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Last edited: December 31, 2013

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  • Properly designing and managing VAWG programmes is essential to ensuring that goals and objectives will be accomplished in the most safe, ethical and effective manner (Vann, 2004). From the early stages it is important to determine priorities for programming based on an assessment of the needs and resources available, as well as what interventions are most likely to have most value. It is equally important to monitor and evaluate interventions to ensure that methods continue to meet the needs of the target beneficiaries.
  • When designing programmes on VAWG in humanitarian settings, strategies should adhere to the guiding principles for addressing VAWG.  Programme design should also incorporate, when relevant, the following good practices (also see cross-cutting strategic priorities):
    • Put in place strategies to protect women’s safety and ensure that basic ethics regarding confidentiality is included as a minimum standard in all interventions. Recognise that, even in emergency or conflict situations, women will have found ways to increase their safety, which need to be supported.
    • (Re)Build girls’ and women’s social assets and safety nets, for example through the provision of girl- and women-only safe spaces that provide social support and skills training, raise self-esteem, and help cope with crisis.
    • (Re)Strengthen informal community support networks, including by building the capacities of women leaders and women’s organizations to develop support and referral networks for women experiencing violence.
    • Develop interventions based on available evidence of promising practice and sound date that use multiple strategies, rather than single-focused efforts.
    • Use multi-sector approaches, building capacity within and across sectors.
    • Ensure programmes are tailored to meet the needs of women of different ages, marital status, disability, social class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and other identities (adapted from DFID, 2012, pgs 9-10).
    • Ensure that interventions are guided by women’s human rights and empowerment (e.g. empower women survivors to advocate for their rights, provide legal advice to women experiencing violence, use social media to tell their own stories, and lead social change as community activists).
    • Engage, to the extent possible, with whole communities, including men and boys, and traditional leaders. This can help shift VAWG from the private to the public level.