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Addressing violence against women and girls requires a whole-of-society approach, ensuring that all key actors–civil society organizations (CSOs), government institutions, law enforcement, judicial systems, and media–have the knowledge and skills to prevent and respond effectively. Capacity-building is essential to fostering sustainable, systemic change. Without proper training, institutions risk reinforcing harmful norms, mismanaging cases, or failing to allocate adequate resources to address gender-based violence.
Spotlight Initiative made strategic investments in training and capacity development to strengthen the ability of CSOs, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies to advance gender equality and effectively address violence against women and girls. These efforts included training parliamentarians on gender-responsive budgeting, equipping police forces with survivor-centred investigative techniques, and strengthening civil society organizations to engage with government entities and drive change at the grassroots level.
CSOs play a critical role in driving accountability, advocating for policy reforms, and providing essential services to survivors. Over the course of the Initiative, more than 5,500 women’s rights organizations, social movements, and civil society actors received support to enhance their capacity to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. This included training on advocacy strategies, financial management, programmatic implementation, and engagement with government institutions to secure policy commitments and funding. In the Pacific Regional Programme, Spotlight Initiative partnered with 39 national, local, and grassroots women’s organizations across ten countries to establish new and unique partnerships with government entities through the Pacific People’s Advancing Change (PPAC) grant-giving programme. In Niue, the Makefu Women’s Council collaborated with public safety and health sector officials to ensure their 24-hour helpline was operational for LGBTIQ+ communities, expanding access to vital services.
Ensuring that commitments to gender equality are backed by sustainable funding requires policymakers who understand how to integrate gender considerations into national budgets. Since 2019, Spotlight Initiative has trained 1,992 parliamentarians and 9,297 government officials in gender-responsive budgeting, enabling them to advocate for and secure increased budget allocations to address gender-based violence. In Liberia, capacity-building efforts led to the establishment of gender-responsive budgeting units within multiple ministries, increasing national budget allocations for sexual and gender-based violence from zero in 2020 to USD 500,000 in 2022. In Papua New Guinea, technical assistance and training efforts helped secure the country’s first-ever national budget line for violence against women and children, which was subsequently increased in the following year. These investments demonstrate the power of training to drive policy change and ensure sustained funding for violence prevention and response efforts.
Law enforcement officers are often the first point of contact for survivors, making their training critical to ensuring that responses are survivor-centred, effective, and aligned with human rights principles. However, without proper training, police forces may perpetuate stigma, discourage survivors from reporting, or fail to handle cases effectively. Spotlight Initiative supported police training efforts in multiple countries to strengthen institutional responses to gender-based violence. In Trinidad and Tobago, over 400 police officers received training in gender analysis, equipping them with the skills to provide survivor-centred services and referrals. The Initiative’s “training of trainers” model ensured that knowledge was institutionalized, leading to broader cultural shifts in policing. Similarly, in El Salvador, training for judicial actors and law enforcement personnel contributed to the adoption of a national protocol for investigating and prosecuting femicide cases, strengthening accountability within the justice system.
Training and capacity-building efforts must be sustained across all sectors to ensure a comprehensive and effective response to violence against women and girls. By strengthening the knowledge and skills of civil society organizations, parliamentarians, law enforcement, and judicial actors, Spotlight Initiative contributed to long-term institutional change. These efforts ensure that national policies were properly funded, that survivors receive justice, and that systemic approaches were embedded at all levels to prevent and respond to gender-based violence
View MoreAddressing violence against women and girls requires a whole-of-society approach, ensuring that all key actors–civil society organizations (CSOs), government institutions, law enforcement, judicial systems, and media–have the knowledge and skills to prevent and respond effectively. Capacity-building is essential to fostering sustainable, systemic change. Without proper training, institutions risk reinforcing harmful norms, mismanaging cases, or failing to allocate adequate resources to address gender-based violence.
