S T R A T E G Y

S U M M A R Y

Environments
made safe
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S T R A T E G Y S U M M A R Y

Environments made safe

O B J E C T I V E O F S T R A T E G Y : To create safe environments including schools,1 workplaces2 and
other public spaces, where women are free from the fear and experience of harassment and other forms of
violence.

Rationale people to transform attitudes, norms and

behaviours in order to promote women’s rights to
Globally, women and girls continue to experience spaces free of VAW. For example, school-based
various forms of violence in public spaces, approaches can help to prevent violence by
including in schools, markets, workplaces, on changing the whole school environment and by
streets, on public transport, in water distribution reaching young people at scale by shaping
sites, fields, and online, amongst other spaces. children’s understandings of gender roles and
Like intimate partner violence (IPV), the healthy relationships at an early age before
experience and threat of violence in public harmful norms, attitudes and behaviours have
environments negatively impacts on women’s been well established. Similarly, a gendered
health and wellbeing, and can limit their mobility approach to urban planning with investment in
and economic, social and civic participation, with essential public services such as sanitation,
significant consequences for a country’s national improved lighting and safe water can play a key
development.3 For example, violence in the role in ensuring women and girls can move freely,
workplace has significant economic, social and without fear of sexual violence.5
health impacts for individual workers. It also
produces significant costs to businesses and local
Risk and protective factors
and national economies related to productivity,
absenteeism, staff turnover, litigation and This strategy aims to address the following factors
compensation.4 which increase the risk of violence, while
enhancing factors which have protective effects on
At the same time, VAW prevention work in public
levels of VAW.
spaces has the potential to reach large numbers of

Level Risk factors Protective factors

Individual Lack of awareness of VAW including of Awareness of and skills to

laws, policies and reporting procedures act to prevent to VAW (women and men)
(women and men)
Leadership, decision-making and advocacy
Attitudes condoning or justifying violence skills (women)
as normal or acceptable
Gender equitable attitudes and
(women and men)
practices (women and men)
Childhood experience of violence and/or
Secondary education (women and men)
exposure to violence in the family or
community (women and men)

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Interpersonal Peers, teachers, managers and co- Peers, teachers, managers and co-workers
workers lack awareness of VAW with awareness of and skills to act to
including of laws, policies and reporting prevent VAW6
procedures
Greater parity in education levels between
Disparity in education levels between women and men
women and men

Community Unsafe, poorly lit public spaces and Well-lit public spaces, visible sightlines,
crowded public transport7 clear signage, and safe road underpasses
Lack of oversight and violence reporting Strong school and workplace management
mechanisms in schools and workplaces8 capacity and accountability mechanisms
Harmful gender norms that uphold male Norms that support non-violence, respect
privilege and limit women’s autonomy for diversity and gender equality, and
promote women’s empowerment9

Societal Poor and gender-blind or gender-neutral Gender responsive and participatory urban
infrastructure and urban planning planning10
Lack of policies and legislation and/or Laws and policies that prohibit violence
inadequate enforcement to address against women in schools, workplaces,
sexual harassment and other forms of public spaces and online
violence in and around schools,
Accessible reporting and response services
workplaces, public spaces and online
including justice.
Lack of accessible, high quality
More gender-equitable institutions with
response services
women’s equitable participation, including at
Low levels of women’s employment and managerial and decision-making levels.
education

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Theory of change
The following diagram provides
a simplified theory of change for
evidence-based interventions
which seek to create safe schools,
public spaces and work
environments, among others.
This would need further
development and adaptation
for specific programmes.

