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One of the key success factors in workshop and curricula-based approaches is the skills of the facilitators. It is good practice to have both men and women facilitators work together to deliver mixed sex sessions. It is also critical that facilitators experience the programme first as participants to go through their own process of transformation and learning. Furthermore, facilitators need specific training to adopt a participatory facilitation style and be able to handle different questions and dilemmas that come up as participants go through their journey of change. High quality facilitator…

When engaging to foster shifts in gender power relations and prevent harmful practices, there can be resistance and backlash from community members, including local religious, traditional, and other community leaders. This resistance can be particularly acute in contexts where norms of family privacy and non-interference in other households are strong. It is therefore important to involve local leaders in the development and implementation of interventions designed to improve family relationships and prevent violence in families. It is often possible to identify leaders who are open to change…

Household and family structures vary across and between societies. Some couples live in nuclear families, alongside in-laws, or in larger, extended intergenerational family structures. There are also polygamous households, single-parent or caregiver households, as well as couples in same-sex or gender-diverse partnerships. In some households, one or more family members might regularly migrate for work or other reasons. It is critical to understand these different kinds of family and household structures and the different relationship dynamics they entail and to design interventions that are…

A key trigger of relationship conflict is stress around the use of household income and assets – especially for low-income households. It can therefore be effective to combine healthy relationship approaches with some form of economic support for the household. In the Indashyikirwa programme in Rwanda, at least one partner of the couples recruited was a member of a village savings and loans association (VSLA) which was supporting the household to improve its livelihood. Some programmes combine livelihoods training for family members with relationship or gender transformative curricula, or they…

The most successful programmes have focused on building practical skills, not just raising awareness or increasing knowledge, for example of laws on women’s rights and GBV. Key areas of skills building include communication skills, emotional and anger management skills, conflict resolution skills and skills in positive and age-appropriate discipline of children and adolescents – all using a gender transformative approach. When working with adolescents, a broader life skills approach can be effective in building a range of skills including self-esteem, relationship skills, and vocational or…

Given evidence that gendered attitudes and behaviours are learned through socialisation from a very young age, it is important to start as early as possible to work with children and adolescents through age-appropriate school and out-of-school activities so they can learn and practice healthy relationships skills. Developing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curricula - which integrate material on gender and power in relationships and VAWG prevention - for use in schools as well as out of school contexts is a well-tested approach. Another effective approach to building healthy…

In cases where couples or families are already experiencing relationship breakdown or violence, therapeutic or counselling approaches can be most effective. These can support couples or caregivers and children to examine and address dysfunctional relationship patterns, including communication difficulties, conflict management issues and, in the case of couples, sexual problems. Therapy-based approaches are also appropriate where one or more family members are struggling with alcohol and mental health issues. Various therapeutic approaches have been tried and adapted across contexts, including…

Existing evidence – especially from low- and middle-income countries - demonstrates that many successful relationship interventions (which have reduced violence against women and/or children) have implemented a series of participatory workshops which equip children, women, men and gender-diverse people with skills for building healthy, non-violent relationships and address gendered power imbalances in relationships. Interventions typically work with peer groups based on age and gender (e.g. adolescent boys and girls, young parents, married couples) and sometimes intergenerationally (e.g. with…

National policy and legal environments are often fluid and can change quickly. It is important that programmes update their analysis regularly, and especially in anticipation of and response to significant political events such as national elections and other changes in government or leadership. A review of Spotlight Initiative programmes across Latin America and Africa in 2022 found that elections and changes in government in Mali, Niger, Liberia, Argentina and Mexico had significant impacts on programming. The programmes had to engage with newly elected government officials to gain their…

Through the analysis, identify which groups of people are excluded from decision-making. For example, are there women in Parliament? If so, do they face barriers to influencing change? Are they primarily from elite backgrounds and are women from poorer, rural or minority religious or ethnic backgrounds excluded? Are women with disabilities, adolescent girls, or LBT women included in decision-making? Are survivors of VAWG given a platform to influence decision-making? Once you have a better understanding of which groups hold positions of power and which are excluded, you will be in a better…