Youth-Led Actions to End Gender-Based Violence Across Africa and Asia
Across several countries, young leaders and community organisations are driving powerful, locally rooted actions during the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). These initiatives span community mobilisation, legal empowerment, faith-based outreach, digital campaigns, and school-based education, all focused on prevention, survivor support, and shifting harmful norms.
Community campaigns in Tanzania, South Sudan, and Sierra Leone
In Tanzania, Children Hope mobilised communities across the Singida Region through bilingual awareness campaigns, school workshops, peer education, community volunteers, and symbolic actions like vigils and marches, with a strong focus on engaging men and boys and strengthening local protection systems. In South Sudan, the National Centre for Legal Aid led legal awareness sessions, community dialogues, and free legal aid for survivors, combining community empowerment with access to justice and social media outreach. In Sierra Leone, Community Action for Sustainable Development and Danabelsandy Development Organisation focused on male engagement, media advocacy, and school sensitisation to challenge victim-blaming narratives and promote shared responsibility in ending violence.
Faith-based and rural outreach in Uganda and India
Desk of Hope International Ministries in Uganda centered its campaign on visiting schools, churches and deep rural villages to educate communities and faith leaders about GBV, emphasising mass sensitisation and outreach in hard-to-reach areas. In India’s Jharkhand state, Jan Lok Kalyan Parishad reached around 3,000 children in 20 schools and 2,000 community members in 100 villages through discussions, storytelling, youth-led activities and a 100-day campaign against child marriage launched with local authorities. Their goal is to build a child-marriage-free district by combining administrative backing with sustained community engagement.
Digital action on tech-facilitated GBV in West and Central Africa
Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative in Nigeria is leading a 16-day digital awareness and safety series on technology-facilitated GBV across West and Central Africa, using daily themed content, mixed media formats and live sessions to raise awareness, share survivor-centered messages and promote digital safety through their HerSafeSpace initiative. This online campaign aims to equip young people, families and communities with practical tools to recognise, prevent and respond to online harassment and abuse.
What are the youth asking of world leaders
Across these actions, young activists consistently call on world leaders to strengthen and enforce comprehensive GBV laws, ensure survivor-centered justice systems, and integrate GBV prevention into education, economic empowerment, and peacebuilding agendas. They urge leaders to prioritize prevention, guarantee accessible support services (shelters, counseling, legal aid), engage men and boys in changing norms, and treat GBV as a global emergency linked to broader development and human rights goals.
What youth want funders to change
These groups also send a clear message to funders: move from short-term, rigid projects to long-term, flexible funding that sustains prevention and response work at the community level. They call for more direct support to grassroots, women-led, and youth-led organizations, investment in prevention, mental health, and survivor services, capacity-building, and reduced bureaucratic barriers so smaller organizations can access resources and scale their impact.
