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Reliable, high-quality data is essential to understanding and addressing violence against women and girls. Without robust data collection, tracking trends, and measuring the effectiveness of interventions, policymakers and practitioners lack the evidence needed to drive meaningful change. Spotlight Initiative has played a critical role in strengthening national data systems, ensuring that governments and institutions have the tools to collect, analyze, and use data effectively. By enhancing digital infrastructure, standardizing methodologies, and building capacity, the Initiative has improved the availability of disaggregated, globally comparable data on violence against women and girls to inform policies, services, and advocacy efforts.
The Initiative has supported the development of national data systems, training thousands of government personnel to enhance their ability to produce and analyze prevalence and incidence data on violence against women and girls. Since 2019, 1,151 national statistics officers have strengthened their capacity in this area, and 55 national statistics offices have developed, adapted, and contextualized methods and standards to generate national-level data. This has led to a significant increase in the availability of publicly accessible data:
- 94 per cent of target countries regularly report data on intimate partner violence—an increase of 32 per cent since the Initiative began.
- 78 per cent of target countries have publicly available data on femicide.
- 86 per cent of target countries report on female genital mutilation.
Strengthening digital infrastructure has been a key component of these efforts. In Mozambique, for example, the InfoViolência database, which tracks gender-based violence cases, expanded significantly with Spotlight Initiative’s support. The number of registered cases tripled within a year, reaching approximately 6,000 cases in 2022. Investments in training police officers, government officials, and other duty-bearers have ensured that data collection processes are standardized and effectively implemented across all target districts.
Similarly, Spotlight Initiative supported the establishment and expansion of the National GBV Data Situation Room and Dashboard in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs Nigeria from the six target states in which the Initiative works to 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Additionally, the SGBV Accountability Tracker was launched in collaboration with Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum and the Child Protection Information Management System was also established. As a result, reportage has been scaled up to ensure that GBV data is well coordinated for strengthened policy making and improved national response to violence against women and girls.
Spotlight Initiative and the government of Jamaica helped establish a new GBV victim data dashboard geographic information system, strengthening efforts to prevent and, over time, reduce the prevalence of violence against women and girls. This Early Warning Awareness and Response System provides the security, health, and justice sectors with critical, up-to-date information on violence against women and girls, enabling stakeholders, including law enforcement, to map hotspots, conduct risk assessments, and (through heat mapping) develop predictive analysis for all parishes in the country. The data collected will inform policies, programmes, and the response strategies (of service providers), and support the development and roll-out of effective prevention programmes.
Beyond national efforts, Spotlight Initiative has contributed to groundbreaking research and knowledge-sharing initiatives to deepen understanding of gender-based violence. By producing high-quality data and making it widely accessible, the Initiative has empowered governments, civil society, and international organizations to take evidence-based action in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.
View MoreReliable, high-quality data is essential to understanding and addressing violence against women and girls. Without robust data collection, tracking trends, and measuring the effectiveness of interventions, policymakers and practitioners lack the evidence needed to drive meaningful change. Spotlight Initiative has played a critical role in strengthening national data systems, ensuring that governments and institutions have the tools to collect, analyze, and use data effectively. By enhancing digital infrastructure, standardizing methodologies, and building capacity, the Initiative has improved the availability of disaggregated, globally comparable data on violence against women and girls to inform policies, services, and advocacy efforts.
The Initiative has supported the development of national data systems, training thousands of government personnel to enhance their ability to produce and analyze prevalence and incidence data on violence against women and girls. Since 2019, 1,151 national statistics officers have strengthened their capacity in this area, and 55 national statistics offices have developed, adapted, and contextualized methods and standards to generate national-level data. This has led to a significant increase in the availability of publicly accessible data:
- 94 per cent of target countries regularly report data on intimate partner violence—an increase of 32 per cent since the Initiative began.
- 78 per cent of target countries have publicly available data on femicide.
- 86 per cent of target countries report on female genital mutilation.
Strengthening digital infrastructure has been a key component of these efforts. In Mozambique, for example, the InfoViolência database, which tracks gender-based violence cases, expanded significantly with Spotlight Initiative’s support. The number of registered cases tripled within a year, reaching approximately 6,000 cases in 2022. Investments in training police officers, government officials, and other duty-bearers have ensured that data collection processes are standardized and effectively implemented across all target districts.
Similarly, Spotlight Initiative supported the establishment and expansion of the National GBV Data Situation Room and Dashboard in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs Nigeria from the six target states in which the Initiative works to 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Additionally, the SGBV Accountability Tracker was launched in collaboration with Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum and the Child Protection Information Management System was also established. As a result, reportage has been scaled up to ensure that GBV data is well coordinated for strengthened policy making and improved national response to violence against women and girls.
Spotlight Initiative and the government of Jamaica helped establish a new GBV victim data dashboard geographic information system, strengthening efforts to prevent and, over time, reduce the prevalence of violence against women and girls. This Early Warning Awareness and Response System provides the security, health, and justice sectors with critical, up-to-date information on violence against women and girls, enabling stakeholders, including law enforcement, to map hotspots, conduct risk assessments, and (through heat mapping) develop predictive analysis for all parishes in the country. The data collected will inform policies, programmes, and the response strategies (of service providers), and support the development and roll-out of effective prevention programmes.
Beyond national efforts, Spotlight Initiative has contributed to groundbreaking research and knowledge-sharing initiatives to deepen understanding of gender-based violence. By producing high-quality data and making it widely accessible, the Initiative has empowered governments, civil society, and international organizations to take evidence-based action in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls.