As the Spotlight Initiative will be fully programmed in 2023, countries are looking toward the future of the Initiative and reflections are taking place on how to sustain the Initiative’s momentum, partnerships, resourcing, and impact to continue this critical work. One of the critical considerations to be made is how to effectively sustain essential services that have been made available through the Initiative. In view of this matter, the Spotlight Initiative Secretariat, in collaboration with regional and country programmes, hosted a SHINE online discussion on the theme ‘Sustaining the impact of the Spotlight Initiative: essential services for survivors of violence’. This discussion was open to Spotlight Initiative programmes and partners, including the United Nations, civil society, governments, European Union delegations, and other stakeholders engaged in ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG) efforts, and invited participants to exchange approaches and tools related to the maintenance of essential services.
Over the course of 4 weeks (from 1st May until 26th May 2023), three moderators, Heran Ayele (Spotlight Initiative Secretariat), Elga Salvador (GBV Specialist, Spotlight Initiative Jamaica) and Michelle Mendes Meireles Silva (Programme Coordinator, Spotlight Initiative Latin America Programme), posed a series of questions and facilitated an engaging discussion on the SHINE platform. A total of thirty-nine comments were shared in response to the various questions posed, encompassing a broad range of thematic areas related to sustaining essential services.
