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Spotlight Initiative has engaged the media in a variety of different ways and with a range of objectives, from raising awareness on VAWG and challenging harmful norms, to strengthening gender responsive coverage and reporting of GBV cases. By working with the media in these ways, Spotlight Initiative aims to generate widespread awareness, influence societal norms, empower survivors, and drive policy changes to end violence against women and girls. Key learnings include:

Leverage the power of the media through targeted behavioural-change campaigns. For example, work with radio, printed…

Spotlight Initiative recognises that effective training and resourcing is essential to ensure that police units are well equipped to respond to crimes of VAWG with a survivor-centred approach. Key approaches and learning from Spotlight Initiative programmes working with the police include: 

Train police officers to prevent and respond effectively and sensitively to VAWG: For example, in the Marshall Islands, Spotlight Initiative trained police officers in survivor-centred approaches. See case study below.
Invest in Women and Children’s protection units within police forces to ensure there…

Spotlight Initiative has taken a variety of innovative approaches to working with and for adolescent girls:

Using a Safe Spaces Model across programmes and contexts to support girls in developing life skills and increasing awareness of health, rights and services. Read more about the Safe Spaces approach in Malawi and the case studies on Niger and Nigeria. 
Using technology and games development to increase awareness of VAWG among young people. See the case study on Kyrgyzstan below.
Supporting comprehensive sexuality education: For example, in Argentina, adolescent girls and boys have…

Spotlight Initiative recognises that survivors of violence often require a range of health services, including medical treatment, psychosocial support, and reproductive health care. Its programmes aim to ensure that survivors have access to comprehensive and integrated health services that address their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Key approaches and learning include:

Providing high-quality clinical care for survivors of violence, including emergency medical treatment, treatment of injuries, and post-assault care. This has also involved training healthcare providers to offer…

Spotlight Initiative has supported capacity-strengthening efforts with a wide range of stakeholders and partners, including civil society organisations (CSOs), Women’s Rights Organisations (WROs), media broadcasters, journalists, national governments, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Spotlight Initiative developed a guidance manual on capacity building which committed to the following:

Engage stakeholders in reciprocal learning: Spotlight Initiative programmes were designed from the outset to involve all stakeholders that could benefit from a capacity building initiative in…

Spotlight Initiative collaborates with partners to establish and strengthen One Stop Centres, which allow a multi-sectoral and holistic approach to VAWG response. By 2023, Spotlight Initiative had provided more than 650,000 women and girl survivors with essential services - of these, more than 450,000 were served by One Stop Centres.

Key approaches and learning have included:

Strengthening and scaling up existing one stop centres: In Nigeria, Spotlight Initiative scaled up one-stop centres already in operation. One-stop centres in the states of Sokoto and Lagos provide housing services…

Spotlight Initiative recognises that addressing VAWG requires collaboration across various sectors and service providers, government agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders involved in GBV response. Referral mechanisms are an essential component of this approach as they ensure that survivors receive holistic support.

Spotlight Initiative invests in building the capacity of service providers, including healthcare workers, CSOs, social workers, legal professionals, and law enforcement personnel. This training helps them better understand GBV issues, improve their…

Spotlight Initiative programmes have worked to understand and address the specific barriers that diverse groups of women and girls might face in accessing services. Key approaches and learnings include:

Providing survivor support funds. Spotlight Initiative is committed to supporting survivors without the financial means to access services, by establishing and distributing funds. In Malawi, they did this through the establishment of community funds. 

Mobile service provision for survivors in hard-to-reach areas. Spotlight Initiative also supports survivors in remote locations with mobile…

Spotlight Initiative takes an inclusive approach to VAWG service mapping, ensuring that the needs of diverse survivors - including those with disabilities and other marginalised identities - are considered while identifying services and gaps. For example, in Zimbabwe, Spotlight Initiative partnered with Deaf Women Included to map services available to people with disabilities, identify gaps, and use this to inform programme design (see case study below). In Trinidad and Tobago, Spotlight Initiative produced a mapping of VAWG services, with a target audience of women and girls, including those…

Select implementing partner according to context and need: At the programme level, Spotlight Initiative's implementing partners include CSOs, government partners, private sector actors, academic institutions, and consultants. The type and number of implementing partners varies by country and is tailored to the local context and needs. In some programmes, there are fewer than ten implementing partners, mostly with previous UN experience, like in Mali and Niger. In contrast, other programmes, like those in Zimbabwe and Malawi, involve over 30 implementing partners, with most being new to…