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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…

Multi-stakeholder partnerships are a central aspect of Spotlight Initiative governance, programme implementation, monitoring and learning,

Setting up multi-stakeholder governance mechanisms: National and Regional Steering Committees provide implementation oversight and coordination of Spotlight Initiative country and regional programmes and are composed of UN, government, donor and civil society partners to ensure meaningful representation and participation. Multi-stakeholder partnerships and mechanisms are a key part of the Spotlight Initiative Approach and Theory of Change, with core…

Spotlight Initiative has employed a range of strategies and approaches to work with traditional and faith leaders to end violence against women and girls (VAWG):

Shaping customary and religious rules and the practices of informal courts. Programmes work to partner with traditional and/or faith leaders and secure their commitment to gender-responsive approaches in laws and policies to address VAWG.
Training cultural and traditional leaders to engage in gender-sensitive alternate dispute resolution within their communities, especially when formal processes are not available, accessible or…

Drawing on analysis from across all country and regional programmes, trust funds, and a global learning exchange, Spotlight Initiative has gathered a number of insights and lessons learned about engaging the private sector to prevent and respond to VAWG: 


Increase the visibility and awareness of VAWG in the workplace, which strengthens leadership and political buy-in to address violence. In Belize, Spotlight Initiative’s team engaged private sector companies in an awareness-raising campaign to raise the visibility of VAWG issues within the workplace, designing posters with key messaging…

Spotlight Initiative has used four key strategies in its programmes to engage men and boys in work to end VAWG:

Engage male leaders and role models in the community to challenge social norms used to justify VAWG. Spotlight Initiative programmes have worked with sports stars, male celebrities, and religious leaders to denounce VAWG, promote respectful behaviour towards women; and raise awareness of the impacts of VAWG. For example:

In Nigeria and Argentina, programmes have worked with sports stars in football to denounce VAWG and promote respectful behaviour towards women.
In Tajikistan…

CSOs and WROs are key partners of Spotlight Initiative. Priority civil society partners include WROs, feminist activists and women’s movements, as well as CSOs representing groups facing intersecting forms of discrimination. These include but are not limited to, women and girls living in rural communities, women and girls from ethnic minorities and indigenous communities, women and girls living with HIV/AIDS, LGBTQI+ persons, women and girls with disabilities, domestic and informal workers, and sex workers. Spotlight Initiative’s partnership with civil society is guided by three principles: (1…

The Spotlight Initiative 2022 Global Annual Narrative Progress Report highlighted several cross-cutting lessons from the Spotlight Initiative’s experience of implementation:

A whole-of-society approach encourages collaboration among all stakeholder to collectively address violence against women and girls.
Engaging community structures and local authorities in community-centred approached promotes accountability, local ownership and long-term commitment, influencing positive shifts in attitudes and norms.
Strengthening skills across all grassroots movements, government, activists and…

The Governance structure of Spotlight Initiative and administrative responsibilities are outlined in the Fund Operations Manual Compendium and depicted below.

At the programme level, Spotlight Initiative programmes are governed by National and Regional Steering Committees. Steering Committees are context-specific and aligned with the priorities of each programme. They provide oversight and help facilitate coordination. For example, National Steering Committees engage in monitoring implementation, providing strategic advice and decision-making, and ensuring sustainability efforts are in…