16 Days of Activism 2025: How the What Works II Initiative is Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls

Globally, one in three women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The UK-government’s What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale (What Works II) initiative is a £67.5 million investment dedicated to pioneering and scaling-up effective approaches to ending this violence. The first phase of the initiative showed that we can reduce violence in homes, schools and communities by 50% in under three years.

What Works II is building on this success, taking proven approaches to scale, embedding prevention into communities, and expanding efforts into sectors like education, health, and climate resilience.

Around the world, women’s rights organisations and NGOs committed to advancing gender equality are leading powerful evidence-based interventions that are breaking cycles of violence, shifting harmful social norms, and creating safer, more equitable societies – from classrooms and university campuses to the front lines of the climate crisis.

This 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, we are proud to spotlight our inspiring community of Grantee Partners who are doing just this – pioneering and scaling-up effective ways to prevent violence against women and girls through this UK-funded initiative.  Meet the impactful organisations across South Asia and Africa who are leading the way in the fight for a world free of violence against women, and explore some of their key achievements from this year.

Reducing gender-based violence in schools

In Pakistan, Right to Play and Aahung are working with children and teachers to reduce gender-based violence (GBV) in schools. Through the power of play, they help children develop essential life skills and empower them to challenge harmful gender norms that perpetuate cycles of violence.  This project builds on Right to Play’s successful What Works I intervention which more than halved cases of peer violence against girls.

Earlier this year, Right to Play released a powerful advocacy film, developed and produced by SOC Films, highlighting how Play-based Life Skills Education (PLSE) transforms lives, classrooms, and schools by equipping young people with age-appropriate information and skills to live healthier lives, free from violence and coercion. Right To Play and Aahung also trained teachers on Life Skills-Based Education and are now conducting weekly activities with students on topics including gender equality, consent, respect, teamwork and emotional regulation using a manual developed for the What Works II initiative containing 60 different activities.

In Madagascar, Projet Jeune Leader, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, is scaling its comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programme to 1,747 public middle schools, reaching nearly 400,000 students – multiplying their student reach seven-fold. In Somalia, CISP’s ‘Community Change’ approach has increased support for gender equality among children, reduced acceptance of child marriage, and reduced support for using harsh punishments, demonstrating how school- and community-based interventions can prevent violence against women and children.

Strengthening the health system response

In India, Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal (MASUM) is training healthcare workers to strengthen health system responses to GBV. This year MASUM held a five-day Training of Trainers for 42 healthcare professionals. Between May and July 2025, 14 more two-day trainings reached 278 healthcare providers across 17 facilities. These crucial efforts highlighted domestic violence as a public health priority. The training also helped participants to identify domestic violence, prioritise survivor-centered care, establish improved referral pathways, and support survivors more effectively going forwards within healthcare settings.  In the next phase, MASUM will prioritise training community healthcare workers to drive prevention efforts at the local level while also strengthening referral systems.

Preventing gender-based violence in Malawi

In Malawi, the Pamodzi Kuthetsa  Nkhanza (PKN) Consortium, which brings together  Women's Legal Resources Centre WOLREC,  The Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), and Women and Girls with Disability (WAG Disability), has so far reached over 17,000 women and 11,000 girls. The programme combines multiple interventions including SASA! Together, an economic empowerment initiative - Moyo Omelekezeka, a Survivor Support Fund, and gender-transformative curricula addressing the root causes of inequality.

This year, WOLREC was recognised  as the Best NGO in Community Empowerment in Malawi, launched the Second Edition of the Women’s Manifesto, and established the Gender Observatory and Gender Tracker to monitor progress on women’s rights. The PKN programme also prioritises disability inclusion, adapting activities, training, and resources so women and girls with disabilities can participate as leaders and activists. WAG Disability has played a key role in championing disability inclusion within the consortium and providing technical expertise and guidance.