E: Environments
made safe

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Types of interventions
A number of different interventions have been implemented in different country contexts which aim to make environments safe for women. These include systemic
and holistic approaches as in the case of whole school interventions; interventions which seek to identify and prevent risks for women in infrastructure and
transport planning and implementation; and interventions which build individuals’ capability to identify and intervene in situations which may lead to non-partner
sexual violence. The following table describes the key types of interventions highlighted in the RESPECT framework and provides a brief overview of the current
evidence base, and example programmes. Where available, we have prioritised programme examples from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Intervention Description Evidence of Example

type effectiveness programmes

Infrastructure Interventions in this area cover a range of infrastructure More evidence is needed on the potential impact UN Women’s
and transport sectors, including transport, water, health, energy, of infrastructure and transport interventions on Safe Cities and
sanitation and housing. They involve a broad range of levels of VAW in both HICs and LMICs. However, Safe Public
interventions such as inclusive gender responsive urban robust evaluations have shown improvements in Spaces Global
and transport planning, with strong VAW prevention intermediate outcomes related to violence Initiative15
components that address organisational culture, policies including women’ and girls’ empowerment and
and procedures within the infrastructure sector to address Safetipin
feelings of safety.13
harmful norms.11 intervention
There is a lack of investment in and rigorous (India)
These interventions also include policy and legislative work, evaluations measuring the impact of safe
ensuring essential services for survivors, and programmes HarassMap
environments’ programmes on levels of VAW.14
addressing social norms including through community technology
mobilisation. Other interventions involve introducing (Cairo, Egypt)
women-only transport and safety mapping apps which
crowdsource information on safe and high-risk locations for
women, usually in cities.12

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Intervention Description Evidence of Example
type effectiveness programmes

Bystander Bystander interventions primarily work with groups of adults There is conflicting evidence from HICs, with Green Dot
interventions and/or children to help them to recognise the signs of evaluations that show reductions in violence as (US schools)
sexual violence in schools, colleges and communities and well as those with no impact. It is important to note
Coaching Boys
to know how to intervene. that many of the evaluated interventions are one-
into Men (US,
off sessions, whereas evidence from HICs
Bystander interventions most commonly take place in “Parivartan”
suggests that longer interventions with multiple
schools and colleges and seek to prevent dating violence in India)
sessions, such as Green Dot, can result in
and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV). First applied in
reductions in violence. Bell Bajao (Ring
the US, these interventions have mostly worked with young
As standalone programmes, brief bystander the Bell, India)
men and boys, including through sports teams. They seek
interventions have not been shown to
to dispel myths around rape, encourage critical reflection on
reduce VAW.16
gender norms and attitudes and typically involve thought
leaders such as sports teachers to enable attitudinal The majority of rigorously evaluated interventions
change. are in the United States, and there is no evidence
from LMICs that bystander interventions reduce
Bystander programmes tend to vary significantly in duration
violence.17 However, non-experimental evaluations
and intensity, with some short one-off training/awareness
have shown positive effects on intermediate
sessions whilst others are delivered over the course of
outcomes, including an evaluation of Bell Bajao
weeks or months through multiple sessions.
which found positive changes in knowledge and
attitudes towards VAW, as well as greater help-
seeking behaviours and interventions.18

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Intervention Description Evidence of Example
type effectiveness programmes

Whole School Whole school interventions are holistic approaches to There is no evidence from HICs that whole school Good Schools
interventions creating safe, child-friendly and gender-sensitive interventions reduce violence. Toolkit (Uganda)
environments in which children can learn.19 These
Evidence from LMICs shows they can positively Transforming
programmes create and implement a shared vision of
impact on intermediate outcomes such as corporal Education for
violence reduction in schools. They typically work with
punishment by school staff, however more Girls in Nigeria
different groups in the school and community, usually
evidence is needed.21 and Tanzania
including a curriculum-based learning intervention for
(TEGINT)
children, as well as work with teachers, parents, school The evidence from LMICs is largely focused on
governing bodies, and local government. These curriculum-based interventions to raise awareness
interventions have so far usually aimed to reduce peer and develop skills to prevent violence (covered in
violence and corporal punishment. The groups engaged the Child and Adolescent Abuse Prevented
depend on the intervention and activities are wide-ranging. RESPECT Strategy Summary).22 Although
effectiveness is challenging to measure for whole
By engaging at multiple levels, interventions aim to achieve
school interventions, the available evidence
systemic and sustainable change, with changes in attitudes
highlights the importance of strong policies, a
and behaviours supported by a positive enabling
positive culture in communities in and around
environment in schools and communities.20
schools that promotes gender equality, and skilled
facilitation of discussions around violence.23

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Example programmes
The following table summaries three different programmes which have been shown to deliver reductions in VAW prevalence or which have shown promise in
addressing intermediate outcomes within programmatic timeframes. The table should be reviewed alongside the design and implementation checklist on page
9, as well as the guiding principles of effective programming provided in the RESPECT framework when adapting any of these methodologies. More detailed
information on each programme is provided in the programme summaries.

