The Role of Faith Leaders; Gate Openers or Gate Closers in Ending Violence against Women and Girls?

Executive Summary

Faith institutions for people of faith or from religious backgrounds, particularly women and girls who use their faith as a pillar in their lives, play a vital role when it comes to safeguarding and preventing violence and abuse. Just as, if some of us were to move to a new area, we may seek out a local gym or pub to socialise and connect with others with similar values and interests. This is the equivalent to seeking out your local religious community via a place of worship for people with faith or from faith-based/religious communities. This leaves faith leaders and communities to therefore, act as either gate openers or gate closers when it comes to preventing violence against women and girls. This is heavily dependent on the expertise knowledge and training of faith/community leaders when it comes to dealing with issues around this important topic.

Over the past few months, the Faith and VAWG Coalition has been consulting survivors, faith leaders and women from faith communities to highlight best practices and lessons to be learned from their expert lens’ and experiences. We believe the recommendations in this paper will help bridge the gap and strengthen the engagement of faith leaders and communities when it comes to decisions in policies and practice as well as allocating resources to end violence against women and girls.