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The most appropriate methods for gathering data for an analysis of the national policy, legal and institutional environment will vary depending on how much information is already publicly available and the specific political environment. In some contexts, there may be plenty of official information - including texts of laws and policies, parliamentary records, budgetary reports and implementation reports - available online. There may also be reports and analysis from civil society and/or research organisations on the political context, the state of legislative reform and institutional…

Establishing a systematic approach to collecting and analysing data on influencing activities can help to measure the progress, impact and effectiveness of the overall VAWG influencing strategy. A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) plan should be developed from the outset. When setting goals and objectives, indicators that can measure and evaluate progress should be identified. It's also important to monitor any impacts or potential risks of the VAWG influencing strategy, especially to vulnerable groups including survivors of violence. Collecting data regularly is important to enable…

Communications that distil the complexity of VAWG issues into clear messaging focused on personal and social values, and resonate or motivate audiences, can be powerful tools to move people to action and change behaviours. Depending on the influencing strategies and tactics selected, communications and raising awareness can take different forms; the framing of a national media campaign will be different to that of lobbying and direct advocacy. These options should be considered on the basis of the target audience, their needs and contextual factors, such as language or dialect to use and…

Working collectively can help maximise the impact of influencing work. Engaging a diverse group of stakeholders with a mix of skills, knowledge and experiences can help identify levers where influencing can impact change. Depending on the scale of the VAWG influencing strategy, it could be helpful to establish a governance mechanism to ensure partnerships are grounded in agreed principles and ways of working. 

As outlined in Spotlight Initiative’s Pillar on Women’s Movements, engaging stakeholders on VAWG issues presents a key opportunity to shift balances of power to national, local and…

In the process of developing a VAWG influencing strategy, it’s important to consider different tactics to help influence change. Oxfam’s Influencing for Impact Guide provides the following examples of influencing tactics:

Research and policy development
Lobbying and direct advocacy
Convening and facilitating engagement and dialogue with key stakeholders and decision makers 
Supporting community engagement on issues 
Supporting women and men to become change-makers and influencers
Communications and media
Alliances and network building
Supporting civil society organisations
M…

A key element of developing an influencing strategy is mapping all potential people, groups and institutions to engage with. Think about which stakeholders hold power and influence. What are their roles, interests, and potential contributions to addressing VAWG? Are they potential champions, or could they block progress? Are there allies you could work with to create synergies? There are many tools available to accomplish this, including interviewing women’s rights organisations, or via a stakeholder mapping, social network analysis, power analysis, or political economy analysis. As an example…

Effective influencing strategies have a clear goal that sets out a transformational vision of change to motivate and engage people. To achieve this overarching goal, it’s helpful to identify a set of clear, measurable, and time bound objectives for the influencing work. This can be organised into an operational framework or action plan, to ensure all partners share these goals, and monitor progress and results of influencing activities. The following table is an example:

Goal:

Objective
Priority Target
Powerholder/ ally/opponent
Approach/ tactics to apply
Rationale for…

When developing an influencing strategy, it’s useful to begin by clearly identifying the issue which needs addressing, and then analysing its causes and possible solutions. For example, it might be gaps in the current laws or perhaps the need to address new forms of violence (e.g. online violence). Think about what needs to change, who needs to change, and the possible routes to effect change. There are many tools available to undertake a problem analysis, including a SWOT analysis, fishbone diagram, or problem tree analysis.

Understanding the local context, including cultural, social…

To ensure that laws remain relevant, effective and up to date with changing realities (e.g. developments in technology and social media), establish mechanisms to monitor implementation. This involves regular data collection on the prevalence of VAWG and the effectiveness of legal responses, as well as gathering feedback from various stakeholders. In addition to formal mechanisms, women’s rights organisations and other civil society groups can play a vital role in monitoring implementation, for example through shadow reporting mechanisms, observatories and diagnostic surveys to regularly…

Despite many countries introducing new laws or reforming existing laws, there continues to be a gap in the implementation and enforcement of laws. Key factors contributing to the effective implementation of laws and policies on ending VAWG include:

Political will and a comprehensive policy framework, which includes a national action plan and data collection to monitor the effectiveness of implementation. This data should be gathered at regular intervals and disaggregated by sex, race, age, ethnicity and other relevant characteristics.
Coordination mechanisms for different government…