A Call to Act - Health Policy Initiative

RESPONDING TO GBV AND HIV: WHAT CAN RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITIES AND LEADERS DO?
As public leaders and decisionmakers in communities and institutions, religious leaders and their
communities have available a large number of approaches for striving to reduce GBV and HIV. All,
however, involve breaking the silence around GBV and HIV. The issues can be introduced through the
following advocacy approaches:
• Educate people within religious institutions and communities, and across faiths
• Offer spiritual support to those affected by GBV and HIV
• Provide GBV and HIV prevention and support programs
• Commit publicly to addressing GBV and HIV
• Institutionalize support for addressing GBV and HIV
When responding to GBV, clergy and faith leaders should base their actions on the following guidelines:
• Do no harm. Ensure first and foremost that all actions and activities respect survivors’ safety
and autonomy. 15
• Confidentiality must be maintained to protect those affected by GBV and HIV.
• Be aware of GBV dynamics, particularly related to families, and use this information to
evaluate the situation. 16
• Be well informed about the issues—this is critical for informing faith communities.
• Use your expertise as a religious authority and spiritual leader to illuminate the positive value
of religious traditions, while clarifying that they do not justify or condone violence or
abuse. 17
• GBV and HIV require multisectoral responses; collaboration with health and other services
enables a holistic response.
• Dialogue facilitates communication on difficult issues.
Educate People within Religious Institutions and Communities, and
Across Faiths
Religious leaders bear a great responsibility for educating their worshippers, teaching them the central
tenets of their faiths and ways they can live in harmony with those beliefs. From this position, religious
leaders can begin by educating themselves on specific issues, such as GBV and HIV. These leaders can
read materials targeted at religious leaders, attend trainings and workshops on the issues, and discuss the
issues with experts and other colleagues (see Annexes A–H for examples) to explore how their faith
responds to or addresses the issues.
Once they have explored the issues, leaders can educate worshippers and communities on GBV and its
links to HIV. Religious leaders can draw upon their religious texts to argue for behavior change related to
GBV and to prevent HIV infection and its transmission to others. Values and messages often explored by
religious leaders, such as compassion, God’s love, acceptance, self-discipline, tolerance, mercy,
forgiveness, patience, care, and support in times of crisis lend themselves well to discussions about GBV
15 IGWG of USAID. 2008. Addressing Gender-based Violence through USAID’s Health Programs: A Guide for Health Sector
Program Officers. Second Edition. Washington, DC.
16 Fortune, Rev. Marie. n.d. A Commentary on Religious Issues in Family Violence. Available at:
http://www.mcadsv.org/faith/Section%20Three/a_commentary_on_religious_issues_in_family_violence.pdf.
17 Fortune, Rev. Marie. n.d. A Commentary on Religious Issues in Family Violence. Available at:
http://www.mcadsv.org/faith/Section%20Three/a_commentary_on_religious_issues_in_family_violence.pdf.
14