UN Women SAFE Project Call for Proposals 2026: Community-Led Advocacy and Digital Safety for Women and Girls in West Africa

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has announced a Call for Proposals under its SAFE project, focusing on community-led advocacy and the creation of safer digital spaces for women and girls in West Africa. This opportunity aims to strengthen the capacity of feminist organizations and women’s rights civil society organizations to address gender-based violence, online harassment, technology-facilitated abuse, and harmful social norms affecting women and girls throughout the region.

Through this call, UN Women seeks to select a qualified feminist or women’s rights civil society organization to serve as a Responsible Party in implementing specific activities under Output 1.3 of the SAFE project. The selected organization will provide technical assistance, feminist mentorship, safeguarding support, and moderation guidance to youth-led digital initiatives and influencers working to promote gender equality and prevent violence against women and girls.

The initiative recognizes that online platforms have become increasingly important spaces for communication, activism, advocacy, and youth engagement. However, these spaces can also expose women and girls to harassment, threats, gender-based discrimination, and technology-enabled abuse. The SAFE project therefore aims to connect community-led advocacy with practical digital safety measures, ensuring that online engagement contributes to safer and more inclusive communities.

Organizations interested in this opportunity should review the official call for proposals, understand the requirements, and prepare their submissions before the deadline of 21 October 2026.

Overview of the UN Women SAFE Project Call for Proposals 2026

The following information summarizes the opportunity based on the announcement published by UN Women Africa.

• Opportunity Title: Call for Proposals: Community-Led Advocacy and Digital Spaces for the Safety of Women and Girls in West Africa
• Implementing Organization: UN Women
• Project Name: SAFE Project
• Opportunity Type: Call for Proposals for Civil Society Organizations
• Geographic Focus: West Africa
• Primary Implementation Countries: Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana
• Target Applicants: Established feminist organizations and women’s rights civil society organizations
• Purpose: To strengthen the technical, safeguarding, mentorship, and moderation capacities of youth-led digital actors and promote safer online and offline spaces for women and girls.
• Project Component: Output 1.3 of the SAFE project
• Submission Deadline: 21 October 2026

This is an organizational partnership opportunity rather than an individual application program. Its main purpose is to identify a capable civil society organization that can support youth-led digital advocacy, strengthen community accountability, and help prevent gender-based violence across West Africa.

About UN Women and the SAFE Project

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. It works with governments, civil society organizations, communities, and other partners to advance women’s rights, strengthen gender-responsive institutions, and eliminate discrimination and violence against women and girls.

The SAFE project addresses the continuing challenges of gender-based violence, harmful social norms, and digital abuse in West Africa. Its approach recognizes that violence against women and girls cannot be prevented through isolated interventions alone. Sustainable progress requires coordinated action involving young people, feminist movements, community leaders, civil society organizations, and digital platforms.

The project seeks to build safer environments in both physical and online spaces by strengthening prevention efforts, supporting community-led advocacy, and encouraging accountability for harmful behavior. It also aims to generate regional evidence and develop approaches that can be adapted and expanded across national borders.

A central feature of the initiative is its recognition of young people as important participants in social change. Youth creators, influencers, and digital advocates can help shape public conversations about masculinity, gender equality, respect, consent, and violence prevention. However, these individuals may also encounter harassment, online attacks, coordinated backlash, and other risks when addressing sensitive social issues.

The SAFE project therefore seeks to ensure that youth-led advocacy is supported by appropriate technical expertise, safeguarding procedures, and reliable moderation systems. By combining feminist leadership with youth participation and community engagement, the project aims to contribute to lasting improvements in the safety and dignity of women and girls.

Why the SAFE Project Is Important

Gender-based violence remains a significant concern across West Africa. Women and girls may experience physical, sexual, psychological, and other forms of violence in their homes, communities, educational environments, workplaces, and online spaces.

Digital technologies have created new opportunities for advocacy and public participation, but they have also introduced additional risks. Online harassment, non-consensual sharing of intimate content, threats, impersonation, and AI-generated manipulated images can harm victims, undermine their participation in public life, and discourage individuals from speaking out against discrimination.

