Spotlight Initiative to eliminate violence against women & girls in Timor-Leste

Project Details

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, relentless and distressing human rights violations in the world. It is one of the major obstacles to the realisation of rights of women and girls and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

After achieving significant progress in the last 20 years since its historic vote for independence, Timor-Leste has demonstrated its commitment to ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) and intimate partner violence. Despite the vision for equality, violence against women remains a challenge, with estimates from 38 per cent to 59 per cent of women experiencing violence in their lifetime.

The Spotlight Initiative aims to support measures of the Government to eliminate all forms of harmful practices and violence against women and girls. It aims to strengthen country’s legal frameworks and institutions, promote positive social norms, increase access to support services for survivors of violence, improve the collection and use of data for better policy making and to strengthen partnerships with civil society organisations.

In 2020, the Nossal prepared the project baseline for the Spotlight Initiative in Timor-Leste. In 2021, the Nossal will undertake two key pieces of research to inform the work of the Spotlight Initiative.

Researchers

Alex Robinson
Katherine Gilbert

Funding

This research is funded by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)