Programme Description Location Target population Core activities Duration Evaluation and Impact

Green Dot A peer activism United States High school students The programme involves teachers 5 years Evaluation type: Randomised controlled
bystander of America selecting female and male student trial (RCT)
programme to opinion leaders, who go through an Impact: Significant reductions in physical
prevent sexual intensive five-hour training on and sexual IPV perpetration after the first
violence in high bystander interventions by trained two years. There were also significant
schools24 rape crisis centre educators. The reductions in girls’ physical and sexual
student leaders receiving the training IPV experience in the last two years of the
are called “green dots” and learn to programme25
recognise behaviours leading to
sexual violence (“red dots”) and learn
how to safely intervene. This is
supported by annual school-wide
presentations which reinforce the
“green dot” and “red dot” concepts.

Good A whole school Uganda Primary school The goal of the Toolkit is to prevent 18 Evaluation type: RCT
Schools approach to teachers and VAC26 at schools by influencing the months Impact: In intervention schools, the
Toolkit, tackling VAC in students operational culture of the school Toolkit reduced the risk of physical VAC
Raising Voices primary schools itself. by teachers and school staff by 42% (in
It involves six-step process the 18 months). Also, 50% fewer teachers
containing about 60 activities (compared to control) reported using
coordinated at the school level with physical violence against students. The
additional activities engaging parents Toolkit promoted students’ identification
and the community as a whole. with their school, as well as their sense of
safety and belonging at school.27

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Programme Description Location Target population Core activities Duration Evaluation and Impact

Port A holistic and Port Women market Safe Markets Initiative: capacity 9 years Evaluation type: Non-experimental, ex-
Moresby: multisectoral safe Moresby, vendors and building of market management; (Safe post participatory impact assessment
A Safe City cities and safe Papua New customers, women establishment of market vendor Markets Impact: Improvements in women’s
for Women public spaces’ Guinea commuters, market associations; introduction of a web- Initiative) empowerment related outcomes including
and Girls programme management, based market fee collection system; 5 years women market traders having a voice in
Programme, incorporating a government training for women, including (Safe decision-making in market governance,
UN Women comprehensive agencies including financial literacy, business Public and improvements in women’s perception
approach to from transport development and health awareness. Transport of safety, comfort and dignity in markets
ensure safe authorities, students, Safe Public Transport Initiative: initiative) and buses.30
markets and service providers, support of a women-only bus service
public transport authorities and the to address high levels of VAWG in
initiatives for general public public places and as a temporary
women and girls. special measure to ensure the safety
It also included a of women and children. Other
public campaign measures included institutional
and community awareness and capacity building of
mobilisation transport authorities, bus and taxi
activities focused drivers (men and women), and the a
on the prevention city-wide gender and transport study
of sexual violence to inform the city’s transport plan.
in public spaces.28
Youth and community activism:
evidence-based behaviour change
campaign “Sanap Wantaim” (“Stand
Together”) promoting key
messages29; including a youth
leadership programme in schools,
markets and in low-income housing;
training for safe houses and police;
establishment of Community Referral
and Mentoring Services (CRMS) to
ensure survivors of VAWG had
access to services.

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Design and Implementation

Checklist
Common elements and principles of effective approaches to create safe environments include:31,32

