The national Spotlight Initiative was launched in Maputo, on Friday, March 8, in the presence of Her Excellency the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Action, Cidália Chaúque de Oliveira, other Mozambique Government dignitaries from the central and  provincial levels, European Commission of European Union (EU) Director General for International Cooperation and Development Stefano Manservisi, who was visiting the country, and the United Nations (UN) acting Resident Coordinator,  Marcoluigi Corsi.

For the joint initiative with the UN, the EU availed 500 million Euros. Mozambique, one of the 8 African countries selected for this initiative, will received 40 million, to be disbursed in four years, and benefiting around 6 million people.

Speaking at the launching event, Minister Cidália Chaúque emphasized that "we must intensify actions to remove the barriers that impede the development of women and girls, prioritizing their access to education, health, water and sanitation, productive resources and respect for their rights." She appealed to all women and men to invest in the empowerment of women, girls, and in awareness building of families and communities.

"The recent adoption of the new Gender Policy and its Implementation Strategy, the National Plans for the Advancement of Women, Gender-Based Violence Prevention, Peace and Security are instruments that should guide all actions implemented by public and private institutions, civil society, religious organizations and other sector in the society”, said the Minister, concluding that "The Spotlight Initiative aims to support efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls relevant in the Mozambican context. "

Director-General Manservisi stressed that: "The Spotlight Initiative is our greatest investment in efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, translating our commitment into practice. We believe that this requires an open dialogue with as many women and men as possible, boys and girls, in large cities as in small villages, and to deliver a single message: violence against women and girls is not normal and is not acceptable.”

The UN Acting Resident Coordinator in the country recalled that "violence against women and girls at the global level is a hard reality: one in three women is a victim of violence at some point in their lives. Violence against women destroys lives and causes suffering for all generations. In Mozambique (IDS, 2011) more than 42 percent of young women and girls experience some form of violence. In addition, one in two girls (48 percent) are at risk of marrying before the age of 18, placing Mozambique as the tenth country with the highest rate of early marriages in the world. The launch of this initiative today, March 8, is a great coincidence. For Women, 8 March represents an international framework for combating all forms of gender-based violence. The name of the Initiative - Spotlight - highlights the importance of directing violence from the shadows to the light so that it can be seen, approached and eliminated. Today, we are witnessing the launch of an initiative that is truly historic. "

In Mozambique, the Government-led Spotlight Initiative will be implemented in three pilot provinces in the priority areas to combat sexual and gender-based violence and promote sexual and reproductive rights for women and girls.

At the global level, over the next few years, programs will be implemented to eliminate various forms of violence against women and girls, such as sexual violence, trafficking and labor exploitation, and domestic violence. The main areas of intervention include strengthening measures to prevent violence, legislation and policies, as well as the institutions involved in the response. There will also be focus on data collection in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Region and the Caribbean, areas of implementation of the Initiative.

In line with Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, specifically Goal 5 on Gender Equality, the Spotlight Initiative will give special attention to marginalized women and girls with a view to "leaving no one behind." In addition, it seeks to attain political commitments at the highest level and to provide large-scale support through new partnerships. It will also contribute to informing civil society and raise awareness of the negative impact of violence on women's lives.

Violence against women and girls is one of the largest and most common human rights violations in the world. This reality represents a barrier to equality, to the empowerment of women, to development and, therefore, a huge impediment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Notes to Editors

The Spotlight Initiative is an ambitious initiative launched by the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls around the world. The initiative places the issue of violence at the heart of global efforts for gender equality and empowerment of women.

Overall, more than 1 billion lives are affected by violence, with an estimated 35% of women being victims of violence throughout their lives. In some countries this figure is higher than 70%. At the same time, more than 700 million women were forced to marry before the age of 18, of whom around 250 million were under the age of 15.