The UN Women announcement highlights the scale of these challenges, including the following figures:

• Intimate partner violence: The announcement cites approximately 14 million women experiencing intimate partner violence annually.
• Female genital mutilation: It highlights approximately 31 million women and girls affected by female genital mutilation.
• Adolescent pregnancy: The announcement identifies high rates of adolescent pregnancy as another important concern affecting the region.
• Technology-facilitated abuse: The project draws attention to emerging forms of digital violence, including AI-generated deepfakes and other forms of manipulated content.

These figures are presented in the announcement as part of the broader rationale for the SAFE project. They should be interpreted within their relevant geographic and statistical contexts rather than assumed to represent identical populations, time periods, or measurement methods.

The project responds to these challenges by emphasizing prevention, community participation, safer digital environments, and stronger support systems for individuals engaged in gender equality advocacy.

Main Objectives of the UN Women SAFE Call for Proposals

The call focuses on strengthening the ability of feminist and women’s rights organizations to support youth-led digital initiatives and contribute to the prevention of violence against women and girls.

1. Strengthen Youth-Led Digital Advocacy

Young people increasingly use digital platforms to discuss social issues, challenge discrimination, share educational content, and encourage positive behavioral change. Youth creators and influencers can help bring gender equality discussions to audiences that traditional advocacy methods may not reach effectively.

However, successful advocacy requires more than online visibility. Young digital actors need guidance on responsible communication, safeguarding, moderation, and the management of potential risks.

The selected organization will help strengthen the capacity of youth-led digital actors to carry out their work safely and effectively. This support is intended to help them produce responsible advocacy content, engage communities constructively, and contribute to positive social change.

2. Promote Safer Online Spaces for Women and Girls

Digital spaces should enable women and girls to participate in discussions, access information, organize campaigns, and express their views without being exposed to abuse or intimidation.

The SAFE project aims to strengthen practices that make online communities safer and more inclusive. This includes helping youth-led initiatives establish appropriate moderation approaches, respond to harmful content, and maintain environments where participants can engage without unnecessary exposure to gender-based harassment.

The selected organization is expected to contribute technical guidance and safeguarding support to help digital actors manage these responsibilities.

3. Address Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence

Technology-facilitated gender-based violence includes harmful behavior carried out, amplified, or enabled through digital technologies. Such abuse can include online harassment, threats, cyberstalking, impersonation, non-consensual distribution of intimate material, and manipulated images or videos.

The growing accessibility of artificial intelligence has also increased concerns about AI-generated deepfakes, including fabricated sexualized imagery and misleading content that targets women and girls.

The SAFE project recognizes the importance of addressing these emerging risks through stronger prevention strategies, digital awareness, community accountability, and appropriate safeguarding mechanisms.

The selected organization will support youth-led actors in understanding these risks and developing safer approaches to digital advocacy and online community management.

4. Challenge Harmful Social Norms and Toxic Masculinities

Harmful gender norms can contribute to discrimination, unequal power relationships, and the normalization of violence against women and girls. The SAFE project seeks to challenge these patterns by supporting positive identity models for young men and encouraging constructive participation in gender equality efforts.

This approach aims to promote respectful relationships, shared responsibility, non-violent behavior, and accountability for harmful actions.

By working with youth creators and digital communities, the project seeks to make discussions about masculinity and gender equality more accessible to young audiences and encourage positive behavioral change.

5. Strengthen Feminist Mentorship and Technical Support

Youth-led digital initiatives may require specialized assistance to manage online risks, develop effective advocacy strategies, and respond to resistance or backlash.

The call therefore emphasizes the role of established feminist and women’s rights organizations in providing mentorship and technical guidance. The selected organization will be expected to contribute relevant experience, support responsible advocacy practices, and help youth-led actors operate within appropriate safeguarding frameworks.

This relationship is intended to combine the creativity and reach of young digital advocates with the experience, expertise, and institutional capacity of established civil society organizations.

6. Improve Community Accountability and Regional Learning

The SAFE project has a regional mandate extending beyond individual activities in Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana. It aims to generate evidence, develop prevention models, and encourage advocacy approaches that can be adapted across borders.

The project also seeks to strengthen community accountability by encouraging cooperation among youth actors, feminist organizations, traditional leadership, and other relevant stakeholders.

By documenting lessons and supporting scalable approaches, the initiative aims to contribute to more coordinated efforts to prevent gender-based violence throughout West Africa.