Programme design and adaptation

1. Conduct a scoping study which includes participatory approaches. For example,
qualitative methods, potentially including interventions which seek to prevent peer violence
women’s safety audits, which can help multi- in schools, have been found to be effective in
stakeholders better understand how women preventing violence and usually employ single-
and girls are particularly affected by violence sex or mixed groups with men and boys as well
and identify factors which can affect their as women and girls to reflect on gender
perception of safety in the environment you norms,.37
are targeting. This approach also includes a
6. Ensure interventions are of sufficient
stakeholder mapping to identify potential
intensity and are not standalone.
collaborators and to design effective solutions.
For example, bystander programmes including
Key stakeholders in participatory workshops
one or two sessions or digital interventions such
should reflect on the scoping study findings to
as safety mapping apps, are unlikely to lead to a
feed into the design of the programme.
reduction in VAW when implemented as
2. Involve diverse groups of women and girls at standalone interventions.38
all stages, including women and girls who
7. Coordinate and build partnerships with
face multiple and intersecting discriminations
stakeholders across multiple sectors,
and are at increased risk of violence and
including local, regional and national
harassment in the world of work and public
government.39 For example, work with local
spaces.33 This includes women working in the
government to address VAW in public spaces,
informal sector, migrant women, women
and seek partnerships with women’s
domestic workers and women sex workers. This
organisations from design through to
will help ensure that interventions consider how
implementation and monitoring and evaluation.40
different women and girls experience violence
Fostering positive partnerships and a sense of
differently, considering age, ethnicity, disability,
local ownership with women in key decision-
socio-economic status amongst other factors.34
making roles is key to the successful
However, there is currently little evidence on this.
implementation of this strategy.
3. Address harassment and other forms of VAW
8. Consider and address organisational culture
in public spaces and other environments as
around gender equality and VAW, including
part of a continuum of violence.35 Evidence
in schools, transport, infrastructure, and
demonstrates the linkages between violence
companies. For example, the Good School
against women in public and private spaces,
Toolkit aims to create a positive school culture in
including in online spaces, however very few
which all children are safe to learn. The school
programmes actively address this continuum.
comes together to set a goal and agree an action
4. Adopt a rights-based approach, for example a plan to reach this goal, as well as strengthening
‘right to the city’ approach in interventions which school governance.41
address violence in public spaces, and women
9. Support women’s rights organisations to
and girls’ rights to education, services, work,
advocate for and monitor legislation
recreation, and to politically organise.36
specifically dealing with violence against
women in public spaces. Under UN Women’s
Implementation Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global
5. Encourage participants to critically reflect on Flagship Programme in the City of Quito,
gender norms and power through Ecuador42, and Quezon City, Philippines,

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women’s rights organisations with research for legislation gaps to also be addressed in other
partners collected data on sexual harassment in cities.43
public spaces as part of their scoping studies
10. Generate, use and publish data and evidence
which helped to address the gaps in laws on
monitoring the effectiveness of interventions
sexual harassment in public spaces. As a result
on violence prevention. There is a lack of data
of this approach of working with multi-sector
and evidence on effectiveness, in particular for
stakeholders, groundbreaking legislation was
interventions which seek to prevent VAW in
passed with penalties for sexual harassment in
public spaces and other environments.
public spaces and helping to position the need

Entry points
Approaches to creating safe environments can be integrated in multiple settings and sectors to maximise
impact. The following table highlights key entry points for this strategy, including programme examples.

Entry point Rationale

Transport Studies have shown high prevalence of sexual harassment and other forms
• Transport planning and of violence in and around public transport, and how poor planning can create
infrastructure (stations, hotspots for violence.45,46 Gender-responsive transport planning, policies
waiting areas, services and other interventions which meaningfully consult women and girls and
and ‘last mile explicitly consider and mitigate VAW risks, help improve women’s
connectivity’44) perceptions of safety and prevent VAW.
• Public transport
For example, the Quito Safe City programme in Ecuador conducted a
scoping study in 2012 which found 65% women in Quito had experienced
some form of sexual harassment, most often occurring on public transport.
In response, the city government included safe transport in its annual plans
and set up a committee to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent
and respond to sexual harassment and other forms of VAW on public
transport. Draft protocols were validated with bus drivers and operations
teams; in response a clear flow chart was developed to ensure groups
understood what their role was to report and address incidents of VAW.47
Another example is gender training of drivers, conductors and all transport
staff in Delhi to help them understand sexual harassment. This training has
been going since 2007. Now when any transport vehicle comes for the
yearly renewal of registration, they must undergo a one-hour refresher
training course on sexual harassment.48

