Despite many efforts to end gender violence, the scourge is not abating. Increasingly it is becoming clear that more focus needs to be placed on prevention as a sustainable way of dealing with gender violence.

Gender Links, commissioned by the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) carried out a mapping exercise of promising violence prevention models in South Africa.

The exercise sought to examine existing cases of good practise for preventing gender violence with a view to developing a comprehensive prevention model and an action strategy for scaling up identified interventions.

In examining these there was a criteria set out for selection of the case studies with the primary requirements that they must be documented, exhibit sustainability and have ability to be replicated. It should be borne in mind that the exercise was not an audit of everything that is available in South Africa to but a mapping exercise.

On a monthly basis Gender Links will feature these case studies based on the following arenas for action:

• Individual and family: - Empowerment of women, role of men; households
• Community: - Schools, traditional leadership, religious leadership
• Society: - Political leadership, sports, media

While the case studies reflect a bouquet of innovative strategies and their impact, it is quite evident that there area number of arenas for action which have potential to create impact on ending gender violence that are missing. If initiatives in these areas are there it is either they are not documented or are at a very small scale.

GL features prevention programmes that seek to empower women.