UN Women Liberia, in collaboration with implementing partners HOPE Liberia and Youth Crime Watch Liberia (YCWL), convened the Liberia Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Women’s Economic Empowerment Component Inception Meeting in Monrovia last week, bringing together key stakeholders to strengthen collective action toward women’s economic empowerment and the prevention of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
Liberia continues to face persistent gender inequality driven by entrenched patriarchal norms, limited livelihood opportunities for women and girls, and the continued prevalence of SGBV and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation (FGM). Supported by the European Union, the Liberia Spotlight Initiative 2.0 is designed to address these structural drivers through an integrated approach that combines violence prevention with women’s economic empowerment, strengthened community voice and agency, and institutional accountability.
Evidence from the first phase of the Spotlight Initiative (2019–2023) demonstrated that providing viable economic alternatives is critical to reducing vulnerability to violence and supporting sustainable social norm change, particularly when interventions are inclusive, community-owned, and linked to broader prevention efforts.
Within this framework, inclusive skills training serves as a strategic entry point for both prevention and empowerment. The program focuses on expanding access to market-relevant skills, second-chance education, access to finance, cooperative development, market linkages, and digital and literacy support for women and girls who are vulnerable to violence, survivors of abuse, and those transitioning away from harmful practices or exploitative livelihood systems.
The inception meeting convened representatives from government ministries, civil society organizations, the private sector, and development partners, including Orange Liberia and MTN Liberia, to align on the programs objectives and implementation approach.
The meeting served as an important platform to foster a shared understanding of the program, validate transparent and inclusive beneficiary selection processes, and identify viable livelihood and skills development opportunities for vulnerable women and girls. Target beneficiaries include survivors of SGBV, former FGM practitioners, and women with disabilities across Liberia’s eight Spotlight counties.
As the lead UN agency overseeing the intervention, UN Women Liberia is providing overall strategic leadership, technical oversight, and quality assurance throughout program implementation. This includes ensuring alignment with national priorities, Spotlight Initiative principles, and intended program impact. UN Women is also supporting technical guidance during stakeholder deliberations and ensuring that agreed processes and recommendations are effectively integrated into subsequent implementation phases.
Speaking during the meeting, UN Women Liberia Deputy Country Representative, Madam Yemi Falayajo, underscored the significance of the initiative and the importance of inclusive implementation. “It is an opportunity to build shared ownership, agree on transparent and inclusive beneficiary selection processes, strengthen coordination, and ensure that implementation reflects the Leave No One Behind principle that guides Spotlight Initiative 2.0,” she stated.
Through Spotlight Initiative 2.0, women and girls across Liberia’s eight Spotlight counties will benefit from inclusive and market-driven skills training in agriculture, crafts, digital entrepreneurship, cross-border trade, entrepreneurship development, financial literacy, and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). These interventions are designed to strengthen economic resilience while contributing to the prevention of violence against women and girls.
By strengthening partnerships among government institutions, civil society, the private sector, and communities, Spotlight Initiative 2.0 aims to help create safer and more inclusive communities where every woman and girl can thrive with dignity, opportunity, and freedom from violence.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Women – Africa.