Key Areas of Work Under Output 1.3

The call specifically targets activities under Output 1.3 of the SAFE project. The announcement describes a package of interventions intended to strengthen the capacities of organizations supporting youth-led digital actors.

The selected Responsible Party will be expected to contribute to the following areas.

Technical Support for Youth Creators and Influencers

Youth creators and influencers can play a valuable role in raising awareness about gender equality and preventing violence. Nevertheless, they may need practical guidance to ensure their content is responsible, inclusive, and safe for their audiences.

Technical support may involve helping youth-led digital actors strengthen their advocacy approaches, understand digital safety concerns, and manage the practical challenges associated with online engagement. The exact activities, deliverables, and implementation requirements should be confirmed in the official call document.

Safeguarding Mechanisms

Safeguarding is essential when advocacy activities involve young people, women and girls, survivors of violence, or individuals exposed to online harassment.

The project emphasizes safeguarding mechanisms designed to reduce risks, protect participants, and ensure that advocacy activities do not unintentionally expose individuals to further harm.

A suitable civil society partner should be able to demonstrate relevant safeguarding experience and the capacity to support responsible, survivor-centred approaches. Detailed institutional requirements and specific safeguarding obligations should be verified in the official application document.

Moderation Support for Digital Communities

Online communities need effective moderation to manage abusive behavior, harmful content, threats, and other forms of misconduct.

The SAFE project aims to strengthen moderation systems that help youth-led digital spaces remain safe, inclusive, and responsive to participants’ needs. This includes supporting youth moderators and encouraging practices that address harmful behavior while respecting the dignity and safety of affected individuals.

Moderation support is especially important when digital advocacy addresses sensitive subjects such as violence against women, gender discrimination, and harmful social norms.

Positive Identity Models for Young Men

The project also emphasizes the promotion of positive identity models for young men. This component aims to challenge harmful ideas about masculinity and encourage respectful, non-violent, and gender-equitable behavior.

Digital creators and community advocates can help communicate these messages through educational content, discussions, peer engagement, and other forms of community-led communication.

The selected organization will contribute to creating an environment in which these efforts can be carried out responsibly and supported by appropriate technical and safeguarding guidance.

Survivor-Centred Moderation Systems

A survivor-centred approach places the safety, dignity, choices, and needs of individuals affected by violence at the centre of relevant responses.

The SAFE project highlights the importance of resilient moderation systems that operate across online and offline environments. These systems should help address abuse without creating additional risks for survivors or exposing them to unnecessary scrutiny.

This approach is particularly relevant to digital advocacy initiatives dealing with gender-based violence, where careless moderation or public disclosure can cause further harm.

The exact procedures and responsibilities required under the project will be governed by the official call documentation and the applicable partner arrangements.

Geographic Focus: Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana

The SAFE project has a regional focus on West Africa, with implementation activities concentrated in Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana.

These three countries are central to the implementation described in the announcement. The wider regional mandate, however, means that the project also seeks to generate lessons, prevention models, and advocacy strategies that may be relevant across other West African contexts.

The geographic focus should not be confused with an unrestricted invitation to every organization in Africa or worldwide. Prospective applicants must check the official call document to determine which organizations are eligible to apply, whether registration in a particular country is required, and whether any additional geographic restrictions apply.

Organizations based in Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, or other West African countries should review the eligibility conditions carefully before preparing an application. Organizations based outside the region should not assume that they qualify simply because the project has a regional mandate.

Who Should Apply for This Opportunity?

This call is intended for established feminist organizations and women’s rights civil society organizations with the capacity to provide technical guidance, feminist mentorship, safeguarding mechanisms, and moderation support to youth-led digital actors.

It is not presented as a general opportunity for individual students, jobseekers, or members of the public to submit personal applications. The intended applicant is an organization capable of acting as a Responsible Party and implementing project activities.

Organizations considering an application should assess whether they have the institutional experience and operational capacity needed to contribute to gender-based violence prevention, digital safety, youth engagement, and feminist advocacy.

