Sustained, systemic change to end violence against women and girls requires governments, civil society, implementing partners, and UN Country Teams to have the knowledge, skills, and resources to prevent violence and respond effectively. Spotlight Initiative makes strategic investments in training and capacity development to strengthen institutional performance and deepen accountability across these sectors. As a cross-cutting enabler, capacity development underpins results across all of the Initiative's intervention areas; the examples below illustrate selected investments in 2025.
In 2025, across Spotlight Initiative programmes, more than 10,000 service providers spanning frontline health and psychosocial workers, justice personnel, law enforcement, and community actors were trained to deliver quality, survivor-centred services. Spotlight Initiative strengthened the capacity of more than 50 women's rights organizations and relevant civil society organizations to end violence against women and girls[1]. In Ecuador, this included capacity strengthening for Indigenous organizations through intercultural mediation and translation, reducing barriers to participation. In Zambia, women's rights organizations reported increased capacity to promote gender-responsive governance and support community members in reporting GBV cases. At the global level, Spotlight Initiative delivered inception training to UN colleagues in three Spotlight Initiative programme countries, strengthening the quality of comprehensive EVAWG programme delivery from the outset.
These investments strengthened the capacity of frontline institutions, civil society organizations, and UN Teams to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in ways that are survivor-centred, coordinated, and increasingly embedded within national systems.
[1] As of 15 May 2026, the aggregated number of civil society organizations with strengthened capacity has been corrected from 46 to 53. This figure supersedes all previously reported results, and should be considered the official result.
Sustained, systemic change to end violence against women and girls requires governments, civil society, implementing partners, and UN Country Teams to have the knowledge, skills, and resources to prevent violence and respond effectively. Spotlight Initiative makes strategic investments in training and capacity development to strengthen institutional performance and deepen accountability across these sectors. As a cross-cutting enabler, capacity development underpins results across all of the Initiative's intervention areas; the examples below illustrate selected investments in 2025.
In 2025, across Spotlight Initiative programmes, more than 10,000 service providers spanning frontline health and psychosocial workers, justice personnel, law enforcement, and community actors were trained to deliver quality, survivor-centred services. Spotlight Initiative strengthened the capacity of more than 50 women's rights organizations and relevant civil society organizations to end violence against women and girls[1]. In Ecuador, this included capacity strengthening for Indigenous organizations through intercultural mediation and translation, reducing barriers to participation. In Zambia, women's rights organizations reported increased capacity to promote gender-responsive governance and support community members in reporting GBV cases. At the global level, Spotlight Initiative delivered inception training to UN colleagues in three Spotlight Initiative programme countries, strengthening the quality of comprehensive EVAWG programme delivery from the outset.