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In the last decade, the prevention of violence against women has become a global priority. Among the three types of prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary, primary prevention is the least common yet may hold the most potential for impacting rates of partner violence. The growing recognition of the far-reaching negative consequences of violence against women is spurring the development of diverse frameworks, models and strategies in primary prevention. These primary prevention efforts have been categorised into three types: awareness raising, small group work, and edutainment. However, extensive activity on the ground has, at times, resulted in generalised and diluted understandings of some of the approaches being utilised—limiting opportunities for collaborative learning and the development of promising practices. This is particularly the case for the type of primary prevention known as community mobilisation. This paper explores community mobilisation as a distinct and comprehensive approach in primary prevention. Community mobilisation is a complex and strategic intertwining of awareness raising, small-group work, edutainment and more, which works to enable community members as leaders in changing entrenched social norms. (from the Introduction).

Background to this paper: In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will consider ‘Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls” as its priority theme during its fifty-seventh session in 2013.

In order to contribute to a full understanding of the issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO), convened an Expert Group Meeting on prevention of violence against women and girls, at Bangkok, Thailand, from 17 to 20 September 2012. Use the website link to access other papers prepared for this meeting.