Advanced Search

Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces are environments established to ensure women and girls feel emotionally and physically safe. These spaces are designed to ensure VAWG survivors have a place to go where they are able to socialise, build support networks, access response services and access information on women’s rights, health and services, without fear of judgement or harm. Read more about how to establish a Women and Girls’ Safe Space. 

Survivors of VAWG are at risk of re-traumatisation and other mental health challenges which can be triggered by insensitive service delivery. One Stop Centre staff need to be trained in how to provide survivor-centred care that does no harm. This entails putting the safety and comfort of survivors at the forefront of service delivery, avoiding intrusive questioning, ensuring survivors have access to support at all stages, and ensuring that they are able to navigate the One Stop Centre services at their own pace. Survivors also need to be fully engaged in all decision-making processes that…

When offering referrals for VAWG survivors, it is important to seek consent from survivors to share their information and connect them with relevant support services. The process of seeking consent ensures that survivors are actively involved in the decision-making process and have control over the support they receive. Moreover, by ensuring survivors are well-informed about their options and available resources, you enable them to make choices that align with their unique needs and circumstances. This approach contributes to a survivor-centred and trauma-informed response.

All information exchanged should be kept between the service provider and the survivor, unless the survivor voluntarily chooses to disclose information to another individual or if their life is in immediate danger. In cases where an interpreter or cultural mediator is needed, that individual should be equally knowledgeable of how to maintain confidentiality and be accountable to any codes of conduct or protocols that exist for service providers. 

Keeping information confidential begins with ensuring the technologies (e.g. mobile phones, landlines, websites, apps, etc.) used to communicate…

In alignment with the do no harm principle, it is important for institutions to establish safe referral protocols and agreements with relevant social, health and justice services, including defining clear responsibilities of each service. Procedures between services for information sharing and referral should be consistent, known by agency staff, and communicated clearly to survivors. Not only do these practices support a coordinated response, but they also ensure the needs and wellbeing of the survivor are prioritised, for instance by minimising the number of times that the survivor is asked…

Connecting survivors to effective responses involves mapping what services are available, including initial support, appropriate medical treatment and care, and referral(s) to additional support. Even without specific GBV referral pathways available in an area, other services might meet needs. A comprehensive service directory which maps health, psychosocial, protection, legal, shelter/safe accommodation, livelihoods and other services is therefore vital for providing effective GBV support. All personnel who engage with affected populations should be provided with written information about…

A coordinated response has benefits for individual survivors, the agencies and institutions that respond to violence against women, and for their communities. It is also more effective in holding perpetrators accountable and keeping survivors safe from violence.

For individual survivors, a coordinated response… 

Increases safety by placing survivors at the centre of any intervention or institutional response. 
Provides access to informed and skilled practitioners who share knowledge in a dedicated, supportive environment. 
Recognises survivors’ multiple needs, which can be met…

Some survivors may feel unable to access services due to social stigma. To remove this barrier, programmes can consider offering activities to women and girls more generally, rather than exclusively to survivors of VAWG. This will help ensure that survivors who feel unable to report for any reason are able to access support without indicating that they are a survivor of VAWG. These activities might include healthcare, network building, setting up ‘women’s spaces’ to promote solidarity among women, and economic empowerment activities. This can also help reduce stigma against survivors.

Survivors with disabilities may face various barriers to accessing services depending on the nature of their impairment. A survivor with mobility challenges may face barriers to physically accessing the buildings where services are housed or the transport needed to get there. On the other hand, a survivor with a sight impairment may face barriers to accessing information about where and how to seek support. Some survivors with disabilities may be unable to work and so have limited funds to access services, while others may have a full-time caregiver, doubling the cost of travelling. Programmes…

Ensure all staff within service provision and reporting mechanisms are trained in taking a gender responsive and survivor-centred approach, which includes treating survivors with respect and dignity regardless of their background. Survivors with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities may face substantial social stigma to accessing services, putting them at risk of harassment by service providers. In contexts where homosexuality is illegal, accessing services could also put survivors at risk of arrest.  

Put in place mechanisms to ensure survivors who experience harassment are…