Gender-based violence (GBV) against women, girls and gender non-conforming people is a fundamental violation of human rights. 1 in 3 women experience violence in their lifetime but the rates of violence against First Nations and trans women, Black women, women with disabilities and others that experience intersecting discrimination is much higher.

Ending GBV is a precondition to the achievement of gender equality and with the right actions and investments, it’s a goal that can be achieved within years, rather than lifetimes. Achieving this goal requires a focus on programs and policies that prevent violence before it begins.

Women’s rights organisations, prevention researchers and practitioners have been the driving force in evidence-based prevention, developing and delivering strategies needed to effectively challenge unequal social norms, attitudes and behaviours and dismantle the systemic structures that reinforce gender inequality.

We’ve learnt that working together across settings such as education, health and livelihoods to address the underlying causes of violence has a multiplier effect and can lead to transformational, long-term change across whole populations.

SO, WHAT’S MISSING?

Effective GBV prevention work requires sustained political commitment from donors and national governments, and a financial model that will catalyse transformative change across regions and countries.

In 2021, the Accelerator for GBV Prevention and the GBV prevention community came together to develop a multistakeholder Shared Advocacy Agenda that advances two high level goals:

  1. Increased direct investment in evidencebased programs and policies by private donors, governments, bilaterals, and multilateral for the prevention of gender-based violence against women and girls in all their diversity by at least US $500 million of new money by 2026 in low and middle-income countries.
  2. Funded policy and program commitments to evidence-based, practice-informed GBV prevention, by 50% of all national governments by 2026, in addition to or outside of international assistance, through one or more specific budget lines.

With less than three years to achieve the 2026 GBV Action Coalition commitments and seven years until the end of the SDGs, there is an urgent need to understand and track progress towards the target of $USD 500 million in new money for evidence-based prevention programs and policies in LLMICs.

This report focuses on Goal 1 and is the first step in understanding the existing donor funding landscape, the opportunities to drive future investment and the proposed approach to tracking new money for GBV prevention towards 2026.