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Violence against women in elections (VAWE) keeps women out of political life and yet it is often dismissed as part of campaigning or goes unreported. Ahead of Zambia’s August 2026 general elections, Spotlight Initiative, through UNFPA, adapted the grievance mechanism it used in the 2024 drought response into a national VAWE reporting and grievance mechanism. Anchored in Lifeline/Childline Zambia’s toll-free 933 and 116 helplines, it uses dedicated intake procedures and links each report to the Zambia Police, the National Prosecution Authority, the Electoral Commission and the Human Rights…
In Niger, the Spotlight Initiative programme set up a mentorship programme in safe spaces to strengthen the capacities and skills of out-of-school or never-schooled, married or unmarried adolescent girls aged 15-19. A comprehensive mentorship guide and curriculum was developed covering the following areas across 28 sessions:
Life skills: Self-awareness, self-esteem and emotional management; values and behaviours; decision-making, problem-solving and negotiations; leadership, communication and organisations skills and team-working.
Reproductive health: Women's reproductive system; emotional…
The Mutuelle de solidarité (MuSo or Solidarity Fund for VAWG Survivors in English) responds to the economic dependence of women survivors of violence. It is both a popular financing tool and a self-help group. Since 2020, as part of Spotlight initiative, CAPAC - Centre d'Animation Paysanne et d'Action Communautaire - has been developing this solidarity fund system among women in Haiti to enable them not only to accumulate savings and grant loans tailored to their needs, but also to facilitate access to a contingency fund and external financing.
Results
By the end of 2021, a total of 12…
In Liberia, Spotlight Initiative has supported over 225,562 Liberian women and girls to access a wide range of services in health, justice, protection, psychosocial and economic support.
“We are now focusing on the agriculture and business activities the EU and UN helped us to establish. I have practiced FGM for most of my life but now I advocate for girls to get an education unhindered and make their own choice of whether to undergo the initiation after they are 18 years old. I am happy that I still get to teach our good traditions to our girls and young women without causing any harm in…
Most women in Malawi do not have access to formal financial services because of persistent barriers in access to identification documents, mobile phones, digital skills, and financial capabilities. To bridge the gap in digital financial services, Zayela Digital Finance Programme was officially launched in 2022. Zayela seeks to strengthen women's economic empowerment opportunities by promoting the digital financial inclusion of women and young women at risk of violence in Spotlight Initiative implementing districts.
Results: Working with Airtel Malawi to operate the digital accounts, a total…
Spotlight Initiative established community and survivor funds to improve access to services for survivors who could not otherwise afford to seek essential services or justice, while also supporting the economic recovery of survivors as part of longer term rehabilitation. Specifically, community and survivor funds were established to:
Improve access to services for survivors and Obstetric Fistula patients (OF) from marginalised and remote areas;
Support the economic recovery of survivors and OF patients as part of their long-term rehabilitation; and
Improve access to justice by supporting…
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Spotlight Initiative tested approaches to working virtually to continue to address violence effectively. Helpline responders and counsellors learned to provide more psychosocial counselling and referral guidance by phone. Key staff from first responders and frontline agencies were trained in using remote means of communication as part of crisis management. The Gender-Based Violence Unit in the Division of Gender and Family Affairs of the Ministry of Social Development, Housing and Community Empowerment developed a COVID-19 response protocol with guidelines for…
The Spotlight Initiative programme in Afghanistan has fostered innovation, laying the groundwork for innovative practices and activities. These include an online civil society platform, which will promote knowledge and information sharing among members of the Eliminating Violence Against Women Forum, and a technology-based solution to real-time monitoring needs called RapidPro / U-Report.
The U-Report is an innovative way to facilitate two-way communication via phones and social media platforms, such as WhatsApp and Viber, to monitor and course-correct programming. Other innovative practices…
Mozambique has lacked a dedicated hotline to respond to the needs of persons at risk of or survivors of gender-based violence. The one existing service, Fala Criança, had been set up to respond to the needs of children who suffered abuse, but was not available to those over 18.
“Linha Verde 1458 will offer a fast and safe response to women who suffer violence during COVID-19. It is a source of pride for me, as well as my co-workers, to know that we are helping those who do not know where to go, especially during this period of COVID-19.” - Telephone operator at Linha Verde 1458.
To fill…
In December 2019, Spotlight Initiative established a fleet of Mobile One Stop Centres across Zimbabwe, which aimed to dismantle the barriers that survivors in remote and hard to reach areas faced in accessing GBV response services. As part of this, they supported volunteers engaged in GBV referrals by providing them with data and airtime packages to enable continuous two-way communication between volunteers, survivors, hotlines, and Mobile One Stop Centre teams. They also coordinated shuttle services and fuel for survivors who needed to reach the centres.
Results and feedback from survivors…