Women & Girls’ Safe Spaces: A Promising Practices Guide

Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces are a key strategy for the protection and empowerment of diverse women and girls affected by humanitarian crisis. This Promising Practices Guide outlines why WGSS are an important part of CARE’s GBViE programming and what teams need to know about establishing and managing WGSS.

Download (English) Download (French) Download (Spanish) Download (Arabic)

About this Resource

CARE’s GBViE Guidance Note recognizes Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces (WGSS) as an important GBV response activity and our evidence highlights the impact of WGSS on women and girls. This resource highlights what teams need to know when designing effective safe spaces. It draws on structured interviews with CARE teams implementing WGSS in eight countries to showcase examples of how programs have put key principles into practice.

This resource is available in two additional parts:

Summary of country examples: This document summarizes how CARE teams in Bangladesh, Egypt, Lebanon, Nigeria, South Sudan, Türkiye-Northwest Syria, Uganda and Yemen have implemented WGSS in different ways. Available in French, Arabic, & Spanish.
WGSS Project Cycle Tool: This document outlines different steps to take across the project cycle when establishing and maintaining WGSS, with links to relevant tools and resources.
Available in French, Arabic, & Spanish.

Related Reports

Rupantaran: Gender Equality through VSLAs in Nepal

The Rupantaran project builds on a decade of work with landless and smallholder farmers in rural Nepal to increase resilience and improve their livelihoods. Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) were added to the Farmer Field and Business School (FFBS) model as a key way to challenge social norms around women’s participation and decision making, explore opportunities and promote economic empowerment. Read More

Rupantaran: Gender Equality through VSLAs in Nepal

Her Money, Her Life: Gender Equality through VSLAs in Tanzania

The Her Money, Her Life project in Tanzania is maximizing the potential benefits women receive from their crops through a focus on entrepreneurship and collective investment. This brief outlines how the project uses VSLAs as a platform to address root causes of gender inequality. Read More

Her Money, Her Life: Gender Equality through VSLAs in Tanzania

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2024

Menstrual Health and Hygiene is relevant to all of us. The theme of this year's Menstrual Hygiene Day is a #PeriodFriendlyWorld. CARE's work with schools, communities and displaced persons supports menstrual materials, infrastructure and education that break down taboos and increase access to menstrual hygiene for all. Below is a small collection of some of CARE's recent work in menstruation. Read More