Many coordinated responses have as their overarching goal the eradication of violence against women. How they meet this goal and the components they prioritise can range from developing more effective criminal justice systems – which may contribute to a general climate of deterrence – to primary prevention strategies which address deeply rooted social and cultural norms and practices. The establishment of a coordinated response is an opportunity to expand awareness of the complex issues surrounding violence against women and to undertake specific community campaigns and prevention interventions to reduce tolerance for such abuses.
Programme design should be informed by the ecological model, which presents risk factors at the individual level in combination with risk factors within relationships or the family, the community, and at the broader societal/institutional level to assess the likelihood of a woman’s experiencing violence in a particular situation (Heise, 1998). The ecological approach aims to ensure that interventions consider and address the conditions across different levels (e.g. individual, family, community and society), which affect women and girls’ risks of experiencing violence. As illustrated in the model there are biological, social, cultural and economic factors and norms at each layer that may increase men’s risk of perpetrating violence and a woman’s risk of experiencing it.
Although education and prevention initiatives may not be a priority for many coordinated response efforts, community mobilising strategies are emerging as an effective model in enabling communities to reject beliefs and practices that tolerate abuse (Michau, 2005).
See the prevention section.