Do you understand prevention?

Understand VAWG prevention

Understand VAWG prevention

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 support, addressing underlying causes through prevention work is an essential strategy to end VAWG. 

The UN Women Framework to underpin action to prevent VAW makes the following distinctions:

  • Prevention focuses on the population as a whole, and the range of settings in which gender relations and violent behaviour are shaped, to address factors leading to or protecting against VAW. 
  • Early intervention focuses on individuals and groups with a high risk of perpetrating or being a victim of VAW and aims to reduce the factors contributing to that risk. 
  • Response focuses on those affected by violence and on building systemic, organisational and community capacity to respond to them. 
Guiding Principles
  • Survivor-Centred Approach
  • Do no harm approach
  • Leave No One Behind, Equity and Non-Discrimination
  • Transformative approach
Spotlight Initiative

Approach and Learning

Prevention is one of the six key pillars of Spotlight Initiative. This pillar focuses on addressing the root causes of violence against women and girls, including discrimination against women and girls and gender inequality in the distribution of power/resources. The largest percentage of Spotlight Initiative’s investment across the six pillars was allocated towards prevention efforts. Key approaches and learnings from this work include:

  • Focusing on social norm change is a catalyst for change across multiple areas needed to end VAWG. Changing attitudes, behaviours, and social norms takes time, so Spotlight Initiative programming applies a holistic and whole of society approach across the socio-ecological model to mobilise champions of change; strengthen institutions, including the private sector; engage social and traditional media to deliver persuasive behaviour change campaigns; advocate for and create policies for eliminating VAWG; and address the root causes of VAWG and underlying discriminatory gender norms.
  • Take a comprehensive approach to prevention which mobilises actors at multiple levels, such as community organisations and leaders, including traditional and religious leaders, sports organisations, youth, policymakers, influencers and many others. This has been critical to start to change attitudes and behaviours around the acceptability of violence against women and girls, fostering commitment and bringing initiatives to scale for wider and more meaningful impact.

Top Tips

How to understand VAWG prevention - top tips based on wider learning in the sector.

Click a tip for more information.
Preventing violence against women and girls is possible
Work with women’s movements and organisations
Identify and assess the risk and protective factors of violence
Strengthen the enabling environment for VAWG prevention
Adapt and scale-up effective prevention approaches
Build organisational readiness for VAWG prevention work
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