Relevant organizational strengths may include:

• Experience in gender equality, women’s rights, or feminist advocacy.
• Knowledge of gender-based violence prevention and survivor-centred approaches.
• Capacity to provide technical assistance or mentorship to youth-led initiatives.
• Experience with digital advocacy, online community engagement, or moderation.
• Appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Ability to manage activities and coordinate with relevant community stakeholders.
• Capacity to contribute to regional learning, evidence generation, and accountability.

These points describe areas relevant to the announced project. They are not a substitute for the formal eligibility criteria, mandatory documentation, evaluation requirements, or selection conditions contained in the official call for proposals.

Applicants must consult the official document to confirm the precise legal status, registration, experience, financial, technical, and other requirements that apply.

Important Application Restriction

UN Women explicitly indicates that this call targets established feminist and women’s rights organizations and that applicants must not apply to the separate youth-facing call.

This distinction is important. The present opportunity is intended to select an organizational partner capable of providing technical, safeguarding, mentorship, and moderation support to youth creators and influencers. It is not the separate application route intended for youth-facing participants.

Organizations should therefore ensure that they are reviewing the correct call before preparing their submissions. If an organization is considering more than one SAFE project opportunity, it should carefully follow the restrictions and instructions in the relevant official documents.

Application Documents and Official Resources

UN Women has published three key documents alongside the announcement. Prospective applicants should review the materials carefully before submitting a proposal.

1. Official Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is the primary document for understanding the opportunity, its objectives, implementation expectations, and application requirements.

It should be reviewed for the formal eligibility criteria, scope of work, required attachments, proposal format, submission method, evaluation process, and any other conditions governing applications.

Download the official call for proposals:

https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/unw-wca-cfp-2026-003-community-led-advocacy-and-digital-spaces-for-the-safety-of-women-and-girls-in-west-africa_0.docx

2. UN Women Anti-Fraud Policy

The announcement also provides an anti-fraud policy document. Applicants should review this resource to understand the relevant integrity and anti-fraud expectations associated with working with UN Women.

Organizations should ensure that their application processes and institutional practices comply with applicable requirements and that all information supplied during the application process is accurate and verifiable.

Download the anti-fraud policy:

https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/anti-fraud_policy_1_3.pdf

3. Partner Agreement

The partner agreement is another important document supplied with the call. Prospective applicants should examine it to understand the applicable partnership arrangements and the obligations that may apply to a selected organization.

Reviewing the agreement before applying can help an organization assess whether it is prepared to meet the relevant administrative, operational, compliance, and reporting responsibilities.

Download the partner agreement:

https://africa.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/00partner_agreement_5.pdf

Applicants should rely on the official documents for all binding requirements rather than treating a general overview of the opportunity as a complete statement of the application rules.

How to Prepare an Application

Although the announcement identifies the purpose of the call and provides supporting documents, the precise submission procedure and required application materials must be confirmed in the official call for proposals.

The following steps provide a practical preparation framework for eligible organizations.

Step 1: Confirm Organizational Eligibility

Begin by reviewing the eligibility conditions in the official document. Confirm that the organization meets the applicable requirements concerning its legal status, registration, organizational mandate, experience, and capacity to undertake the proposed work.

An organization should not assume that its work in gender equality automatically establishes eligibility. The formal conditions in the call determine whether it can apply.

Step 2: Review the Project Scope and Deliverables

Read the call document carefully to understand Output 1.3, the expected activities, the target participants, and the responsibilities of the selected Responsible Party.

Pay particular attention to the expected technical assistance, safeguarding support, youth mentorship, moderation capacity, and approaches to strengthening safer digital spaces.

The organization should assess whether its existing expertise and resources are suitable for the project.

Step 3: Gather the Required Documentation

Identify all documents required by the official call and organize them before submission. Depending on the stated requirements, these may include institutional records, technical proposal materials, evidence of relevant experience, financial information, or other supporting documentation.

This list is illustrative only. Applicants must follow the exact document checklist and submission instructions in the official call.

Step 4: Develop a Clear and Relevant Proposal

The proposal should respond directly to the requirements and objectives stated in the call. Organizations should explain how their experience, technical capacity, safeguarding arrangements, and proposed implementation approach align with the SAFE project’s objectives.

Any proposed activities, results, timelines, or budgets should follow the format and requirements specified by UN Women.

Step 5: Review Safeguarding and Survivor-Centred Practices

Because the project addresses gender-based violence and digital abuse, organizations should carefully consider how their policies and procedures support participant safety and responsible advocacy.

