A Call to Act - Health Policy Initiative

OVERVIEW
While undertaking the gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV activity with religious leaders, the USAID |
Health Policy Initiative discovered a lack of GBV information aimed specifically at this audience. There
are more resources for HIV because religious leaders have begun to address this issue in a more vocal
manner, due to its devastating impact on their communities. Recognizing this gap, the team decided to
create an advocacy guide for working with religious leaders. The guide can be used by religious leaders,
communities, and institutions to learn about GBV and HIV, why they should address the issues, and how
they can address them through specific activities and approaches. Secular organizations working on GBV
and HIV also can use this guide to find examples of how to collaborate with religious leaders,
communities, and institutions. Thus, this guide helps to take an issue that traditionally is kept silent and
private—particularly in religious communities—and places it on the agenda of religions throughout the
world as they seek to address HIV in an effective and holistic manner.
Note: This guide aims to include examples of religious texts and materials from a range of religious
faiths. However, it is difficult to find materials on GBV and HIV from a wide range of religious faiths.
For this reason, some faiths may be over-represented in this guide. Please note that any of the materials
in the annexes can be adapted to fit a particular faith’s beliefs.
Why Engage Religious Leaders and
Communities in GBV and HIV?
Religious leaders possess an ordained role of
leadership in their institutions and communities,
serving as role models of care and compassion. As
religions around the world speak to the inherent
sacredness of human life, religious leaders and their
communities have the moral authority to raise
awareness about GBV and a moral responsibility to
prevent violence, provide support and care, and
strive to transform societal or religious norms or
practices that perpetuate such violence and
“As the guardians of the religious texts,
religious leaders are best placed to guide
and influence their communities…it is
recommended that religious leaders be
exposed to education and awareness in
respect of GBV and the link between HIV
and AIDS in communities.”
—Recommendations from the
participants of the Regional Training on
GBV and HIV/AIDS for Religious
Leaders, Nairobi, August 2007
vulnerability to HIV. While leaders can call upon these communities to assist women who are facing
GBV and at risk for HIV, they also can offer support, counseling, and guidance to those who perpetrate
violence as the voice of accountability in communities. Leaders also can take advantage of faith networks
and work across faiths to remind communities that GBV violates dignity and human rights and that their
faiths call upon them to be merciful, caring, and loving toward all.
Religious leaders are well situated to address social issues and have the capacity to bring communities
together. As community spokespersons, they often are successful in mobilizing for positive social change.
These leaders can play an important role in shifting their communities’ beliefs, attitudes, and behavior
related to GBV, as they have already started to do for HIV. As the impact of HIV has been increasingly
felt around the world, religious leaders, organizations, and institutions have recognized the importance of
addressing the issue in their communities. It is estimated that 40 million adults and children worldwide
are currently living with HIV. Witnessing the impact of the pandemic, religious leaders around the world
have taken steps to address HIV on a variety of levels and play a key role in fighting it. In a regional
assembly in 2002, African religious leaders created a plan of action related to children and HIV. The
following statement by the diverse group of religious leaders exemplifies how faith communities can
make public commitments to address vital social issues:
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