A life free from violence: Lessons learned that are shaping new responses

^{Commemoration of 25 November 2025, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, within the framework of the CIHUATL program, implemented with the European Union and ISDEMU. Photo: UN Women.} 

From laws to specialized services and access to justice 

One of the key lessons from UN Women’s work in El Salvador is that the adoption of laws must be accompanied by capacities, tools, services, and resources to make them effective. Since the Special Comprehensive Law for a Life Free from Violence for Women (LEIV) entered into force in 2012 and the implementation of the Law on Equality, Equity, and the Eradication of Discrimination against Women (LIE), UN Women has supported efforts aimed at translating these legal frameworks into concrete responses for women.

An early example is the UNIMUJER model, promoted since 2012 in partnership with the National Civil Police and women’s organizations. These specialized units were conceived as an entry point to first-level police services for women facing violence. Their development brought together public institutions, local governments, and women’s organizations and contributed to the strengthening of protocols, staff training, the adaptation of facilities, and service delivery procedures. By 2020, the National Civil Police had expanded the model to 33 specialized units.

At the same time, UN Women supported the establishment of the Specialized Jurisdiction and Courts for a Life Free from Violence and Discrimination for Women, which began operating between 2017 and 2018. It also provided technical assistance to the justice sector to strengthen institutional capacities and improve women’s access to specialized responses. 

^{Representatives of the institutions that make up the FANMA Roundtable during one of their interinstitutional coordination meetings. Photo: UN Women.}

Spotlight: A comprehensive and coordinated approach 

The Spotlight Initiative, implemented in El Salvador between January 2019 and March 2023 through a partnership between the European Union and the United Nations, represented a comprehensive effort to reduce femicide and feminicidal violence. The program was structured around six interconnected pillars: legislation and policies; institutional strengthening; prevention and social norms; quality services; data availability; and support for civil society and the women’s movement.

UN Women contributed its accumulated expertise in addressing violence against women and led the pillars related to legislation and policies and support for civil society and the women’s movement. Together with UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF, it worked with national institutions, municipal governments, and civil society organizations. This approach made it possible to connect immediate response and protection efforts with long-term solutions, linking prevention, services, justice, evidence generation, and social transformation.

Women’s organizations played a central role. Their understanding of the barriers women face, their ability to provide support, and their advocacy work contributed to improving responses and promoting accountability. Spotlight strengthened their participation, networks, and capacities to advance and monitor laws and public policies. 

Tools that can transform institutional responses

Institutional strengthening is not limited to staff training. It also requires procedures that guide day-to-day action and internal policies that integrate gender equality into the institutions responsible for preventing, addressing, investigating, and sanctioning violence. Within this trajectory, UN Women supported equality policies in key justice-sector institutions and specialized tools, including two instruments developed by the Office of the Attorney General: the Protocol for the Investigation of Femicide (2021) and the Protocol for the Investigation of Sexual Violence (2025).

Using regular resources, UN Women has also supported the Office of the Attorney General in strengthening the capacities of more than 250 prosecutors in the investigation of crimes against women, including femicide and sexual violence, as well as in the use of scientific and genetic evidence. These efforts seek to ensure that legal frameworks are translated into more consistent investigations and institutional responses. 

^{Inauguration of the Legal and Psychosocial Care Model for Victims of Crime in Santa Ana, June 2026. Photo: UN Women.} 

Evaluating implementation to identify challenges and guide new responses 

The evaluation of LEIV implementation made it possible to identify challenges related to legal and public policy reform. In addition to generating recommendations, it paved the way for updating the National Policy for Women’s Access to a Life Free from Violence and its five-year action plan. One key lesson is that legal frameworks must be reviewed periodically and connected to plans, budgets, information systems, and monitoring mechanisms.

Within this framework, ISDEMU is the lead institution responsible for LEIV and is tasked with ensuring, overseeing, and guaranteeing its implementation, as well as coordinating the actions of public institutions. This learning is reflected in CIHUATL Mujeres, funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women in coordination with ISDEMU and the El Salvador Agency for International Cooperation (ESCO). The initiative builds on work related to legal frameworks, institutional capacities, and the awareness-raising efforts needed to advance the protection of women’s human rights. At the same time, the strengthening of essential services continues under the leadership of ISDEMU and through coordination with justice-sector institutions—the Supreme Court of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Prosecutor General. 

Prevention and communication as part of the response 

Experience has also shown that violence cannot be addressed only after it has occurred. Prevention requires working to transform the social norms that normalize violence, promoting relationships based on equality, and engaging communities, institutions, media outlets, and other actors capable of influencing collective perceptions.

Within this context, communication is most effective when linked to available services, referral pathways, and institutional processes. Campaigns can increase awareness of rights and contribute to cultural change, but they must provide practical information, avoid stereotypes, and connect women with responses they can access and use. 

A journey built through partnerships 

This work has been made possible through collaboration with state institutions, women’s organizations, civil society organizations, local governments, media outlets, international cooperation partners, and agencies of the United Nations system. Support specifically linked to efforts to ensure a life free from violence includes the European Union, through the Spotlight Initiative and CIHUATL Mujeres, and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, which supported the Women Free from Violence in Public Transport project, in addition to UN Women’s regular resources.

More than a succession of projects, this journey highlights a series of interconnected lessons: laws require institutions capable of enforcing them; services require coordination and quality; access to justice demands specialized tools; prevention requires transforming social norms; and no response will be sustainable without the active participation of women and their organizations.