Relevant considerations include safeguarding, confidentiality, moderation of harmful content, responsible handling of disclosures, and approaches that avoid exposing survivors or youth participants to additional risks.

The specific mandatory standards should be verified in the official documentation.

Step 6: Check the Submission Instructions

Before sending the application, verify the prescribed submission channel, file formats, required signatures, naming conventions, and any other procedural instructions in the call.

The announcement provides the contact email safefeministcfp@unwomen.org, but applicants should not assume that this address is the submission channel unless the official call explicitly instructs them to submit proposals there.

Step 7: Submit Before the Deadline

The stated submission deadline is 21 October 2026. Organizations should complete their preparation and submit according to the official instructions well before the deadline.

Allow sufficient time to check all documents, confirm that the application is complete, and resolve any administrative issues before submission closes.

Deadline for the UN Women SAFE Project Call for Proposals 2026

The application deadline stated in the UN Women announcement is 21 October 2026.

As the current date is 16 October 2026, the deadline is approaching. Interested organizations have limited time to review the call, confirm their eligibility, assemble the required documentation, and prepare a compliant proposal.

Applicants should verify the applicable submission time, time zone, and final submission requirements in the official call document. The announcement provides the deadline date but does not establish the exact closing time in the supplied information.

Late, incomplete, or incorrectly submitted applications may not be considered if they fail to comply with the official requirements. Organizations should therefore avoid waiting until the final day to begin or complete the application process.

Contact Information for Inquiries

Organizations requiring clarification about the call should use the contact details provided in the official announcement.

• Contact Organization: UN Women
• Contact Email: safefeministcfp@unwomen.org
• Regional Website: https://africa.unwomen.org/en

For inquiries, applicants should identify the specific call for proposals and clearly describe the issue requiring clarification. Questions concerning eligibility, required documents, submission procedures, or partnership conditions should be addressed through the official contact channel, following any communication rules stated in the call document.

Applicants should also consult the published anti-fraud policy and exercise caution with unofficial requests for payments or sensitive organizational information.

Expected Contribution to Gender Equality and Digital Safety

The SAFE project reflects the growing importance of connecting feminist advocacy with digital safety, youth engagement, and community-level prevention.

By supporting youth-led digital actors, the initiative seeks to strengthen the role of young people in challenging harmful social norms and promoting respect for women and girls. The project also recognizes that digital advocacy requires appropriate institutional support, especially when participants address sensitive issues that may provoke harassment or backlash.

The involvement of established feminist and women’s rights organizations is intended to help bridge the gap between youth creativity and the technical expertise required for safer online engagement. Mentorship, safeguarding, and moderation support can help digital initiatives respond more responsibly to risks while maintaining meaningful participation.

The regional dimension of the project is also important. Although implementation is focused on Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana, the development of adaptable prevention models and cross-border advocacy strategies may contribute to broader regional learning.

Through these efforts, the SAFE project aims to support more resilient digital communities, strengthen accountability, and contribute to the prevention of gender-based violence in both online and offline environments.

Conclusion

The UN Women SAFE Project Call for Proposals 2026 offers an opportunity for an eligible feminist or women’s rights civil society organization to contribute to safer digital spaces and community-led advocacy for women and girls in West Africa.

The selected organization will support youth-led digital actors through technical guidance, feminist mentorship, safeguarding mechanisms, and moderation support. The wider initiative seeks to address gender-based violence, technology-facilitated abuse, harmful social norms, and online harassment while encouraging positive models of masculinity and stronger community accountability.

The project’s implementation focus is Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana, with a broader regional mandate to generate evidence, develop prevention models, and strengthen cross-border advocacy. Organizations interested in participating should carefully review the official call, anti-fraud policy, and partner agreement to confirm their eligibility and understand the applicable requirements.

The application deadline is 21 October 2026. Eligible organizations should review the official documentation promptly and follow the prescribed submission instructions to ensure that their proposals are complete and submitted on time.

By combining feminist expertise, youth participation, and practical digital safeguarding, this initiative aims to help create safer and more inclusive online and offline environments where women and girls can participate, express themselves, and exercise their rights without violence or intimidation.

Explore More at Opportunities for Youth (OFY).