Embedding GBV prevention into climate action

In Uganda, CEDOVIP, working in close partnership with the Ugandan Government, is leading efforts to embed GBV prevention and response into the country’s climate action and wetland restoration programmes. This year CEDOVIP made major strides in community mobilisation and national advocacy. More than 80 community activists, including facilitators and local leaders, were recruited and trained to champion efforts that prevent intimate partner violence while promoting healthy relationships and responsible wetland management. As a result, the Government of Uganda has now formally recognised the connection between GBV, conservation and climate change, recommending the mainstreaming of GBV prevention across key departments. Officials have also committed to ensuring that GBV considerations are reflected in national climate-change actions, positioning Uganda as a regional leader in integrating social protection into environmental policy.

Using technology and mass media to prevent violence

In South Africa, Reach Digital Health and Ipas are using technology in new ways to help prevent dating violence among adolescent women through a  chatbot called SafeSigns. This year they successfully created the SafeSigns WhatsApp service prototype, tested it with users and are incorporating the feedback into the final design.

With funding from What Works II, Soul City Institute for Social Justice is pioneering the use of mass media in preventing violence. This year Soul City announced its groundbreaking new programme, Shayi’ndlela (Turn the Tide), combining Edutainment through a partnership with South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) targeting adolescent girls and young women to address and prevent violence, with a specific focus on transactional sex and intimate partner violence (IPV) in 30 schools in Ekurhuleni. This multi-platform approach is designed to encourage positive norms and behavior change and empower young girls with the tools and confidence they need to make informed, positive decisions about their relationships.

In Kenya, CREAW is partnering with the Agency for Empowerment of Pastoralists (AFEOP) to implement the Imarisha Mahusiano couples curriculum, empowering couples to resolve conflicts non-violently and fostering community-wide shifts through radio dramas and participatory media. AFEOP will develop radio dramas based on the Imarisha Mahusiano model and establish listener groups to share the curriculum content. These groups will work with couples, opinion leaders and wider community members to support implementation and help sustain change across the community.

Transforming universities into safer, more inclusive spaces

In Eswatini, Women Unlimited Eswatini and Bantwana Initiative’s Litsemba Rising programme is training student champions to prevent sexual harassment in universities. Litsemba Rising is built on a simple yet powerful principle: harmful norms are learned and can therefore be unlearned. This year the project trained 25 Student Champions to engage other students to drive student-led action against sexual harassment at the University of Eswatini. These champions are now leading conversations on gender norms, consent, respect and accountability and more, reaching over 1,200 first and second-year students within the University. Through this innovative peer-driven model, the programme is inspiring a generation of students to actively challenge harmful social norms and promote gender equality on campus and beyond.

Tackling workplace sexual harassment

In February, under its SATH project funded by What Works II, Shirkat Gah – Women’s Resource Centre hosted a Roundtable in collaboration with the Office of the Ombudsperson Punjab to strengthen laws protecting women from workplace sexual harassment in Pakistan. This important gathering brought together Federal and Provincial Ombudspersons, Parliamentarians, civil society leaders, labour rights activists, and lawyers to share insights, identify gaps and discuss collaborative solutions. As one participant noted, “This was the first time we could openly share challenges and strategies, heard by institutions and the legal community.”

Evidence, investment and collective action

As these powerful examples demonstrate, together with our partners What Works II has the evidence, experience, and momentum to accelerate progress in tackling violence against women and girls. To end violence against women, we must continue to support women’s rights organisations and groups leading change on the ground, invest in prevention that challenges harmful norms before violence starts, and commit to ethical, robust evidence that drives action at scale. With the right investment and collective action, lasting change and a world free of violence against women and girls – is possible.

More information

• 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is taking place between 25 November – 10 December 2025.

• The What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale initiative is a £67.5 million investment by the UK government to pioneer and scale-up effective approaches to ending GBV. The first phase of the initiative showed that we can reduce violence in homes, schools, and communities by 50% in under 3 years. A link to our Prevention is Possible briefing summarising global lessons on halving VAWG can be found here.

• A link to our report on climate change and gender-based violence can be found here

• A link to our Practice-Based Learning brief on working with governments in end violence against women and children can be found here.