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Urban planning and Ensuring urban development projects take women’s use of urban spaces
construction and safety risks into account from the start can prevent VAW from occurring,
• Public spaces for example by ensuring safe public walkways and good lighting. Safety
• Energy provision audits, engagement with women and girls and reporting or mapping apps
• Water and sanitation can encourage effective action as prevalence and violence hot spots are
• Land and housing, better understood.49
including informal
settlements For example, the Delhi Safe City free of Violence against Women and Girls
Programme used Women Safety Audits (WSAs) in partnership with
• Refugee/IDP camp
Jagoris, local government and UN Women, gathered detailed information
settings
about women’s safety, alongside findings of the programme’s scoping
study. The WSAs were delivered in three phases: firstly pen and paper
audits with 5-6 participants in community settings; secondly Jagori, the
lead implementing partner, provided training across multiple states on the
WSA methodology; and finally an Open Street Audit Mapping (OSAM) to
seek views from women and men, girls and boys. Achievements include
highlighting the importance of last mile connectivity and danger hotspots
which the local government sought to address. The WSA methodology
also became mandatory for all urban plans and smart city projects in
India.50

Work and employment51 The International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s Violence and Harassment
• Formal workers Convention 2019 (C190), which focuses on violence and harassment in
• Informal workers the world of work, presents a key entry point for this strategy. 52 The legally
binding convention recognises that gender-based violence and
• Work conditions and
harassment disproportionately affect women and girls and applies to
labour rights initiatives
women experiencing violence and harassment including at work, on the
• Youth employment way to work, during work-related trips, in work-related communications and
programmes
in employer-provided accommodation. It applies to all sectors, whether
• Women’s employment private or public, both in the formal and informal economy.
programmes
For example, the ILO’s Better Work initiative takes a three-pronged
approach to preventing VAW in the garment industry through establishing
systems such as sexual harassment policies, grievance mechanisms and
referrals, awareness raising with workers and capacity building with
managers, those responsible for human resources, line managers and
workers.53
An example of national legislation protecting informal workers includes
India’s Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition, Redressal) Act 2013, which clearly defines and includes both
formal and informal workers. The home is considered a workplace and
domestic workers can use mechanisms to complain to a District
Complaints Committee.54

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Schools and other Schools have potential to prevent violence at scale, not just in the school
educational institutions environment but also at home and in future relationships.55 Whole school
• Whole school approaches approaches that address the interconnectedness of schools, communities
and families can be an effective way of creating safe learning
• Curriculum-based learning
environments.56 Other intervention approaches such as school-based
interventions
curriculum approaches also show some promise (see the Child and
• Teacher training Adolescent Abuse Prevented RESPECT Strategy Summary).
For example, a play-based life skills education programme implemented in
40 public schools in Pakistan by the NGO Right to Play aimed to empower
children and prevent violence. The intervention also included teacher
training, summer camps, sports tournaments and thematic Play Days for
children, with parents invited several times a year. Children in the
intervention reported significant reductions in peer violence and corporal
punishment at school.57

Digital technology Digital technology offers both problems and solutions to VAW prevention,
• Online information as VAW is exacerbated and magnified online whilst new and emerging
and apps technologies provide new methods for perpetrators to commit VAW.
However, digital technologies also provide a space for online advocacy
• Digital campaigns
and activism on VAW and women’s rights, with online campaigns now
forming a core part of the work of women’s rights organisations, and
emerging interventions, for example through safety mapping apps.58 It is
important that digital solutions have safe and appropriate responses –
online counselling requires trained counsellors and mapping/alert systems
need effective police responses. There is a lack of evidence on whether
and how digital technologies can prevent VAW, and it is likely that they
need to be implemented as part of a package in order to be effective.59
The #MeToo movement is an example of online campaign against violence
against women and girls. Other examples include #BringBackOurGirls
which demanded the return of girls kidnapped from Chibok in Nigeria in
2014 and #NiUnaMenos which started in Argentina in 2015 as a campaign
against gender-based violence and has since spread across Latin America
and the Caribbean.

