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

LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES
Key Findings and
Lessons
• TAI provides tools that young men can use to access knowledge and
resources they need to talk about among themselves that they cannot
discuss at home.
• It is important to create ownership of the program and engage the
young men themselves in its inception and implementation. In the
“Action by Young Men” project (elements of which are being replicated
in Shosholoza), the young men themselves came up with issues
concerning violence against women that they wanted to prioritize.
• Holding one large conference per year with all of the soccer teams to
share what they have accomplished helps young men feel like they are
a part of something larger. Teams report back on what they are doing,
and each is motivated to do more as they see the progress of other
teams.
Challenges and
Unforeseen
Outcomes
• There was a temporary backlash from parents who did not see the
usefulness of the program. They did not see it as a program promoting
safety, and one of the program staff was accosted by a boy’s father
who felt the project had “emasculated” his son by encouraging him to
have only one partner. Parents needed to be involved in program
efforts as well.
• Parents became less knowledgeable than their children, which created
a knowledge gap. In this way, the project changed power dynamics in
families. To solve this problem, the project engaged parents in
workshops, for which some parents wrote letters thanking the program
officers.
• Initially, because TAI was made up primarily of women who openly
discuss sex and sexuality, which are taboo topics, collaboration with
the mostly male SAFA was challenging to establish. Once established,
however, men’s involvement has been high.
• SAFA members were supportive; however, the actual structure of
SAFA and elected positions change. New members are elected
regularly so the challenge is to constantly re-engage the newly elected
SAFA leadership.
• Politics is a challenge with community work. It is important to be in
constant communication with community leaders and to avoid
misunderstandings. Having a ward council member on hand is useful.
Recommendations
for Replication
The model/process is feasible for replication in other communities, but TAI
itself is currently focusing on organizational consolidation rather than on
expansion.
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