A/HRC/26/17 E/CN.6/2014/8 18. In Latin America, community participatory approaches in indigenous communities supported by the Trust Fund resulted in increased empowerment, educational motivation and performance among girls. In Guatemala, a girl-centred community-based programme by the non-governmental organization Population Council used the “safescaping” approach, which entails a process to build safe spaces and protective assets for girls who face exclusion and discrimination, in order to engage 1,300 Mayan girls aged between 8 and 17. The safescaping strategy tapped into the social and cultural reality of Mayan girls, who leave the formal education system very early. 7 The Population Council established girls-only clubs in 12 communities, where girls were trained by young mentors to become community leaders and agents of social change. 19. The programme’s final external evaluation found that the motivation and performance of girls was higher in spaces that integrated awareness-raising lectures, economic livelihood activities, such as handcrafts techniques, and sports. Girls who attended regularly reported a stronger sense of autonomy and empowerment, increased knowledge about their rights and greater self-esteem. The opportunity to have a close circle of friends also emerged as an important protective asset. The programme had an impact beyond the safe spaces, with mothers reporting girls’ improved communication within the family and increased awareness about their human rights. Girls also reported sharing their knowledge and skills with younger siblings. 8 20. The Trust Fund is gathering valuable lessons on what is effective in preventing violence against women and girls. Community mobilization approaches acknowledge the relationship between individual and collective rights, highlight the relevance and impact of community participation in transforming behaviour and practices and underline the importance of revitalizing positive traditions and customs that promote the rights of women and girls. 9 These initiatives focus on power imbalances between women and men and address the resulting human rights violations without resorting to blaming or shaming. They recognize the importance of contextualizing and adapting activities to different settings and contexts so that communities are inspired to participate and programmes can be sustained. Lastly, these prevention strategies recognize that eliminating violence against women and girls requires harnessing the support of a critical mass of people and organizations that can issue a strong call for zero tolerance. Expanding access to justice and support services for women and girl survivors of conflict-related violence 21. Women and girl survivors of violence face many obstacles in getting access to justice and support services. Limited awareness of their rights and social and __________________ 7 8 9 6/16 According to UNICEF and the Office for the Defence of Indigenous Women, indigenous women who live in rural areas attend school on average for only 1.2 years, as noted in their joint report “Look at me! Status of Indigenous Girls in Guatemala” (Guatemala, 2008), p. 32. External evaluation of Population Council’s programme “Safescaping Guatemala’s indigenous communities”. The results of the evaluation are based on qualitative research methods, including individual interviews and focus groups with mothers, girls and mentors. ILO, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN-Women and the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, “Breaking the Silence on Violence against Indigenous Girls, Adolescents and Young Women: a call to action based on an overview of existing evidence from Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America”, (New York, 2013), pp. 52-53. 13-61736