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Gender-responsive budgets should be accompanied by monitoring tools embedded in national and local systems. Systems should track financial allocations, spend, and the impact of these resources and fiscal policies on communities. For example, the data could indicate how much money was spent on sexual reproductive health and rights, and track levels of maternal mortality or uptake of family planning services. 

Forge and leverage strong relationships with influential senior government officials, such as Ministers, Heads of State. These individuals can act as champions to drive progress. Some Spotlight Initiative programmes have engaged Cabinet members who had long championed ending GBV and public recognised leaders on the issue. This sets the groundwork for integration of EVAWG into budgets. 

Engage with subnational and local governments to ensure GBV is a budgeted priority at the local level. Reaching budget decision-makers in decentralized governments, can help ensure that commitments and resources to EVAWG are sustained, even if priorities shift at the national level.

Provide tangible, actionable technical assistance and training on gender-responsive budgeting by tying it to existing trainings and policies. Training should be accompanied by the joint development of accessible, tools and learning materials to support sustained learning beyond the programme cycle. 

Implement the whole-of-society approach by building cross-sectoral coalitions within and outside governments. This could range from formal to informal, task forces, committees or coordination meetings. Demonstrate to government the value of including civil society in decision-making and monitoring related to GBV efforts. Bringing CSOs to the table can help set a precedent for more inclusive decision-making and accountability. 

Spotlight Initiative’s comprehensive theory of change lays the foundation for sustainable achievements. By working across interconnected outcome areas and partnering with governments, CSOs and women’s rights organizations (WROs), programmes promote national ownership, strengthen systems and embed EVAWG activities within lasting local structures, policies and plans. Some of the most enduring outcomes from the first phase of the Initiative are in the areas of laws, policies, institutions and essential services. 

Sustainability planning should not be left for the final few months of a…

One Stop Centres should be funded and planned for in the long term to prevent risks or harm to survivors posed by short-term or inconsistent provision of services. Generating a sense of ownership of these services among service providers and governments can support their long-term sustainability. Ensuring continuous engagement of stakeholders throughout the set-up and roll-out of One Stop Centres, and integrating and referencing them within National Action Plans, budgets and policies, can support maintenance of these structures over time.

It’s considered best practice to disaggregate indicators where appropriate to account for the range of experiences of different population groups based on their intersectional identities (i.e. by sex, age, race, disability, socio-economic status). Where disaggregation can support with precision, contextualisation, transparency and accountability, it can also benefit equity and inclusivity efforts, which is especially relevant where the language of indicators has been generalised.

Using data effectively for improved decision-making and advocacy is an ethical responsibility and involves creating diverse products tailored to various users. This requires thinking carefully about what types of information and presentation are suitable for different data users. For example, the list below sets out common types of information useful for different users.

General Public: Key figures, trends, data visualisations, short stories
Media: Summary tables, charts, trends, data visualisations, short stories
Policymakers: Summary tables, charts, trends, data visualisations, short…

When prevention programmes are implemented in communities and institutions, people become more aware of the harmful nature of VAWG and women and girls are often more likely to want to report violence, seek help and services. It is therefore really important that programme teams map existing response services and ensure that there are referral mechanisms in place to support survivors to access the services they need and want. This is sometimes called working across the prevention-to-response continuum.