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Spotlight Initiative conducted training using the Gender Action Learning System (GALS) in partnership with the Public Foundation “Education for Community Development”. They worked at individual, family and institutional levels to help promote equitable attitudes around gender to end VAWG. This training was provided to fathers and following their participation in GALS training, 40% of fathers showed improved communication with their families on family matters and reported valuing everyone’s contribution. This is a significant improvement from baseline data, which showed deeply rooted…
In 2020, the Spotlight Initiative programme in Malawi received reports that many survivors from the rural communities in which they worked were unable to access justice and essential services because they lived long distances from these services and couldn’t afford the cost of public transport. In response, Spotlight Initiative developed funds to help survivors overcome these economic barriers. They worked with traditional authorities to establish community committees which oversaw the distribution of these funds.
These committees sat within the Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and…
In Malawi, Spotlight Initiative established a number of Chiefs Forums in 2020 to support work to end VAWG. Spotlight Initiative consulted with 3,421 community stakeholders to establish buy-in and to ensure that the Chiefs were better held accountable to their communities, especially women and girls. Through these forums they provided training to 1,561 Chiefs to support them to become Champions of Change.
Following this training, these traditional leaders collectively annulled 1,222 child marriages (98% of the registered child marriages in the 6 districts) and supported the re-enrolment of…
In 2020, Spotlight Initiative worked with influential Christian and Muslim leaders in Mali to spread messages that condemn VAWG. The President of the High Islamic Council of Mali and the Representative of the Episcopal Conference of Mali appeared in a series of Spotlight Initiative-supported television and radio messages. Through these messages, these leaders denounced VAWG, citing religious texts that support respectful relationships. This campaign ran for two months. During this period, television messages were viewed 40,878,000 times and radio messages were heard 4,663,300 times. In…
In 2021, Spotlight Initiative partnered with Deaf Women Included (DWI) to conduct a mapping of VAWG response services in Hurungwe and Guruve districts in Zimbabwe. The aim of this mapping was to identify existing VAWG and Sexual and Reproductive Health services within the districts and the extent to which these services were inclusive of survivors with disabilities. This initiative followed community dialogues with community leaders and women with disabilities that brought to light some of the barriers survivors with disabilities faced to accessing essential services.
This initiative used…
In 2022, Spotlight Initiative in Trinidad and Tobago aimed to improve CSOs’ access to grants through a three-tiered approach of stakeholder consultations, capacity building, and adapting processes to be more context-relevant. The objective was to support resource mobilisation and increase institutional, operational and technical capacities for long-term and sustainable work on EVAWG.
The programme began by consulting a Civil Society National Reference Group to discuss feedback on Spotlight Initiative’s funding opportunities and requirements. CSOs provided feedback that the timeframe for…
In 2021, Spotlight Initiative supported their CSO partner ALFELA to conduct a capacity assessment of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL). This involved interviewing 102 police officers from various departments to understanding PNTL’s response to VAWG cases. The assessment found that 55% of officers were not familiar with the Timor-Leste's law against domestic violence, 45% were not clear on how to handle cases, and only 60% knew how to properly categorise cases. Following on from this assessment, ALFELA conducted a day-long roundtable discussion with officers from the national Vulnerable…
Spotlight Initiative established a Regional Gender Based Violence (GBV) Administrative Data Technical Reference Group in the Pacific region. This group works with key stakeholders to build their capacity on how to develop and manage robust GBV case management systems. Stakeholders include national statistics offices, the justice sector and the police sector across the Pacific. This reference group works to:
Support regional dialogues to share learning across the region
Build a community of practice on developing GBV admin data systems in the Pacific
Provide technical support…
Spotlight Initiative acknowledges the central role of journalists and their contribution to public discourse as well as the potential of this group to change existing narratives so that they support upholding and advancing women’s rights and gender equality. Through the support of six Spotlight Initiative programmes in 2021, 134 news outlets now have peer-validated news and media standards on ethical and gender-sensitive reporting. They join more than 600 media houses engaged by Spotlight Initiative that have committed to better reporting on VAWG.
Eight Spotlight Initiative programmes also…
Spotlight Initiative engages in many strategic partnerships at the global level, including with advocates and influencers, to challenge gender stereotypes and raise awareness of EVAWG work. Global Advocates for Spotlight Initiative, including actor Cecilia Suarez and South African Springboks Rugby Captain Siya Kolisi, have used their social media channels and participation in interviews and at panel discussions to champion work by Spotlight Initiative. Find out more about Ceclia’s support and engagement here and Siya’s personal reflections here.
WithHer Fellowship
Through the #WithHer…