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

society. This has been achieved through the formation of project advisory
panels and partnership agreements with local community-based
organizations.
Local Involvement/
Ownership
Sonke has established relationships with local implementing partners and
integrates activities in local community structures and processes so the
project can continue without Sonke involvement. The project has also
provided input into, and thus been embedded into, local Integrated
Development Plan (IDP) processes. The project engages, trains and
provides technical assistance to local stakeholders, in particular
government officials, religious and traditional leaders, and local institutions
to ensure project sustainability.
Community participation in the program occurs through a project advisory
panel and the involvement of youth in the development of IEC materials.
Evaluation
Methodology
• Pre-/post-knowledge and opinion surveys: Pre-/post-surveys were
conducted with participants on a range of indicators that determine
whether men are in fact playing a more active role in meeting the carerelated
needs of orphans and vulnerable children. The surveys
assessed the amount of time men spend actively parenting their
children; whether they assist their children with homework; use of
physical punishment of children; understanding of alternatives to
corporal punishment; use of violence against children and their
mothers; understanding of their children’s nutritional needs; what they
do to ensure that children’s nutritional needs are met; and involvement
in local childcare centers. Improvements on these indicators should
lead to an increased number of orphans and vulnerable children
accessing social grants, attending school and demonstrating improved
nutrition.
• Case studies: Program staff plan to conduct and write up in-depth
interviews/case studies with five men, five women, and five children per
site at the beginning and end of the project to explore their perceptions
of the intervention and understand its impact on their lives.
Evaluation Results • Project reach: A total of 989 people participated in training sessions in
Nkandla (Kwazulu-Natal Province) and 1,079 in OR Tambo District
(Eastern Cape Province).
• Pre-/post-knowledge and opinion surveys: Evaluation results indicate
substantial shifts in gender- and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and
attitudes among those participating in project training sessions. For
example, before the session with the Chwezi Traditional Court,
100 percent of respondents believed that they had the right, as men, to
decide when to have sex with their partners. After the training,
75 percent believed that they did not have the right to decide when to
have sex with their partners. The proportion of respondents who
believed that they could get HIV from a deep kiss fell from 67 percent to
0 percent. Before the training session conducted with the Ekukhanyeni
Tribal Authority, 63 percent of respondents believed that, under some
circumstances, it is acceptable for men to beat their partners. Postsession,
83 percent of respondents disagreed with this statement.
Before the training, 96 percent of respondents believed that they should
not interfere in other people’s relationships, even if there is violence.
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