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When designing a programme that aims to change social norms, it is important to understand some of the most effective approaches for addressing norms around violence against women and girls, such as:

Develop messages that promote positive norms and behaviours, such as the important role of men as fathers, the value of consensual sex and communication in relationships or the importance of working together for the good of the family. These positive messages should be pervasive, repeated across various platforms, and offer clear, appealing alternatives.
Prompt deliberation to discuss and…

Transforming social norms at the community level requires strong organisational commitment from the implementing partners. The most effective interventions have been implemented by organisations guided by strong values, and committed to reflecting on issues like violence, discrimination, power and relationships, both in their staff and volunteers’ personal lives and within the organisational structure. To do this, staff and volunteers are carefully selected (or nominated by communities) for their gender-equitable and non-violent attitudes and behaviour, and often go through a thorough gender…

Different approaches have been tried to change social norms about VAWG, with varying levels of evidence about their effectiveness. These include:

Community mobilization approaches using community activists who are trained and supported to challenge harmful norms and attitudes. Learn more about how to mobilise communities here.
Group-based workshops with men and women to promote changes in attitudes and norms.
Group-education with men and boys to change attitudes and norms.
Social marketing campaigns or ‘edutainment’ approaches and group education
Often these are used in combination…

In-depth contextual analysis and research can help to identify the specific norms driving a specific form of violence against women and girls in a specific community. These can include norms around what it means to be a man or woman, gender roles inside and outside the home, family privacy, sexuality, and the acceptability of violence. The most relevant norms to address will vary depending on the specific behaviours or outcomes the programme wants to tackle. For example, a programme designed to prevent intimate partner violence might aim to transform social norms around family privacy, couple…

When understanding the causes of VAWG, it is important to identify the ways in which gender inequality intersects with other forms of inequality to drive violence and perhaps increase the risk, severity and/or frequency of experiencing violence for specific women and girls.

An intersectional approach analyses how women and girls’ experiences of violence are shaped by their race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, age, (dis)ability and geographic location as well as historical legacies of inequality. This approach is essential to ensure that VAWG work is tailored to the diverse needs of women and…

In order to understand the scale of VAWG and programming needs, it is useful to consult or generate qualitative and quantitative data to measure relevant risk factors and drivers of violence.

Examples of qualitative data sources:

Conduct a stakeholder mapping, or depending on the context, a social network analysis, power analysis or political economy analysis
Interview key stakeholders, service providers, women, girls, and representatives from women’s rights organisations and civil society organisations
Lead participatory workshops and focus group discussions with a diversity of…

The socio-ecological model is a valuable framework for this analysis because it acknowledges that VAWG isn't isolated to individual actions but is deeply embedded within interconnected layers of society—ranging from personal experiences to societal structures. Using this model to analyse risk and protective factors helps inform and target interventions at multiple levels, challenge harmful norms, transform societal attitudes, and advocate for policy changes to dismantle systemic inequalities. It ensures that programme teams understand why it is important to address multiple risk factors…

A Theory of Change (ToC) is a framework that outlines how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. Often a ToC is developed in response to a problem analysis that identifies the causal pathways of VAWG within a given context, and provides a structured approach to understanding the complex interplay of cultural norms, gender inequalities, economic disparities and institutional dynamics. A theory of change can then be created to show how the proposed interventions will tackle the different factors at different levels that are driving VAWG, and any related…

In order to design effective programmes, it is important to identify and address the specific drivers of VAWG that are most significant in a particular context. In this respect, engaging stakeholders and communities in analysing the situation, and identifying solutions, can help create more effective and comprehensive solutions to shifting norms and prevent VAWG. In order to identify and recognise contextual drivers of VAWG, it can be helpful to consider the following:

The different forms and prevalence of VAWG: what are they, and how do they vary? Who are the primary victims and…

Violence against women and girls can take many different forms. In order to understand what drives the occurrence and perpetration of VAWG, and how to tailor interventions, it can be important to consider the following:

Types of violence: Different forms of violence - for example, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation and abuse and harmful traditional practices - may have different risk factors. Understanding these variations helps in designing targeted programmes and support services that cater to diverse needs.
Prevalence of violence: Knowing the prevalence rates and patterns…