Moving beyond jargon: Operationalising gender-transformative approaches to end harmful practices against adolescents

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage and the Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation aim to contribute to SDG target 5.3 on the elimination of harmful practices against women and girls through gender-transformative approaches (GTAs). In collaboration with Collective Impact, the Global Programme developed and implemented the Gender-Transformative Accelerator tool, a workshop-based rapid gender assessment and planning process for country offices and implementing partners to advance operationalisation of GTAs. The Accelerator was rolled out in 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East from 2021 to 2023. Looking across country contexts, this case study describes the Accelerator approach, implementation, key successes, challenges, and early outcomes. Workshop values clarification activities enabled staff to reflect critically on their social contexts and gender- and age-related biases, and deepened the resonance and relevance of GTAs. This, in turn, facilitated productive critical assessment of programmes and development of action plans to advance GTAs at multiple socio-ecological levels. The case study concludes with lessons learned and the path forward for implementing the Accelerator and operationalising GTAs to promote the rights, health, and wellbeing of adolescent girls and boys in all their diversity.