The most appropriate methods for gathering data for an analysis of the national policy, legal and institutional environment will vary depending on how much information is already publicly available and the specific political environment. In some contexts, there may be plenty of official information - including texts of laws and policies, parliamentary records, budgetary reports and implementation reports - available online. There may also be reports and analysis from civil society and/or research organisations on the political context, the state of legislative reform and institutional capacities. In other contexts, some of the information may not be available online and efforts will need to be made to secure hard copies. Nonetheless, documents are unlikely to be sufficient to understand the realities of processes to develop and implement laws and policies, where the obstacles lie, opportunities for reform and so on. In order to conduct a more thorough political economy analysis, where safe and feasible, it will therefore be important to conduct interviews and/or focus group discussions with a range of individuals who have a strong understanding of the political and legal context.  

A robust analysis will include an identification of key decision-makers across the executive and legislative parts of government, their interests and commitments and the likelihood of them supporting or blocking positive changes in laws and policies. Consider, for example, which government ministers have a history of voting in favour of laws to protect and promote women’s rights. These may be allies who are more sympathetic to work to end VAWG. Equally, be aware of decision-makers that may be resistant and consider how to protect your efforts from their potential influence. Finally, it is also useful to analyse other actors working to end VAWG in the context. You may be able to develop complementary programming to support each other, coordinate advocacy efforts to maximise reach and impact, and offer each other support and solidarity through your work. 

Read more about working with parliamentarians and engaging with different public sector ministries  

Identify which laws and policies already exist to protect women and girls from VAWG and hold perpetrators to account, along with gaps that need to be addressed. Consider how these laws impact on different populations of women and girls at risk and survivors of violence. For example, if homosexuality is illegal, this would put survivors with diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities, at risk of arrest if they seek support, posing a substantial barrier to them accessing mainstream services. Ensure your analysis looks at wider laws which impact gender equality and women and girls’ rights – as these are also important in reducing the risks of violence. For example, laws on land rights, inheritance, labour, marriage and divorce can have significant impacts on women’s abilities to negotiate more equitable relationships and leave abusive situations.  

If programmes are working at the sub-national level, it is important to identify any enablers or barriers that may impact VAWG programming in those particular states, regions or districts. For example, there may be a national law that criminalises intimate partner violence, but within a particular region, the knowledge or implementation of this law may be limited. In some contexts, there are also local by-laws which may be more or less progressive than national legislation. Equally, there may be strong anti-equality sentiment at the national level, but within a particular state, local officials may be sympathetic to efforts to end VAWG and may be able to support advocacy efforts. It is important to identify and understand these differences to develop context-specific programming.

In many contexts, there is a hybrid legal system or coexistence of state law and traditional or religious laws. In some cases, there is clarity about the jurisdiction of these different systems, but, in other cases, this is less clear or not implemented in practice. There can also be significant difference between the content of state laws and traditional or religious laws, especially regarding the protection and rights of women and girls. It is important to analyse these realities and also look at women and girls’ preferences for accessing justice. Even though, on paper, state laws may offer more protection and rights, the formal legal system can seem very inaccessible for many women, and they may prefer to approach traditional and religious leaders and systems for support. It can therefore be important to work with these traditional and religious systems and leaders as this may impact larger numbers of women, especially those harder to reach. Read more on working with traditional and faith leaders. 

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 position to develop activities that help strengthen opportunities for these groups to participate in decision-making around policy and law development, reform and implementation. 

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 approval on the programme, workplan and budget. In addition, ministries and other government institutions were restaffed meaning that relationships between the programme and their government counterparts had to be built anew. Conducting analysis and risk assessments of the likely and actual impact of political events on programmes can help programmes plan and adapt.