This paper reviews research on successful examples of collective action and engaging men to tackle gender based violence. The review is divided into two sections: an overview of the key points emerging from the literature, followed by an annotated bibliography summarising the research. Both peer-reviewed research and grey literature were considered for this review.
Key Findings:
It is not easy to separate examples that involve collective action and those that have a focus on engaging men and boys; successful programmes often intertwine both of these aspects.
There is a small group of programmes and interventions that are frequently cited as successful examples. Some of these include:
- Program H is a community education approach that began in Brazil but is now used in Central America, the Caribbean, Tanzania, India, Croatia and Vietnam. It focuses on tackling gender based violence by changing social norms around masculinity. A range of communication and media activities are used to disseminate the programme’s message, helping to promote and provide gender-equitable, positive social norms and weaken negative ones. The Program H approach has been adapted in several other initiatives.
- Soul City is an ‘edutainment’ programme in South Africa targeting gender norms through television and radio drama, related literature and publicity. The project seeks to replace old social norms with new ones which display community responses to domestic violence.
- Puntos de Encuentro is a feminist NGO in Nicaragua. It has a programme of work to tackle taboo subjects like domestic violence, including Sexto Sentido: a socially conscious soap opera, a youth call-in radio talk show, and youth leadership training. The campaign aims to raise taboo subjects for discussion and encourage help-seeking behaviour.
- Stepping Stones is a small group intervention using participatory learning to help improve sexual health. It began in Uganda but was adapted for different countries across sub-Saharan Africa including Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as the Philippines.
- Raising Voices is a domestic violence prevention programme developed in Uganda by an NGO, CEDOVIP. It involves five stages: conducting a community assessment on attitudes and beliefs around gender based violence; raising awareness on GBV in the community and professional sectors; building networks of support; integrating action against GBV into everyday life and institutions; and consolidating programmes and activities to ensure their sustainability.
- Men as Partners (MAP) began in South Africa in the late 1990s, run by EngenderHealth. It sought to encourage men’s active participation in preventing gender based violence, as well as promoting HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support. One of the central parts of the programme was holding education workshops for mixed male and female audiences, which facilitated discussion on gender stereotypes and power dynamics.
Recommendations:
There are limitations in the measuring of success of programmes on gender based violence. More work needs to be done in this area before the impact of interventions can be thoroughly proven.
