the campaign should work with individuals who speak that target language to translate messages. Campaigns should be careful to ensure any messages are translated by individuals with a…

When developing the methods of an EVAWG campaign, programmes should work with WROs and CSOs to identify which channels will likely be most effective for affecting change in communities or among particular target groups. For example, programmes could consider:

Written materials such as pamphlets and flyers
Posters and visual materials with images in clear locations
Dance, music, theatre and other performance art
Social media campaigns
Marches, sit-ins, lobbying decision-makers, and other forms of protest
Television and radio shows
Partnering with organisations and institutions…

Effective campaigns often have a few clear messages that they communicate to their audience in a verbal and visual language that they understand. Programmes should think about what they want their audience to know or how they want their audience to act at the end of the campaign. They should work closely with communication experts, WROs, and target audience representatives to identify and refine catchy messages that capture what the campaign is trying to articulate in a context-appropriate and impactful way. Messages should be short and memorable and consideration needs to be given to language…

Campaigns are most effective when they are targeted towards particular audiences. EVAWG initiatives should conduct stakeholder mappings in advance of a campaign to identify the target audience(s), their interests, priorities and the channels through which they access information and messaging. For example, a campaign focused on changing a law or policy may target decision-makers or voters, while a campaign focused on ending school-based violence may target teachers, parents and adolescents. Identifying the audience(s) of a campaign will help ensure that the campaign is designed and…

Once an EVAWG initiative has identified the types of VAWG its campaign seeks to address, it may be useful to conduct an in-depth contextual analysis of the social norms that drive this violence. These can include norms around what it means to be a man or woman, gender roles inside and outside the home, family privacy, sexuality, and the acceptability of violence. For example, a campaign focused on preventing intimate partner violence might aim to transform social norms around family privacy, couple communication and the acceptability of violence. See the page on understanding and transforming…

EVAWG programmes planning to run campaigns, whether on a regional, national or local scale, should start by working with women's rights organisations (WROs) to identify their priorities and shape the campaign's objectives. WROs are usually best placed to identify the needs of women and girls in their communities and what specific campaign focus would be most appropriate and useful. They can also help develop strategies to handle resistance or backlash.