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Capturing and sharing learning is important to develop high-quality, evidence-based programming to end violence against women and girls (VAWG). Learning in VAWG programmes can take many different forms, including through documenting and sharing innovating approaches, documenting practice-based learning, operational research, and impact evaluations. Sharing these insights widely helps contribute to a collective pool of knowledge that benefits a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, practitioners, and researchers worldwide. It helps others adapt and scale effective strategies to…
National governments are the primary duty bearers for addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG). They are vital to creating a positive enabling environment to support systemic change in preventing and responding to VAWG, including the development and implementation of new laws, policies or national action plans, and the sustained allocation of financial resources. Political leaders can also play a key role in the process of shifting social norms by speaking out to condemn VAWG, discrimination and gender inequality, and galvanising action around the issue. Conversely, national…
Effective legal frameworks are essential for preventing violence and providing justice for survivors. This includes laws that directly criminalise VAWG and mandate service providers to support survivors, but also wider laws that affect gender equality and women's position in society - including, for example, family law, property, land and inheritance laws, and labour laws. By passing and implementing robust laws, countries can better protect women and girls, hold perpetrators accountable, and signal a wider commitment to gender equality. Reforming legislation involves assessing existing laws…
Preventing violence against women and girls means stopping violence before it starts. Prevention work includes policy and programme initiatives aimed at addressing the underlying causes of violence against women and girls including gender inequitable systems, structures, norms, attitudes, practices, and power hierarchies. This contrasts to VAWG response, which focuses on providing support and services to individuals who have experienced violence. Given the widespread prevalence of violence against women and girls (VAWG) globally, and the limited number of survivors who speak out and seek…
There is no single cause of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Gender inequality is a powerful underlying driver of VAWG, but various risk factors and situational triggers can make violence more likely. At the same time, there are certain protective factors that can be strengthened to lower the likelihood of violence occurring. Understanding these multiple causes and how they intersect is important to design and implement effective programmes to prevent VAWG.
The socio-ecological model is a useful tool to analyse the interaction between various factors at different levels which…
Social norms are the shared beliefs about what constitutes typical and appropriate behaviour within a specific social ‘reference’ group. They play a critical role in shaping individual attitudes and behaviours as individuals anticipate whether they will gain social approval or disapproval for acting in a particular way. In many contexts, dominant social norms normalise and justify gender inequalities and the use of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Changing these norms is therefore important for preventing VAWG.
However, transforming predominant social norms takes time and the…
Campaigns focused on ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) aim to raise awareness about the impact of violence, challenge social norms, and mobilise communities to end violence. One-off campaigns tend to have a limited impact, but more sustained multi-channel campaigns that encourage reflection and debate tend to produce greater impacts. Campaigns are often most effective when accompanied by other face-to-face activities designed to transform social norms. When developing EVAWG campaigns, initiatives should work with women’s rights organisations (WROs) and civil society organisations…
Autonomous women’s and feminist movements are essential to advancing progressive policies and action to end violence against women and girls (VAWG) and, more broadly, to creating long-term societal transformations towards equality and justice. They usually grow from the grassroots, have a strong grasp of the problems faced within communities and are well placed to empower and mobilise women to come together to tackle the root causes of inequality and violence. They also have the experience, legitimacy and capacities to drive policy change, demand reforms, and hold duty-bearers accountable…
Coalition building involves strengthening and supporting coordination across civil society organisations (CSOs), women’s rights organisations (WROs), broader women’s movements - and sometimes other actors - to address VAWG. This coordination supports collective strategies for change around a specific agenda.
When these stakeholders come together to share learning, networks, resources and expertise, they are less likely to work in siloes and more likely to achieve change on a larger scale. Coalitions are able to draw on the diverse expertise and networks of different organisations to…
Capacity strengthening initiatives are a key way to support women’s rights organisations (WROs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to carry out their work to end violence against women and girls (VAWG). It is important to design capacity building activities collaboratively with the organisations and people they aim to support. Such efforts should recognise the existing expertise and priorities of local organisations, rather than making assumptions about what they “lack”.
Capacity building efforts should not exclusively focus on building the capacity of WROs and CSOs to access grants by…