Programme Description

The Spotlight Initiative in Vanuatu is focused on working in line with a comprehensive approach across all six pillars of the Global Spotlight program.

Number of beneficiaries: 57.110 (direct) and 330.842 (indirect)

Recipient UN Organizations (RUNOs):  UNFPA/ UNDP/ UNICEF/ IOM

Spotlight Country Programme Focal Point at the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office:

Graciela Van der Poel; E-mail: graciela.poel@one.un.org. Jan Nemecek; Email: jan.nemecek@un.org

Investments

The total investment from the EU for Phase I (2020 – 2021) is USD 2,475,000 and is distributed according to the following;

Policies and legislation (outcome 1): Spotlight will support MJCS to review and develop legislation and policies on GBV response and prevention, to improve survivor-centred experience for survivors. Spotlight will also analyze legislative and policy space for consistent rights-based approaches across all agencies and alignment with CEDAW. In addition, Spotlight will support a Victims’ Charter development by service providers and victim/survivors to prevent and respond to VAWG.

Institutions (outcome 2): Spotlight will strengthen capacity, develop guidelines and SOPs for integrating GBV in disaster planning and response. Spotlight will also strengthen gender-responsive budgeting and analysis. In addition, Spotlight will support Parliamentary committees to mainstream gender in oversight and legislative role.

Prevention and social norms (outcome 3): Spotlight will strengthen out-of-school community-based training for at risk young people, and in-school family life education. Spotlight will also support community dialogue to promote gender-equitable, child-friendly and violence-free norms, attitudes and behaviours. Moreover, Spotlight will support the Department of Labour to assess policy options and enhance gender equality and EVAWG in seasonal workers program.

Services (outcome 4): Spotlight will strengthen and scale-up service delivery for women and girls, upgrading service delivery protocols with law and justice, health sectors and first responders. Spotlight will also strengthen health services VAWG responses through adoption of GBV Guidelines, case supervision and mentoring systems for health workers, and action plans to support women and girls with disabilities. Moreover, Spotlight will support law and justice sector (Judiciary of Vanuatu, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Police) to integrate review of Domestic Violence Action Plan and Family Protection Act and strengthen support for victims. Spotlight will support increased support for survivors of violence and increased help-seeking behaviour among rural and remote women and girls.

Data (outcome 5): Spotlight will strengthen capacity in data collection, analysis and utilisation through Vanuatu National Statistics Office and across key stakeholders. Spotlight will also strengthen ethical collection of prevalence data and support conduct of Vanuatu’s second prevalence study on violence against women and children. In addition, Spotlight will standardize tools to improve collection and sharing of disaggregated incidence data by all agencies, and establish centralized and coordinated administrative data system for GBV to support strengthened referral pathways and support network

Women’s Movements and Civil Society (outcome 6):

Spotlight will support emerging national, local and grass roots organisations that prevent or respond to violence and that identify with the women’s movement, including in EVAWG and sport, EVAWG and art and others. Spotlight will also explore options to establish a responsive small grants facility to support CSOs through a ‘seed-funding and catalytic’ approach. Moreover, Spotlight will draw on existing coordination networks established by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat with civil society organizations.

Innovation

U-Reporting for Adolescents      

Development and implement U-Report surveys among adolescents on issues

related to violence against children,

adolescents and women, gender equality and child protection and interactive activities through social media.

New and diverse partnerships

Provide structure and momentum to bring fragmented and diverse actors together with new and diverse partners.

Seasonal Workers

Engaging with the private sector to improve gender equality and awareness of violence against women.

Locally-designed data system

Enhanced data collection, analysis and utilization, drawing on example of Vanuatu MOET Open VEMIS system for publicly reporting anonymised, aggregated VAGW data using a do no harm approach to ensure individual cases cannot be identified.

Challenging cyber-abuse

Challenging abuse of adolescent girls by their intimate partners through media campaigns, school-based, community- based, faith-based and sports-based activities, with adolescents and parents/caregivers.