Cross-Cutting Principles

Underneath every level of the RWVL framework run five foundational principles:

  • Do No Harm: Ensuring activities do not expose participants or Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) to backlash or safety risks.
  • Intersectionality: Analyzing how overlapping identities shape inclusion.
  • Meaningful Engagement of Young Women and Girls: Centering youth leadership.
  • Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA): Framing community participants as rights-holders rather than beneficiaries.
  • Localization: Grounding ownership in local movements.

Critical Assumptions

The validity of the entire pathway rests on three key environmental assumptions:

  1. Protected Civic Space: Civic and political space remains sufficiently open for advocacy work to continue.
  2. Political Will: Government accountability and political will continue to strengthen rather than stall.
  3. Norm Engagement: Communities remain willing to engage with shifting social norms.

ROLE OF THE MEL COORDINATOR

Critical assumptions are not background details. If civic space closes or political will stalls in a region, the MEL Coordinator must flag this shift, as it alters confidence in the entire logic chain.
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