No Means No Worldwide (NMNW) is an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to end sexual and gender-based violence against women and children globally. NMNW trains instructors in high-risk environments to deliver the proven No Means No curricula to girls and boys ages 10-20. Through the program, girls increase their skills in assertiveness, boundary setting, and understanding of their rights, and develop the verbal and physical skills to defend themselves from sexual assault. Boys increase their gender equitable attitudes, learn skills to defend equality, avoid violence, ask for consent, and intervene when witnessing or anticipating sexual assault. NMNW also works to increase girls' and boys’ disclosure of experiences of sexual violence and provide referrals for comprehensive support.

The Challenge:

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is a tremendous global problem. The numbers are staggering: according to the World Health Organization, 1 in 3 women worldwide will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. According to UNICEF, nearly 1 in 4 adolescent girls ages 15-19 experience physical violence and approximately 120 million girls under the age of 20 worldwide have experienced rape or other forms of sexual assault. 

Behind each of these numbers is a girl or woman for whom the physical and emotional effects of violence can be traumatic and long-lasting. Violence can have severe negative effects on a woman’s sexual and reproductive health, including an increased risk of acquiring HIV. Experiencing sexual violence can also have a profoundly negative effect on an individual’s mental health. 

There are also widespread economic and societal consequences to the prevalence of SBGV. The World Bank estimates that “in some countries, violence against women is estimated to cost countries up to 3.7% of their GDP – more than double what most governments spend on education.”

The Opportunity:

This is where No Means No Worldwide (NMNW) comes in. The NMNW approach to sexual violence prevention is informed by the evidence-based IMPower system, which was developed in Kenya in 2009 by NMNW Founder Lee Paiva while working with the Kenyan NGO Ujamaa Africa. Ujamaa conducted extensive research to study and refine IMpower as they delivered it to thousands of young people in Kenya and expanded to Malawi in 2013. This impact research proved both the efficacy and scalability of the IMpower system. 

NMNW was established with a strategy to achieve transformative scale up of this evidence-based approach across the globe. Since 2018, NMNW has expanded to deliver No Means No programs with local partners in Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and the U.S, and the list of implementing partners and countries continues to grow. 

Now recognized as a best practice to decreasing sexual violence and improving gender norms, NMNW’s approach is to provide comprehensive support to implementing partner organizations. NMNW trains highly skilled local mentors as No Means No Instructors, certified to teach the skills-based curriculum, facilitate meaningful discussion, and provide referrals for additional services when needed. Instructors work under the management of local implementing partners and are from the communities they serve, in order to ensure that programs are locally relevant, culturally appropriate, and sustainable.

NMNW believes that prevention works! Education, empowerment, and training are central to effective prevention. The decades-long focus solely on costly, reactive aftercare services for survivors must end. NMNW has a measurable and proven model to prevent sexual harassment, assault and rape. To bring an end to sexual violence, NMNW is working to spread that model as widely and as effectively as possible, working hand-in-hand with local partners.