Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

six months; 2) number of partners over the last month; and 3)
support for gender-equitable norms as measured by the GEM
(Gender-Equitable Men) scale. Secondary outcome measurements
include: 1) intimate partner violence (physical and sexual); 2)
communication with partner over the last six months about
condoms, sex life and HIV; and 3) communication with peers over
the last six months about condoms, sex life and HIV. The outcome
evaluation also will include qualitative data collection with a group
of participating men and (in Ethiopia only) their sexual partners,
which will provide richer information to enhance the findings of the
quantitative surveys.
Evaluation Results • Project reach: The Male Norms Initiative reaches thousands of men
through 50 partner organizations in Namibia and 10 partner
organizations in Ethiopia.
• Needs assessment: The needs assessment showed that, at the start of
the project, Ethiopia and Namibia were addressing gender issues
superficially. That is, strategies to curb gender inequity tended to
highlight men as perpetrators only. There was little focus on existing
gender norms and their relationship to HIV and AIDS or on challenging
inequitable gender relationships that put both men and women at risk.
This assessment helped shape how the Male Norms Initiative sought to
create change—by helping programs use an asset-based model where
men are not seen as perpetrators of gender inequity, but instead as
assets who can change norms and behaviors around gender-related
issues.
• Process and outcome evaluation: Endline data collection is scheduled
for February 2009.
Replication and
Scale-up Activities
The Male Norms Initiative has been asked to implement a similar program
at a national scale in Tanzania and to provide technical assistance in other
countries, including Rwanda and Angola.
LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES
Key Findings and
Lessons
• Working with different stakeholder levels (individual, community, policy,
and service delivery) at the same time to create change is essential.
Otherwise, when individuals go back to their communities after
attending a program, they tend to readopt original gender norms.
Norms must be changed at the community, policy and service delivery
levels, not just at the individual level.
Challenges and
Unforeseen
Outcomes
• Some partners require more assistance than others to understand
gender-related work. Some organizations required repeated trainings
before they fully understood key concepts.
• Funding cycles between the Male Norms Initiative and CBOs did not
coincide. Consequently, partners interested in integrating strategies did
not always have the funding necessary to begin the process.
• Capacity building to a point where external support or technical
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