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Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today. It threatens rights to which every woman and girl is entitled: the right to education, the right to work, the right to physical and mental well-being, and the right to equality.

Since its creation in 2017, the Spotlight Initiative, a global partnership between the European Union and the United Nations, has worked to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. The Spotlight Initiative is committed to shift people’s minds and attitudes, by

• drawing attention to gendered discrimination;

• working to change the social norms and practices;

• increasing public awareness;

• creating space for activists and survivors to share their stories; and

• educating communities about sexual and genderbased violence.

It has a worldwide impact, covering specifically Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.

In 2020, UNESCO’s Director General, Audrey Azoulay, joined the Spotlight Initiatives global #WithHer campaign to raise global awareness of violence against women and girls. UNESCO field offices in Guatemala, Nigeria, Samoa, and Zimbabwe are working with civil society organisations as partners to design and implement programmes to change laws, provide essential services, and address the linkages between sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices. The project has also highlighted the importance of preventing gender-based violence during the COVID-19 in Nigeria and in Latin America, and providing accelerated second-chance education opportunities to out-of-school girls and young children facing intersectional marginalization.

To learn more about Spotlight Initiative, please check the latest report entitled Universal rights, global action which highlights the ways the Spotlight Initiative country and regional programmes have meaningfully reached women and girls, including those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

• 41 laws newly signed or strengthened to support gender equality

• 15% increase in survivors seeking help from support services

• 10% increase in cases reported to the police across our country programmes