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In 2020, Spotlight Initiative’s Latin America Regional Programme provided funding to support a Latin American coalition of WROs, feminist organisations and civil society organisations led by the Centre for Justice and International Law in Honduras. This coalition was advocating for the passage of a new protocol called “La Esperanza Protocol”, one of the first of its type, which aims to improve the investigation of and response to serious threats and attacks against human rights defenders.
A coalition of over 20 CSOs, women's and feminist organisations, spearheaded by the Center for Justice…
Participatory monitoring ensures a needs-driven approach that adapts as new needs arise, enabling programmes to help identify appropriate interventions to meet the specific needs of survivors and civil society organisations.
Spotlight Initiative in Belize embraced a collaborative approach with civil society partners throughout the programming cycle, including in monitoring and reporting processes. Through community-based dialogues with implementing partners and beneficiaries, stakeholder consultations, and programmatic visits, the voices of civil society partners were meaningfully reflected…
At the global level, Spotlight Initiative consolidates country-level information received into a central result-based management system called the SMART platform. This monitoring and reporting tool gathers performance data at the outcome and output levels, linking programme-related result indicators so evaluators can better measure the efficiency and effectiveness of Spotlight Initiative. Result indicators are specific to each country or regional programme. For outcomes, shared indicators are defined in the overall and regional result frameworks.
Programme stakeholders are obligated to…
Spotlight Initiative’s overarching goal in its Theory of Change (ToC) is to ensure that all women, especially those who are marginalised and vulnerable, live free from violence and harmful practices. Together with its partners, Spotlight Initiative aims to make concrete changes in six Outcome Areas or Pillars to end VAWG. Changes in these six Outcome Areas contribute to achieving SDG 5 and SDG 16. ToC “if/then” logic statements were then crafted for each Outcome to describe the desired results.
Example: IF/THEN TOC for Outcome 1 (Legislative and policy frameworks)
IF
(1) Women and VAWG…
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…