Violence against women and girls is preventable, and prevention remains central to UN Women’s work in addressing its root causes, including harmful social norms and unequal gender power dynamics. Risk factors such as limited education, childhood exposure to violence, harmful use of alcohol, and societal attitudes that normalize violence and gender inequality increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating violence against women and girls.75 Effective prevention requires mitigating these risk factors while amplifying protective measures such as promoting healthy relationships, fostering gender equality, and creating supportive environments. UN Women has been instrumental in influencing intergovernmental processes, such as the UN General Assembly76 and CSW,77 to prioritize VAWG prevention. Together with partners, UN Women has integrated prevention into government agendas through the development of NAPs and prevention strategies. Foundational documents like the UN Prevention Framework78 and the RESPECT framework79 have been critical in fostering a shared understanding and a coordinated approach across diverse stakeholders. In 2022 and 2023, UN Women led evidence-based prevention interventions grounded in the RESPECT framework’s seven strategic areas.80 These initiatives addressed the root causes of VAWG through interconnected strategies, including shifting harmful norms in families, through sports and within institutions; mobilizing communities; engaging men and boys, as well as religious and traditional leaders; supporting women’s agency and economic empowerment; and partnering with the private sector to ensure safe workplaces and communities where women and girls can thrive free from violence.
Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:
- RESPECT Framework was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, reaching community leaders and policymakers.
- UN Women ACRO, in collaboration with PAHO, adapted the RESPECT Global Framework to Latin America and the Caribbean and promoted capacity building workshops in Chile and Bolivia with the participation of more than 130 policymakers.
- Sport-based programs:
- Get into Rugby Plus engaged 629 children and trained 50% female coaches in Fiji and Samoa.
- Community mobilization:
- SASA! Together expanded in Uganda, training 1,500+ activists to challenge GBV norms.
- Strengthening Peaceful Village in Kiribati led to 1,200 community-led actions that reduced household violence.
- The UN Women Foundations Programme was rolled out in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, engaging over 2,000 facilitators and young people on GBV prevention in and out of school programmes
- Evidence-based prevention was promoted through resources like the VAW Prevention Programming Guide, Voices Against Violence curriculum. Prevention efforts engaged youth, and faith organizations to challenge norms and catalyse behaviour change. ROAP also launched a regional storytelling initiative, empowering women and LGBTQI+ advocates to challenge harmful norms through public speaking.
- In 2024, UN Women expanded its convening role, leveraging the UN-Women and the European Union in 2023 committed to a 22-million-euro Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women (ACT) Programme in Latin America and Africa to counter backlash against gender equality and mobilize resources for women’s rights organizations.
Violence against women and girls is preventable, and prevention remains central to UN Women’s work in addressing its root causes, including harmful social norms and unequal gender power dynamics. Risk factors such as limited education, childhood exposure to violence, harmful use of alcohol, and societal attitudes that normalize violence and gender inequality increase the likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating violence against women and girls.75 Effective prevention requires mitigating these risk factors while amplifying protective measures such as promoting healthy relationships, fostering gender equality, and creating supportive environments. UN Women has been instrumental in influencing intergovernmental processes, such as the UN General Assembly76 and CSW,77 to prioritize VAWG prevention. Together with partners, UN Women has integrated prevention into government agendas through the development of NAPs and prevention strategies. Foundational documents like the UN Prevention Framework78 and the RESPECT framework79 have been critical in fostering a shared understanding and a coordinated approach across diverse stakeholders. In 2022 and 2023, UN Women led evidence-based prevention interventions grounded in the RESPECT framework’s seven strategic areas.80 These initiatives addressed the root causes of VAWG through interconnected strategies, including shifting harmful norms in families, through sports and within institutions; mobilizing communities; engaging men and boys, as well as religious and traditional leaders; supporting women’s agency and economic empowerment; and partnering with the private sector to ensure safe workplaces and communities where women and girls can thrive free from violence.
Specific examples of UN Women’s work include:
- RESPECT Framework was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, reaching community leaders and policymakers.
- UN Women ACRO, in collaboration with PAHO, adapted the RESPECT Global Framework to Latin America and the Caribbean and promoted capacity building workshops in Chile and Bolivia with the participation of more than 130 policymakers.
- Sport-based programs:
- Get into Rugby Plus engaged 629 children and trained 50% female coaches in Fiji and Samoa.
- Community mobilization:
- SASA! Together expanded in Uganda, training 1,500+ activists to challenge GBV norms.
- Strengthening Peaceful Village in Kiribati led to 1,200 community-led actions that reduced household violence.
- The UN Women Foundations Programme was rolled out in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, engaging over 2,000 facilitators and young people on GBV prevention in and out of school programmes
- Evidence-based prevention was promoted through resources like the VAW Prevention Programming Guide, Voices Against Violence curriculum. Prevention efforts engaged youth, and faith organizations to challenge norms and catalyse behaviour change. ROAP also launched a regional storytelling initiative, empowering women and LGBTQI+ advocates to challenge harmful norms through public speaking.
- In 2024, UN Women expanded its convening role, leveraging the UN-Women and the European Union in 2023 committed to a 22-million-euro Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action to End Violence Against Women (ACT) Programme in Latin America and Africa to counter backlash against gender equality and mobilize resources for women’s rights organizations.