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In Timor-Leste, Spotlight Initiative addressed growing concerns about reductions in the national budget allocation for gender equality. Following a significant budget cut from 0.6% (US$10.4 million) in 2019 to 0.1% (US$1.4 million) in 2020, Spotlight Initiative actively engaged with different levels of government and civil society organisations, both to increase the allocation of the budget for preventing and ending VAWG, as well as to improve stakeholder engagement with the budgeting process.
“It is hard to understand the state budget specially to analyse it from a gender perspective…
In the Pacific Island of Vanuatu, Spotlight Initiative partnered with relevant government ministries and stakeholders to address critical gaps in young people’s knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. Working closely with the Vanuatu Ministry of Education and Training’s Curriculum Development Unit, Spotlight Initiative helped to develop and revise the curricula on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Family Life Education (FLE) to meet international standards. The updated curriculum (available in both English and French) has nine components that focus on human rights, sexual…
In Papua New Guinea, Spotlight Initiative has collaborated with parliamentarians to address gender-based violence (GBV). Following widespread public outcry against high-profile cases of domestic violence, the Coalition of Parliamentarians to End GBV in Papua New Guinea was formed in 2020. The coalition consists of governors and ministries across different provinces.
“Being part of the public hearing… women who were accused of sorcery stand up to the mic and talk about the issues of what actually happens when women are accused of sorcery… and there are leaders who will be held accountable…
In Kyrgyzstan, Spotlight Initiative worked with parliamentarians to end violence against women and girls. A key achievement was the establishment of the Council on the Rights of Women, Children, and Gender Equality in 2022, by order of the Torago of the Jogorku Kenesh (the Speaker of the Parliament). This Council serves as a crucial liaison between parliamentarians and women’s rights organisations. It supported the development of a strategic action plan for 2023-2026, focused on enhancing civic engagement in law-making. This plan facilitated the participation of women’s rights groups…
In Trinidad and Tobago, Spotlight Initiative worked closely with the Office of the Prime Minister Gender and Child Affairs Division (OPM GCA) to support consultations for a National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP) on GBV. Although a plan had previously been developed for the period 2016-2020, it did not receive Cabinet approval and it was not until 2020, with the launch of Spotlight Initiative, that the persistent advocacy efforts spearheaded by UN Women's Caribbean regional office came to fruition.
“Spotlight Initiative allowed it [NSAP] to be back on the table as an important document in…
The Safe and Fair programme is part of Spotlight Initiative. It aims to ensure that labour migration is safe and fair for all women in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. Implemented by ILO and UN Women, along with UNODC, the programme recognizes that women migrant workers in ASEAN countries are at an increased risk of violence, trafficking and exploitation. Addressing these challenges requires a nuanced understanding of both global, regional and national frameworks.
The Safe and Fair programme helped to develop guidance for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as an…
The Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme (SIARP) undertook a comprehensive mapping and assessment to understand the implementation status of laws, policies, action plans, financing and capabilities of states in Africa to end violence against women and girls (EVAWG). Despite the existence of various EVAWG-related frameworks and regional strategies, significant implementation gaps were identified.
“All we need is to implement our commitments. It’s great to see regional partners coming together to develop a Regional Action Plan to eliminate violence against women and girls.” -…
This video provides practical tips for essential service providers on how to engage with survivors in a gender-sensitive and survivor-centred manner. This video was developed as part of the programme "Safe and Fair: Realizing women migrant workers’ rights and opportunities in the ASEAN region (2018–2023)".
In the Caribbean region, Spotlight Initiative has been supporting the development of ethical guidelines for data collection. The guidelines were informed by User Producer Dialogues held across the region that brought together representatives from ministries, departments, agencies, and civil society organisations to discuss VAWG data collection and management. These dialogues underscored the urgency of addressing administrative data as a complement to prevalence data, the need for harmonisation of tools and processes for data collection and management, and the priority for standardisation…
Spotlight Initiative’s Kyrgyzstan Programme revised and updated existing ethical guidelines and protocols for data collection, sharing and reporting on SGBV/VAWG, and integrating confidentiality and safety provisions. In 2022, the programme provided capacity development to the Office of the National Statistics Committee (NSC), and other responsible public bodies on collecting statistics based on recent legislative amendments related to gender-based violence, to develop standardised reporting forms and ethical protocols for the use of VAWG data as well as digitise case management. These efforts…