Preventing violence against women and girls

Because VAWG is so deeply embedded in social norms across ISF programme communities, women and girls often don’t recognize the violence and harassment they experience. Therefore, the first challenge is to dismantle these harmful norms and the rigid gender roles imposed on them. At the individual level, ISF prioritizes increasing women’s and girls’ knowledge of their rights, building their self-efficacy, and strengthening their ability to claim their rights, including access to justice when experiencing violence.

Recognizing that risks of violence are shaped by socio-economic and environmental factors as well as a woman’s age, ISF takes an intersectional approach to target, for example, girls at the highest risk age of FGM and child marriage, adolescent girls needing knowledge of their sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), and mothers facing heightened IPV risk in economically vulnerable households. Similarly, both planning and implementation consider the added vulnerabilities and risks of violence rooted in structural discrimination and elevated external conflict, particularly for women and girls living in IDP camps.

Women’s and girls’ peer support groups provide spaces to share experiences, raise concerns, challenge restrictive norms, and identify local solutions. Safe spaces—such as designated women’s centers or allocated times in community spaces—allow women and girls to meet, socialize, and develop skills. Group-based interventions such as women’s self-help groups and school clubs across the region further support women by fostering relationship-building, communication, and problem-solving skills, which in turn help reduce emotional, physical, and sexual violence. In Ethiopia safe spaces address the lack of public spaces for women, while ARP safe camps in Kenya offer a nonviolent alternative initiation for girls before puberty.

To ensure participation in VAWG awareness activities does not increase risks, ISF collaborates with local service providers and strengthens anti-violence networks. For example, in Somaliland, ISF supports community-elected anti-VAWG committees composed of parents, youth, and local leaders, who serve as bridges between communities and local authorities to improve weak referral systems. These connections help formalize the claims by women and girls’ groups and transform their roles within the community.

To challenge the idealized masculine traits of dominance, control, and sexual violence, ISF provides safe spaces and context-specific training for men. In these sessions narrow masculine ideals, the mental health issues arising from such norms, and the normalization of abusive behaviour are examined, and participants equipped with tools for non-violent conflict resolution within families. Adolescent boys are invited to sessions addressing gender norms and sexual violence while promoting positive masculinity through participatory activities such as sports clubs, drama, public debates, and Friday prayers in the Somali context. Similarly, fathers are involved in male engagement initiatives in activities like ARP sessions in Kenya and anti-VAWG committees in the Somali context.

In post-conflict settings in Ethiopia and Somaliland, ISF addresses the normalization of everyday violence at the societal level and its spillover into domestic spaces. In addition to women and girls, the intergenerational dialogues involve both men and boys, enabling them to recognize and challenge cross-generational cycles that contribute to VAWG within family and community levels. While men and boys who engage in women’s rights initiatives often face ridicule for not conforming to hegemonic masculinity, ISF creates male ally and champion groups that work closely with other VAWG prevention groups and structures.

In patriarchal societies, as women’s public and economic roles expand, traditional gender norms and power structures often face resistance, frequently manifesting as violence. To address this in women’s livelihood projects, ISF sensitizes male spouses on women’s economic rights and the benefits of dual incomes for family and community well-being. Encouraging men to support their wives’ income generation and to share domestic tasks and childcare promotes a more balanced approach to family life. Men also gain from the expansion of rigid gender roles and shared decision-making, leading to better management of family finances and reduced stress and substance abuse that can trigger violence.

Societies where ISF operates are hierarchical, where religious and traditional leaders have the power to challenge references to culture or religion as justification for VAWG, such as FGM as a prerequisite of Islam, or partner violence as a private, justified behavior to control women. Therefore, ISF sensitizes these moral duty bearers on the harmful consequences of VAWG and trains them in respectful and non-violent community and parenting practices, offering training and methods to address sensitive topics.

To address the worrying increase in the medicalization of FGM across the region, ISF works with medical professionals and community health workers to raise awareness among both communities and health professionals about FGM’s broader physical, mental, and social impacts. Acknowledging that all duty bearers, from religious leaders to medical professionals, may be reluctant to challenge deeply entrenched practices due to fears of cultural or religious backlash, ISF fosters group-based influence by connecting lower-ranking religious leaders with progressive higher-ranking counterparts. Among medical personnel, ISF’s group-based efforts link them with moral duty bearers, increasing their influence.

While ISF prioritizes the prevention of VAWG, it recognizes that increased awareness often drives a higher demand for survivor support services, necessitating strong links to local referral mechanisms and services, including health, security, police, and judicial systems. To address the widespread impunity surrounding VAWG, ISF trains political decision-makers, local authorities, and officials on VAWG prevalence and harm, with the goal of promoting survivor-sensitive treatment and the proper investigation of cases. This approach extends to livelihoods activities, ensuring that women’s economic rights, dignity, and safety are respected in employment settings. At higher official levels, ISF supports judicial duty bearers in establishing coordination mechanisms, drafting, and implementing policies and action plans, thus institutionalizing the prevention of VAWG and ensuring long-term sustainability.

In Ethiopia and Somaliland, recurring humanitarian crises often fuel ongoing cycles of violence. To address these heightened risks, ISF follows the Intra-Agency Standing Committee’s GBV prevention guidelines19. ISF emphasizes violence mitigation measures such as collaboration with regional NGO and CSO clusters, as well as local community-based systems, to identify the changing nature of VAWG and the most vulnerable groups in need of support. In places like IDP camps, ISF adapts its prevention strategies to tackle the most urgent forms of VAWG, such as sexual assault. At the same time, it advocates for better infrastructure, like improved lighting and safer spaces, to reduce the risk of rape and allow women to move freely.