GlobalPartnershiptoEndViolenceAgainstChildren

GuidanceforPathfinderCountries

November2015

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AspartofAgenda2030,theworld’sgovernmentshavemadeacommitmenttoensuringallpeopleliveinpeaceful,justandinclusivesocieties.

Theyhavesetambitioustargetstobedeliveredby2030,inordertodeliverthevisionofaworldwhereeverychildgrowsupfreefromviolenceandexploitation(seepage2foranoverviewofthesetargets).

TheGlobalPartnershiptoEndViolenceAgainstChildrenwillhelpdeliverthisvision.Basedonacommitmenttotherightsofchildren,itwillturnthebeliefthatnoviolenceagainstchildrenisjustifiableandallviolenceispreventableintoacompellingagendaforaction.

Thepartnershiphaspublishedazerodraftstrategyforconsultation.Thisstrategyissummarisedonpage3andthefullversioncanbedownloadedfromthepartnership’sinterimwebsite(www.16-2endviolenceagainstchildren.org).

Thestrategyenvisagesthatagroupofpathfindercountrieswillmakeacentralcontributiontothepartnership,basedontheirwishtobeleadersinendingviolenceagainstchildrenanddeliveringSDG16.2andrelatedtargets.

Thisdocumentprovidesguidanceforpotentialpathfindercountries,providinginformationonthestepsthatpathfinderswillneedtotakeiftheyaretoplayafullroleinthepartnership.

Thisguidancewillevolveaswebegintoworkwithpathfindercountries.Thepartnershipisnewandiscommittedtolearningfromcountrieshowwecanmosteffectivelysupportthemintheireffortstopreventandrespondtoviolence.

Inparticular,wearekeentoworkintensivelytosupporttheeffortsofcountriesthatwishtodeveloptheirplansaheadofthepartnership’slaunch(currentlyscheduledforMarch2016)andwanttoplayacentralroleinthelaunchevent.

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ThroughtheSDGs,allcountrieshavemadeacommitmenttoendingallformsofviolenceagainstchildren.

TheGlobalPartnershiptoEndViolenceAgainstChildrenwillworkwithallgovernmentswhoareseriousaboutdeliveringthiscommitmentandwillseektopersuadeothersthatcosteffectivesolutionsexist.Wewillalsoprovideaplatformforleadersfromallsectorswhoarepreparedtostandupforchildren’srighttolivealifefreefromfearofviolence.

Inourearlyyears,however,thepartnershipwillalsosupporttheeffortsofasmallergroupof‘pathfinders’–countriesthatwishtobeattheforefrontofdesigningandimplementingnewapproachestopreventingandrespondingtoviolenceagainstchildren.

Aheadoflaunch,wewillsupportpathfindersastheyexploretheirrolewithinthepartnership.

PathfindercountriesPathfindercountrieswillbethosewhoseleadersarepreparedtostepupforchildrenandwhoarecommittedtoacceleratingeffortstomakechildrensafe.

BypioneeringnewapproachestodeliveringSDG16.2andrelatedtargets,pathfinderswillensurethatchildvictimsofviolencearenolongermarginalisedbytheglobaldevelopmentagenda.

Theywillconfrontthemanyfactorsthatleavechildrenvulnerabletoviolence,assessevidenceforwhatworks,andbringtogetherthepartnersandinvestmentneededtomaketheirsocietiessafer.

Thepartnership’s‘buildingblocks’forviolencepreventionwillhelpguidetheworkofpathfinders.Thispackageofprogrammesandotherinterventionsisbeingdevelopedbyamulti-disciplinarygroupofexpertsandwillreflectthebestavailableevidenceofwhatworkstopreventviolence.

Giventheuniversalnatureoftheagenda,pathfinderswillrepresentabroadspectrumofcountries,andmarginalisedchildrenwillbetargetedinallcountries.

ExpandingthemovementTheinitialgroupofpathfindercountrieswillbesmall.Itwilltaketimeforcountriestobuildthepoliticalwill,plans,andpartnershipsnecessarytoplayaleadershiproleasa‘championforchildren.’

