Responding to diversity

The risks and experiences of violence may be shaped by multiple factors, such as age, race, ethnicity, education and social-economic status, marital status, occupation, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation or other status. As such, policies and programmes should be tailored to address them in order to be relevant and effective.
Initiatives should be informed by comprehensive research and analysis regarding the specific context of violence against women and girls (forms, settings, groups affected) and the different variables that affect a particular group’s vulnerability to violence. Such information and data should guide the design of policies and interventions.
Programme design should also be informed by an understanding of the distinct contexts in which violence against women and girls occurs throughout the life cycle, from before birth through old age, with interventions tailored accordingly to address the specific forms of violence affecting different age groups and appropriately support the needs of survivors.
Interventions should consider national, sub-national and local variations in regards to the nature of violence, the policy context and the extent to which actions are implemented to address the violence. For example, where national legal and policy frameworks are underdeveloped, advocacy to raise awareness and public commitment to address the issue is critical. However, in countries where legal reforms have been established, the advocacy efforts may prioritize implementation and monitoring of existing laws and policies.
Programmes should seek to identify and equally address less documented forms of violence that may affect particularly marginalized groups within the population, such as domestic workers, adolescent girls or communities affected by conflict. These groups may be more vulnerable to violence and lack access to health care, legal assistance, economic opportunities and other resources critical to addressing an abusive situation. Given their peripheral social status, these sub-groups of women and girls face issues that are often less visible in public and policy agendas. For example, post-conflict demobilization processes should consider the distinct forms of violence experienced by women and girl soldiers, and develop tailored interventions that address their specific reintegration needs.