Spotlight Initiative made strategic investments in training and capacity development to strengthen the ability of CSOs, policymakers, and law enforcement agencies to advance gender equality and effectively address violence against women and girls. These efforts included training parliamentarians on gender-responsive budgeting, equipping police forces with survivor-centred investigative techniques, and strengthening civil society organizations to engage with government entities and drive change at the grassroots level.
CSOs play a critical role in driving accountability, advocating for policy reforms, and providing essential services to survivors. Over the course of the Initiative, more than 5,500 women’s rights organizations, social movements, and civil society actors received support to enhance their capacity to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. This included training on advocacy strategies, financial management, programmatic implementation, and engagement with government institutions to secure policy commitments and funding. In the Pacific Regional Programme, Spotlight Initiative partnered with 39 national, local, and grassroots women’s organizations across ten countries to establish new and unique partnerships with government entities through the Pacific People’s Advancing Change (PPAC) grant-giving programme. In Niue, the Makefu Women’s Council collaborated with public safety and health sector officials to ensure their 24-hour helpline was operational for LGBTIQ+ communities, expanding access to vital services.
Ensuring that commitments to gender equality are backed by sustainable funding requires policymakers who understand how to integrate gender considerations into national budgets. Since 2019, Spotlight Initiative has trained 1,992 parliamentarians and 9,297 government officials in gender-responsive budgeting, enabling them to advocate for and secure increased budget allocations to address gender-based violence. In Liberia, capacity-building efforts led to the establishment of gender-responsive budgeting units within multiple ministries, increasing national budget allocations for sexual and gender-based violence from zero in 2020 to USD 500,000 in 2022. In Papua New Guinea, technical assistance and training efforts helped secure the country’s first-ever national budget line for violence against women and children, which was subsequently increased in the following year. These investments demonstrate the power of training to drive policy change and ensure sustained funding for violence prevention and response efforts.
Law enforcement officers are often the first point of contact for survivors, making their training critical to ensuring that responses are survivor-centred, effective, and aligned with human rights principles. However, without proper training, police forces may perpetuate stigma, discourage survivors from reporting, or fail to handle cases effectively. Spotlight Initiative supported police training efforts in multiple countries to strengthen institutional responses to gender-based violence. In Trinidad and Tobago, over 400 police officers received training in gender analysis, equipping them with the skills to provide survivor-centred services and referrals. The Initiative’s “training of trainers” model ensured that knowledge was institutionalized, leading to broader cultural shifts in policing. Similarly, in El Salvador, training for judicial actors and law enforcement personnel contributed to the adoption of a national protocol for investigating and prosecuting femicide cases, strengthening accountability within the justice system.
Training and capacity-building efforts must be sustained across all sectors to ensure a comprehensive and effective response to violence against women and girls. By strengthening the knowledge and skills of civil society organizations, parliamentarians, law enforcement, and judicial actors, Spotlight Initiative contributed to long-term institutional change. These efforts ensure that national policies were properly funded, that survivors receive justice, and that systemic approaches were embedded at all levels to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
Access to survivor-centred, rights-based essential services is fundamental to addressing gender-based violence and breaking cycles of harm. Quality services not only provide immediate support to survivors but also reinforce prevention, protection, and justice mechanisms. The Initiative has worked to improve the availability, accessibility, and responsiveness of essential services, ensuring that women and girls–particularly those from marginalized communities–receive the support they need.
Since its inception, the Initiative helped 5.7 million women and girls gain knowledge of available services in their communities. Close to 3 million women and girls have accessed gender-based violence services, including psychosocial support, emergency shelter, medical care, legal aid, and long-term recovery assistance. Strengthening justice sector responses has also been a key focus, with conviction rates for gender-based violence doubling across 13 countries since 2019, resulting in over 13,000 convictions.
Improving service delivery requires investment in frontline responders. More than 100,000 government service providers have been trained to deliver high-quality, coordinated essential services. This training has helped integrate response to violence against women and girls across multiple sectors, ensuring that survivors receive comprehensive survivor-centred care.
