A/HRC/41/3 E/CN.6/2019/7 VII. The way ahead 59. In 2018, survivors of violence continued to raise their voices, sometimes in the face of concerted efforts to ignore, silence or discredit their experiences. They helped to generate and sustain a climate in which gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls, which underpins it, have garnered enhanced exposure to public scrutiny. The trust fund has a crucial role to play in harnessing this increased awareness and in channelling it into initiatives that will bring about systemic and lasting change. The projects that are currently being supported have shown that the trust fund is establishing deeper roots in precisely those women -led small organizations that can empower women to deliver real change in their liv es in the most effective ways for their specific contexts. Moreover, the trust fund ’s global reach allows it to provide a space for the cross-fertilization of information among grantees on effective strategies to overcome violence against women. The capaci ty-building that the trust fund is spearheading among grantees is also furthering the aim of encouraging wider and sustainable investment in this crucial area. The trust fund will continue to draw on this unique body of experience to amplify the voices of survivors and support the work of grantees in order to prevent and end violence against women and girls. 16/16 18-21716