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Useful Resources
Safe schools
Global Guidance on Addressing School-related Gender-based Violence, Paris and New York: UNESCO and UN Women; 2016.
Provides a comprehensive, one-stop resource on school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV).
Raising Voices Good School Toolkit.
A methodology designed to support educators and children explore what a child-friendly safe school is and support them to
realise this vision, it has been proven effective in reducing violence in schools.
Effects of Bystander Programs on the Prevention of Sexual Assault Among Adolescents and College Students. Hensman
Kettrey, H., Marx, R. A., and E. E Tanner-Smith. Campbell Collaboration. 2019
A systematic review on the effectiveness of bystander programmes amongst adolescents and college students. 25 of the 27
available rigorous evaluations were conducted in the US.
A Whole School Approach to Prevent School-Related Gender-Based Violence: Minimum Standards and Monitoring Framework,
Global Working Group to End SRGBV & UNGEI (2017)
This guide provides a framework to guide policy makers and practitioners in designing school violence prevention programmes
and strengthening response actions.

Safe public spaces

Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls Global Flagship Initiative: International Compendium of Practices. And
Second Compendium. UN Women: New York. 2019
Summaries of interventions from cities across the globe to ensure the safety of women and girls.
Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls Global Flagship Initiative: Global Results Report. UN Women: New
York. 2017
Results from UN Women’s flagship initiative including a programmatic framework, case studies and learning from the global
programme.
Violence against Women and Girls, Infrastructure and Cities Briefing Paper. Fraser, E., Viswanath, K. and L. McLean. 2017.
Short paper outlining the case for addressing VAW through infrastructure and cities work, entry points and case studies.
Violence Against Women and Girls Resource Guide: Transport Brief. World Bank. 2015
Brief paper highlights the linkages between VAWG and transport, ethical and safety considerations for transport programming,
entry points to integrate a VAWG focus into transport initiatives and recommended resources.

Safe work environments

Violence and Harassment Convention, International Labour Organization (ILO). 2019
International convention which provides a practical framework to shape a future of work based on dignity and respect, free from
prevent violence and harassment.
Handbook: Addressing Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, UN Women and ILO. 2019.
Provides lessons, practical actions and promising examples of how to address violence and harassment in the world of work.
What Works? Preventing & Responding to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace A Rapid Review of Evidence. CARE. 2018
Rapid review of promising practice in responding to sexual harassment in the workplace.

Evidence reviews
A Rigorous Review of Global Research Evidence on Policy and Practice on School-related Gender-based Violence, Parkes, J.,
Heslop, J., Johnson Ross, F., Westerveld, R. & Unterhalter, E. University College London, Institute of Education, 2016.
Provides a global review of the evidence on approaches to addressing SRGBV.
A Rigorous Global Evidence Review of Interventions to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls, Kerr-Wilson, A.; Gibbs, A.;
McAslan Fraser E.; Ramsoomar, L.; Parke, A.; Khuwaja, HMA.; Rachel Jewkes. What Works to prevent violence among women
and girls global Programme, Pretoria, South Africa. 2020
Provides an up-to-date review on the evidence on effectiveness of VAW prevention programmes.
What Works to Prevent Sexual Violence against Children: Evidence Review. Ligiero, D., Hart, C., Fulu, E., Thomas, A., &
Radford, L. Together for Girls. 2019
Presents a user-friendly summary of the existing evidence of what works to prevent sexual violence against children and
adolescents.

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Endnotes
1 Including post-secondary education, such as higher education that takes place in a university, college or institute of
technology, as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
2 Labour force interventions are included under strategy P – Poverty reduced
3 UN Women website: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/creating-safe-public-spaces
4 ILO (2018) Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work: International Labour Conference

107th Session 2018, ILO: Geneva.

5 UN Women (2017) Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces: GLOBAL RESULTS REPORT. UN Women: New York.
6 UNESCO (2016) Global Guidance on School-related Gender-Based Violence. UNESCO: Paris and UN Women: New York.;

