Campaigns to End Violence against Women and Girls - Virtual ...

What is my role? To what extent am I a participant in the conflict?
What do I need that I haven’t got in order to help transform the conflict?
Source: GTZ, 2009: 91.
DEALING WITH UNFORESEEN CRISES
Any campaign strategy should take into account existing weaknesses and threats, and
plan for mitigating likely risks. But unexpected crises may still happen: e.g. a campaign
spokesperson turns out to perpetrate violence against women and girls (VAW), a major
quarrel unsettles campaign leadership, or a sudden external event, e.g. a natural
catastrophe, disrupts activities. The following steps can be taken to mitigate a crisis.
Practical tips for crisis mitigation
1. Identify the crisis and your options. If a crisis surges, find out -
- What exactly happened? If possible, consult different persons so as to obtain a fuller
picture. Listen carefully. Do not blame anyone for what happened unless there is
unequivocal, proven evidence.
- Who is affected by the crisis (e.g. specific alliance members, or sectors of the target
audience)?
- What aspects of your campaign strategy and “tactics” are affected or threatened by
the crisis?
- What are possible ways out of the crisis, and who needs to take action?
- Analysis prepared in the earlier phases of your campaign, e.g. problem trees, actor
maps and risk analysis, can be used to locate the crisis precisely and identify
possible options.
2. Deal with the crisis: Based on your findings, decide on the action to be taken.
Decisions should be taken according to the agreed team or alliance procedures. If, in
an emergency, you cannot contact others before taking necessary immediate action,
then inform all relevant campaign members at the earliest possible moment and
decide together what further actions must follow.
3. Assess what happened. When the crisis is over, evaluate as a group:
- How did the crisis come about? What were the factors leading to it? Can you avert
future crises by working on any of these factors, which could be internal or external?
- How did you deal with the crisis? What was helpful, what not?
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Campaigns December 2011