Background

Preventing violence against women and girls requires a coordinated approach across different segments of society.  It involves multiple strategies that mutually reinforce each other reaching individuals where they live, work, learn and play, as well as, broader communities and society at large. The evidence-base shows that there are a range of individual, community and societal characteristics and conditions that can either create greater or lower risks for violence committed against girls and women. Among these are gender-discriminatory laws and policies, inequal power relations between men and women and social norms, behaviours and attitudes that contribute to discrimination and inequality. The UN Prevention Framework to Underpin Action to Prevent Violence against Women brings together this evidence-base and articulates a comprehensive approach to prevent violence, requiring the development of interventions that address cultures, structures and practices across organizations; interventions that reach a wide range of people and organizations at the local, regional and national level. The framework recommends the use of a variety of entry points for social norms change, including the use of media and popular culture (UN Women, 2015).