Weareconvinced,however,thatstrongcountryownership,andafocusonresultsandevidence,willcreateavirtuouscyclewheresuccessbreedsfurthersuccess.

Asearlypathfindersdemonstratewhatcanbeachieved,thepartnershipwilluseitsconveningpowertohelpthemovementagainstviolencetospreadbothwithinandbetweencountries.

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QuestionsandAnswers

Howmanypathfindercountrieswilltherebe?Wehopetohaveatleast6pathfindercountriesforthepartnership’slaunch.

Wewanttoensurethatwehaveadiversegroup,geographically,byincomelevels,andaccordingtothelevelsandtypesofthreatchildrenface.Inparticular,wearekeentoincludeatleastonehighincomepathfinder(giventhattheSDGsarefor“theentireworld,developedanddevelopingcountriesalike”)andonepathfinderwithrecentexperienceofconflictorseriouspoliticalinstability.

Thereisnomaximumnumberofpathfinders.However,wewanttokeepthecountrynumbersrelativelysmallinordertoensurethatthereisqualityinteractionwitheachofthecountries.Otherpathfinderswillcontinuetojoinafterthelaunch,whiletherewillbeotherwaystoparticipateinthepartnershipforthosecountriesthatarenotyetreadytocommittobecomingpathfinders.

Howdoesacountrybecomeapathfinder?Thefirststepisforthecountry’sgovernmenttomakeaninitialexpressionofinteresttothepartnership.CountriesmusthaveastrongcommitmenttoendingviolenceagainstchildrenandtomakingSDG16.2,andrelatedtargets,apriorityfortheirplansfordeliveringAgenda2030.

Governmentsmust,ofcourse,alsobepreparedtoworkwitharangeofnationalandsubnationalstakeholdersandpartners,includingcivilsociety,faithgroups,theprivatesector,etc.Activeparticipationfromchildrenandyoungpeopleisessential.

Wearehappytoconsiderthecaseforprovincialorregionalgovernments,oramajorcity,toactasapathfinder,providingthenationalgovernmentdoesnotraiseanobjection.

Whatwillapathfinderbeexpectedtodoaheadoflaunch?Wewillworkwitheachcountrytoagreeaprocess,butthemostimportantstepsareasfollows:

§ Makeaninitialexpressionofinterest,preferablythroughaletterfromaresponsibleministerorministerialteam.

§ Appointachampionorconvenertoleadtheprocess.Holdaninitialmulti-stakeholderconsultationincountry.

§ Developaroadmapthatsetsoutyourcommitmentsasapathfinderforthefirsttwoyearsandprovidesanoverviewofyourambitionsoverfiveyears.

§ Identifywhatadditionalresourcesareneededandhowtheycanbemobilised.

§ Prepareyourheadofstateorministertoshowcaseyourcountry’splansatourlaunch.

Whatshouldbeincludedintheroadmap?Thiswillvaryfromcountrytocountry.

Aroadmapisnotadetailedplanforendingallformsofviolenceagainstchildren.Itisahigh-leveldocumentthatsetsoutprioritiesandcommitments,andincludesactionpointswithtiming,whoisresponsible,andresourceimplications.Theroadmapshouldsummarisewhatresultsyouexpecttoachieveandhowtheseresultswillbeevaluated.

Thedevelopmentoftheroadmapshouldhelpalignthestrategiesofthoseworkingacrossdifferentsectors,andshouldclarifytherolethatalllevelsofgovernmentandotherstakeholderswillplayindelivery.Itshouldalsoexplainhowthe‘movement’forendingviolenceagainstchildrencanbedevelopedandstrengthened.

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Manycountriesalreadyhaveanationalplan,inwhichcasetheroadmapshouldbeusedtoclarifyandsummarisetheircommitmentsasapathfinder.Ifimplementationofthenationalplanhasbeenslow,theroadmapshouldbebasedonananalysisofobstaclestoprogressandhowdeliverycanbeaccelerated.

Incountrieswherethereisnoplan,oritneedssubstantialrevision,theroadmapshouldincludeimmediatedeliverypriorities,butalsosetoutaprocessfordevelopingandagreeingaplan.

