As the world celebrates Human Rights Day, Rachel Jewkes, Director of the What Works to Prevent Violence Global Programme, and Director of the South African Medical Research Council’s Gender and Health Research Unit unveils 18 innovations that are working to prevent the widespread violence being perpetrated against women and girls across the world today.
We can not achieve the goal we as a global community have set for ourselves in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – to create a world where all people are free, equal and treated with dignity and respect – if we do not stop the global pandemic of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Today, with the support of the UK Department for International Development, we have taken a significant step towards achieving that goal of ending violence against women and girls.
Today, we are proud to announce, together with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DFID, Baroness Northover, 18 projects that will receive a grant to develop an innovative new intervention designed to prevent VAWG, or to conduct research and evaluation of an existing intervention that has shown promise. These ground-breaking projects have the potential to reach 5.3 million people, in 16 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The projects will work with women, men, boys, girls, communities and governments, to build an environment where women are valued and treated as equals, and where all people reject the use of violence.
From a peace education programme in Afghanistan that works with faith leaders, men and boys to promote gender equality and non-violence, to a project in Bangladesh that works at every level of the global supply chain to empower women in the garment industry. A project that equips religious leaders in Africa to lead a movement for peace in their community and a mass media campaign across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, that will reach millions in their homes through an entertainment series that encourages people to question and reject the attitudes, beliefs and practices that lead to the use of violence.
These are just some of the exciting projects the What Works Global Programme will be supporting, you can read about all of them on our website.
Underlying each of these innovations sits an absolute belief that violence can be prevented if we work to address the underlying causes of violence from multiple angles. The incredibly diverse range of projects receiving grants today symbolises the global dedication to tackling violence against women and girls. Through these projects we will support a global movement for change so that all women and girls are free, equal and treated with dignity and respect.
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Please note, this is a guest blog. Views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of DFID or have the support of the British government.
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