UN Women (2019a) Guide to Support the Implementation of the Global Women’s Safety Framework. UN Women: New York;
UN Women and ILO (2019) Addressing Violence and Harassment against Women in the World of Work: Handbook; New York
and Geneva: UN Women and ILO; UN Women (2018) A Global Women’s Safety Framework in Rural Spaces: Informed by
experience in the tea sector, New York: UN Women.
7 Fraser et al., (2017) Violence against Women and Girls, Infrastructure and Cities Briefing Paper.
8 ILO (2018) Ibid.; UNESCO (2016) Global Guidance on Addressing School-related Gender-based Violence,
9 UN Women (2017) Ibid.
10 UN Women (2017) Ibid.; UN Women (2019a) Ibid.
11 Fraser et al., (2017) Ibid.
12 UN Women (2017) Ibid.; World Bank, The Global Women’s Institute, IDB and ICRW (2015) VAWG Transport Brief: VAWG

Resource Guide.
13 Non-experimental evaluations show these interventions may work well, for example a recent evaluation of UN Women’s Safe

Cities for Women and Girls Programme in Papua New Guinea which showed the initiative contributed to women’s and girls’
empowerment, safety, comfort and dignity when working in markets in Port Moresby. See UN Women (2019a)
14 Fulu (2016) A Regional Study of Interventions to Enhance Women and Girls’ Safety and Mobility in Public Spaces, Asia and

the Pacific Region

15 UN Women’s Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Flagship Initiative include some programmes which focus on place-

based interventions, but they also include comprehensive prevention approaches in districts and settlement areas of a city and
rural area, and integrate a focus on women’s political participation, economic empowerment and ending sexual violence against
women and girls. As a result, several areas of the Respect Framework apply to each comprehensive safe city and safe public
space initiative under this Global Initiative, spanning over 25 countries. The Port Moresby Safe City Programme in Papua New
Guinea is included in this area of the Respect Framework given that two of its programmes focus on specific public spaces in
the city, informed by scoping studies undertaken.
16 Kerr-Wilson, A.; Gibbs, A.; McAslan Fraser E.; Ramsoomar, L.; Parke, A.; Khuwaja, HMA.; and Rachel Jewkes (2020). A

rigorous global evidence review of interventions to prevent violence against women and girls, What Works to prevent violence
among women and girls global programme, Pretoria, South Africa.
17 Kerr Wilson A, Gibbs A, McAslan Fraser E, Ramsoomar L, Parke A, Khuwaja H and Jewkes R (2020) What Works to Prevent

Violence against Women and Girls? A Rigorous Global Evidence Review of Interventions to Prevent Violence against Women
and Girls, South Africa; What Works to Prevent VAWG
18 Breakthrough Insights (undated) Breakthrough’s Bell Bajao! A Campaign to Bring Domestic Violence to a Halt.
19 UNESCO (2016) Ibid; Global Working Group to End SRGBV & UNGEI (2017) A Whole School Approach to Prevent School-

related Gender-Based Violence: Minimum Standards and Monitoring Framework. Global Working Group to End SRGBV (2019)
Ending School-Related Gender-Based Violence A Series of Thematic Briefs.
20 Fulu, E., Kerr-Wilson, A. & J. Lang (2014) What works to prevent violence against women and girls? Evidence Review of

interventions to prevent violence against women and girls. What Works: Pretoria. ; Kerr-Wilson et al., (2020); WHO (2019)
School-based violence prevention: a practical handbook. Geneva: World Health Organization.
21
Devries, K. M., Knight, L., Child, J. C., Mirembe, A., Nakuti, J., and R. Jones (2015) ‘The Good School Toolkit for reducing
physical violence from school staff to primary school students: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda’ in The Lancet,
vol. 3, no. 7.
; UNICEF (2020) What Works to Prevent Online and Offline Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse? Review of national education
strategies in East Asia and the Pacific. UNICEF: Bangkok. Available at:
22 UNICEF (2020) Ibid.
23 Ligiero, D., Hart, C., Fulu, E., Thomas, A., & L. Radford (2019) What Works to Prevent Sexual Violence Against Children:

Evidence Review. Together for Girls.

24 The Green Dot approach has also been adapted for use in kindergarden, middle school and college campuses.
25 Coker, A. L., Bush, H. M., Cook-Craig, P. G., DeGue, S. A., Clear, E. R., Brancato, C. J. Fisher, B & Recktenwald, E. A.

(2017). RCT testing bystander effectiveness to reduce violence. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 52(5), 566-578.
26 The Good School Toolkit aims to tackle several forms of VAC including peer violence as well as violence perpetrated by

teachers against pupils.

