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Programmes that are designed with close involvement from key stakeholders are likely to be more relevant, acceptable and sustainable in the long term. The proliferation of stand-alone services, such as those dealing only with rape survivors or only with people with a specific diagnosis, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can create a highly fragmented care system. Building on and strengthening existing resources and wider systems also helps to promote the sustainability of MHPSS initiatives, and tend to carry less stigma, for example working with:

Existing community support…

Mental health support to survivors of VAWG deals with extremely sensitive issues and service providers should be survivor-centred in their work and apply a “do no harm” approach in order to minimise and avoid any further harm. MHPSS service providers can reduce risks of harm in various ways, such as:

Participating in coordination groups to learn from others and to minimise duplication and gaps in response.
Designing interventions on the basis of sufficient information.
Committing to evaluation, openness to scrutiny and external review.
Developing cultural sensitivity and competence in…

At present, there is limited evidence about the effectiveness of Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces in the Global South, particularly in areas that are not densely populated. This does not mean they don’t work, but rather that there are flaws in tracking correlations with recurrence of victimisation and perpetration. Thus, Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces should establish effective monitoring, learning and evaluation processes, which will help them to adapt their approaches to better serve survivors, learn lessons and produce evidence in impact. Seeking feedback from survivors who use the services, as…

Service providers working with VAWG survivors are likely to be exposed repeatedly to distressing situations which can cause secondary trauma and burnout. In order for staff to be able to provide high quality care to survivors, they must have access to a supportive environment and care for themselves. When developing a culture of self-care, start by considering the following:

Work with staff to identify self-care suggestions. For example: being intentional about the media and information sources we engage with; prioritising time to engage in activities that bring us joy; looking after our…

Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces should be established for and run by women. They should include women and girls from diverse backgrounds in the leadership, design, implementation and monitoring of these spaces. Women and girls’ preferences should inform the opening hours and location of the space and the types of activities that will be undertaken. These could include access to medical care, economic empowerment activities, and access to justice services. Programmes should engage with networks of WROs to understand the needs of women, the barriers they may face to accessing Safe Spaces, and to…

Survivors - and women and girls at risk - may require multiple services to support their recovery and protection. Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces should work with other service providers to establish comprehensive referral mechanisms to ensure survivors know where to access the support they need. Services they are likely to need access to include but are not limited to:

Medical care: Survivors may need urgent medical treatment, mental health services, and sexual reproductive health services. This could be to treat injuries, test for and treat sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and to…

VAWG survivors - and women and girls at risk of violence - are not a homogenous group. They come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences and are therefore likely to face different barriers to accessing services. All response programmes should work with a range of survivors during the design phase and throughout, to conduct an intersectional analysis of their different needs and the barriers that they face. Depending on context, programme teams should consider the specific barriers that may be faced by survivors with disabilities, child and adolescent survivors, survivors who have been…

Survivors of VAWG are at risk of re-traumatisation and other mental health challenges which can be triggered by insensitive service delivery. Staff in Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces need to be trained in a survivor-centred approach: to put the safety and comfort of survivors at the forefront of service delivery, ensure survivors know they are believed, avoid intrusive questioning, ensure survivors have access to support at all stages and allow survivors to engage at their own pace.

Programmes seeking to establish Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces should start by mapping existing services, the needs of survivors and gaps in service provision. Mapping existing survivor support services helps ensure that Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces are adequately linked up to other services, with clear referral pathways for survivors, that they are not duplicating existing services, and that they are better placed to fill gaps in service provision.

Increasing women’s representation and leadership within formal and informal justice systems is crucial to ensure more empathetic, inclusive and effective responses that address the specific needs and experiences of women and girl survivors. Programmes can support women’s representation and leadership by:

Working with local women’s rights organisations to identify opportunities to increase women’s representation and decision-making within informal systems.
Promoting understanding at community level and among justice sector actors about the benefits of increasing women’s representation in…