Thebottomlineisthat–aheadofthepartnership’slaunch–theroadmapwillensurethatallpathfindershavedoneasmuchaspossibletoexplainhowtheywilldeliverSDG16.2andrelatedtargets,andwhatimpacttheyexpectthistohaveonchildren.

Innocircumstances,however,doweexpectcountriestoduplicateexistingplans.

Howwillthepartnershiphelppathfinders?Wearecommittedtohelpingpathfindersprepareforlaunch,drawingontheresourcesofthepartnership’stransitionteam,butalsoonthoseofthemanyorganisationsthathavecometogethertoformthepartnership.Wewill:

§ Helpyoudesignandattendyourinitialstakeholderconsultation,presentinganoverviewoftheSDGstoendviolenceagainstchildren,thepartnership’sstrategy,andtheopportunityprovidedbybeingapartnership.

§ Provideyouwithaccesstoour‘buildingblocks’forviolenceprevention(seepage19ofthepartnershipstrategy).Theseareapackageofevidence-basedprogrammesandpolicies,whichwillbebackedbythepartnershipandmajorinternationalorganisations.Aninitialversionofthese‘buildingblocks’willbeavailableattheendof2015.

§ Offermentoringandsupportasyoudevelopyourroadmap,althoughwiththeprovisothatthisworkwillbetheprimaryresponsibilityofagroupofnationalstakeholders.

§ Provideaforumforyoutoshareexperienceandinsightswithotherpathfindercountries.

§ Ifresourcesareaconstraint,offeryouaccesstotheGlobalFundtoEndViolenceagainstChildren,whichmaybeabletofundplanningorprogrammaticactivity,orboth.

§ Helpyoumakethecasetomobiliseresourcesfromothersources,includingtheprivatesectorandfoundations.

§ Ensurethattheworldhearsaboutyourcommitmentatthepartnershiplaunch.

Whodecideswhobecomesapathfinder?Thepartnership’sInterimAdvisoryGroupwillreviewtheplansandcommitmentsofallpotentialpathfindersaheadoflaunch.Itwillsetcriteriathatwillbedrawnfromthepartnership’sprinciplesanditsguidanceforhowpartnersshouldworktogether.

Rightsfocused Allchildrenhavetherighttobeprotectedfromviolence

Childcentred Children’srightsandneedsareourprimaryfocus.Wesupportchildrenasleadersagainstviolence

Universal Allcountries,andallpartsofsociety,musttakeresponsibilityandbeaccountableforendingviolenceagainstchildren

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Inclusive Weprovideaplatformforpartnersfromacrosstheworldtoworktogethertopreventandrespondtoviolence,basedontrustandmutualrespect,betweenorganisationsofallsizesandpeopleofallages

Results Partnersareindividuallyandcollectivelyaccountableforthesafetyofchildren.Wesupportthosewhoseleadershipinpreventingandaddressingviolenceisbasedonevidenceofwhatworks

Transparency Webuildtrustbysharinginformationandconsultingwidely,andbeingopenaboutourfailuresaswellasoursuccesses

Learning Wearepreparedtodothingsdifferently,torespondtonewthreatstochildren,tosharelessonsandtoimprove

Aboveall,theGroupwillbekeentoseeambitious,butrealistic,commitmentstoinvestinginandmeasuringresultsforchildren,andaplanfordeliveringthemthatisbackedbyabroad,inclusiveandmulti-sectoralcoalitionofstakeholders.

Whatwillhappenafterthelaunch?Buildingontheexperienceofotherpartnerships,wewillworkwithpathfindercountriestodevelopareviewprocessthatmonitorsprogress,ensuresaccountability,andallowsformutuallearning.Thiswillallowpathfinderstoextendanddeepentheircommitments,andtodeliverimpactoverthelongterm.

Pathfinderswillbeexpectedto:

§ Keepbuildingthenationalmovementagainstviolencewithkeystakeholdersandpartners.

§ Monitorprogressondeliveryofthecommitmentsintheroadmap.

§ Reportannuallyondeliveryandsettargetsforthecomingyear.

§ Sharelearningandcelebratesuccesswithotherpathfinders.