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27 Devries, K. M., Knight, L., Child, J. C., Mirembe, A., Nakuti, J., Jones, R., Sturgess, J., Allen, E., Kyegombe, N., Parkes, J.,
Walakira, E., Watts, C., Elbourne, D., and D. Naker (2015). The Good School Toolkit for reducing physical violence from school
staff to primary school students: A cluster-randomised controlled trial in Uganda. The Lancet Global Health, 3(7), e378-e386.
28 As a holistic approach, the Port Moresby Safe City initiative included institutional organisational culture, policies and

procedures, training and awareness raising, reporting mechanisms, and a multi-pronged behaviour change scheme in schools,
markets and public transport.
29 These were around gender equality, consent, that harassment is wrong, that women and men, girls and boys must stand

together to make a safe city and that a safe city is a great city.
30 UN Women (2019b) Evaluation of the Port Moresby: A Safe City for Women and Girls Programme.
31 Kerr Wilson, A et al (2020) Ibid.
32 UNICEF (2020) Ibid.
33 CARE (2018) Ending violence and harassment against women and men in the world of work CARE International’s position on

the new ILO Convention.

34 Women in Cities International (2012) Tackling Gender Exclusion: Experiences from the Gender Inclusive Cities Programme;

Fraser et al., (2017) Ibid.

35 Fulu (2016) Ibid.
36 Fulu (2016); UN Women (2019c) .UN Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces for Women and Girls Global Flagship

Initiative: International Compendium of practices. UN Women: New York.

37 Kerr-Wilson et al., (2020) Ibid.
38 Kerr-Wilson et al., (2020) Ibid.
39 Fulu (2016) Ibid; Fraser et al., (2017) Ibid.
40 UN Women (2019b) Ibid.
41 Raising Voices website: http://raisingvoices.org/good-school/
42 UN Women (2017) Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Results Report, New York: UN Women.
43 UN Women (2017) Ibid.
44 Women report that they face harassment not only inside public transport but also in the ‘last mile’ to and from the transport

hub to their destination - often referred to as ‘last mile connectivity’.

45 World Bank et al (2015) Ibid.
46 Fraser et al., (2017) Ibid.
47 UN Women (2019c) Ibid.
48 Vaishnavi, H (2017) Manas Foundation has trained 2.4 lakh auto, taxi and bus drivers of Delhi to become women-friendly,

YourStory.
49 UN Women (2017) Ibid.
50 UN Women (2019c) Ibid.
51 Labour force interventions are covered under Strategy “P” – Poverty reduced
52 ILO (2019) ILO Convention 190: Convention Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work,

Adopted by the Conference at its one hundred and eighth session, Geneva, 21 June 2019.
53 ILO & IFC (2019) Sexual harassment at work: Insights from the global garment industry. Thematic brief.
54 Martha Farrell Foundation (2018) Sexual Harassment of Domestic Workplaces Workers at their Workplaces: An Ongoing

Study on Part-time Domestic Workers in Gurgaon, Faridabad and South Delhi, Delhi: Martha Farrell Foundation
55 Kerr Wilson, A et al (2020) Ibid.
56 Global Working Group to End SRGBV & UNGEI (2017) Ibid.
57 Karmaliani, R., McFarlane, J., Maqbool Ahmed Khuwaja, H., Bhamani S., Saeed Ali, T., Somani, Y., Asad, N., Chirwa, E. D.,

& Jewkes R. (2019). Right to play’s Intervention to Reduce Peer Violence among Children in Public Schools in Pakistan: A
Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation. Draft manuscript – What Works
58 Faith, B and Fraser, E (2018) What Works to Prevent Cyber Violence against Women and Girls,

VAWG Helpdesk Research Report No. 212. London, UK: VAWG Helpdesk.
59 Kerr-Wilson et al., (2020) Ibid.

© UN Women 2020

This document is part of the RESPECT Framework Implementation Guide, commissioned by UN Women
and developed by Social Development Direct, which can be found here.

Suggested citation: UN Women and Social Development Direct (2020) Environments Made Safe, RESPECT:
Preventing Violence against Women Strategy Summary.

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