- In Mali, outreach efforts led by non-governmental organization (NGO) partners expanded access to services, directly reaching 217,959 individuals across nearly 360 communities. Community engagement was a key drive of success, with 025 community leaders trained to identify and report cases of violence, participate in initiatives promoting gender equality, and advocate against all forms of violence. These efforts strengthened local accountability structures and helped establish community-led response mechanisms to prevent and address gender-based violence.
- In El Salvador, Spotlight Initiative expanded GBV service provision ensuring access to high-quality services for trans women. The Initiative provided unprecedented, targeted support to transwomen, and the LGBTI community more broadly, by helping to establish a specialized clinic delivering medical and psychological services to the trans population in-country. The clinic was successfully registered in the public health system - institutionalizing services and promoting sustainability - and officially recognised as a transgender health and sexual medicine clinic. This helped improve service provision for transwomen and generate new partnerships to support traditionally underserved communities.
- In Jamaica, the Initiative complemented ongoing efforts to establish Domestic Violence Intervention Centres (DVICs). Applying a survivor-centred approach, these centres expand access to high-quality recovery services for women and girls, particularly in rural areas, and improved long-term recovery outcomes. The establishment of DVICs, an ongoing effort of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, helps government agencies improve essential service delivery for GBV survivors, including reproductive and health services, counseling, immediate care, referrals, and access to justice. DVICs offer a safe space for women and girls to seek support without fear of judgment or reprisal.
Access to survivor-centred, rights-based essential services is fundamental to addressing gender-based violence and breaking cycles of harm. Quality services not only provide immediate support to survivors but also reinforce prevention, protection, and justice mechanisms. The Initiative has worked to improve the availability, accessibility, and responsiveness of essential services, ensuring that women and girls–particularly those from marginalized communities–receive the support they need.
Since its inception, the Initiative helped 5.7 million women and girls gain knowledge of available services in their communities. Close to 3 million women and girls have accessed gender-based violence services, including psychosocial support, emergency shelter, medical care, legal aid, and long-term recovery assistance. Strengthening justice sector responses has also been a key focus, with conviction rates for gender-based violence doubling across 13 countries since 2019, resulting in over 13,000 convictions.
Improving service delivery requires investment in frontline responders. More than 100,000 government service providers have been trained to deliver high-quality, coordinated essential services. This training has helped integrate response to violence against women and girls across multiple sectors, ensuring that survivors receive comprehensive survivor-centred care.
- In Mali, outreach efforts led by non-governmental organization (NGO) partners expanded access to services, directly reaching 217,959 individuals across nearly 360 communities. Community engagement was a key drive of success, with 025 community leaders trained to identify and report cases of violence, participate in initiatives promoting gender equality, and advocate against all forms of violence. These efforts strengthened local accountability structures and helped establish community-led response mechanisms to prevent and address gender-based violence.
- In El Salvador, Spotlight Initiative expanded GBV service provision ensuring access to high-quality services for trans women. The Initiative provided unprecedented, targeted support to transwomen, and the LGBTI community more broadly, by helping to establish a specialized clinic delivering medical and psychological services to the trans population in-country. The clinic was successfully registered in the public health system - institutionalizing services and promoting sustainability - and officially recognised as a transgender health and sexual medicine clinic. This helped improve service provision for transwomen and generate new partnerships to support traditionally underserved communities.
- In Jamaica, the Initiative complemented ongoing efforts to establish Domestic Violence Intervention Centres (DVICs). Applying a survivor-centred approach, these centres expand access to high-quality recovery services for women and girls, particularly in rural areas, and improved long-term recovery outcomes. The establishment of DVICs, an ongoing effort of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, helps government agencies improve essential service delivery for GBV survivors, including reproductive and health services, counseling, immediate care, referrals, and access to justice. DVICs offer a safe space for women and girls to seek support without fear of judgment or reprisal.