Project profile — Women Leading Change

• Guatemala (33.00%)
• El Salvador (33.00%)
• Honduras (34.00%)

• Post-Secondary Education: Advanced technical and managerial training (11430) (10.00%)
• Democratic participation and civil society:
Democratic participation and civil society (15150) (20.00%)
Human rights (15160) (10.00%)
Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (10.00%)
Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (50.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (significant objective)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project seeks to enhance gender equality and empower women, youth and Indigenous peoples in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. It does so by increasing the involvement of women, youth and Indigenous peoples in public leadership and decision-making processes and strengthening the capacity of municipalities, justice system actors and community-based organizations to prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The project works with municipal governments and organizations led by women, youth and Indigenous peoples to address key equality gaps. For example, gaps in decision-making, equal access to, and control over, resources and equal realization of rights for women and vulnerable groups in the region. Project activities include: (1) developing and delivering a tri-national leadership program for women, youth and Indigenous peoples. The program covers leadership, management, negotiation and public policy advocacy; (2) organizing regional exchanges to share best practices on leadership and empowerment of women, youth and Indigenous peoples; (3) providing technical assistance to local governments and municipal women’s commissions to implement the integral development of women public policy; (4) providing technical assistance to the Tri-National Women’s Network and associated organizations for improved advocacy to prevent SGBV; (5) providing technical assistance to local governments, justice officials and community-based organizations to expand their SGBV prevention and protection services and improve their capacity to respond to victim needs; and (6) developing and disseminating community, municipal and national campaigns to increase awareness of the social and economic consequences of SGBV and its impact on victims.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) enhanced and more systematic engagement of women, youth and Indigenous peoples in public leadership and decision-making processes; and (2) strengthened prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence by municipalities, justice system actors, and community-based organizations.

Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) implemented the first edition of the Tri-National Leadership Program, which focused on leadership, management, negotiation and public advocacy; (2) 269 participants (253 women and 16 men) successfully completed the program; (3) implemented 2 regional exchanges with the participation of 62 individuals who successfully completed the Tri-National Leadership Program. The project organized these exchanges so graduates could experience direct interaction with organizations and leaders that could provide them with information, best practices. These exchanges also enabled them to discuss the challenges and opportunities of empowering women, youth and Indigenous Peoples in the target communities; 4) implemented the first edition of the Tri-National Training Program for public sector decision-makers, with 28 participants (15 women and 3 men) having successfully completed the program; (5) 782 individuals (737 women and 45 men) who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) received psychosocial and legal assistance through the project; and (6) carried out an analysis and mapping exercise with justice providers, community organizations and local governments to identify the barriers that women, young people, and Indigenous Peoples face in accessing services. The project carried out these efforts to better understand the capacity of local governments, community organizations, and justice institutions to respond to the needs of victims of SGBV in the target communities.

• Proactive disclosure