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

vocational training classes and encouraged girls to take courses previously reserved to
men, such as veterinary training. Community mobilization against a harmful “traditional”
practice was thus combined with vigorous action for greater gender equality.
In 2010, five years into the campaign, UGEAFI reports that forced marriage has become
extremely rare in Minembwe (1-2 cases per year), as communities now condemn it as
harmful and local authorities increasingly refuse to condone the practice.
Source: Gudile Nasine and Butoto Bigiri Naum, UGEAFI, personal communication.
Resources:
� See the primary prevention module.
� Community Conversation Toolkit (AED/C-Change, 2010). Available in English.
� Raising Voices Community-based Violence Prevention Program Materials.
Available in English
� Social and Behavior Change Communication Capacity Assessment
Tool (Communication for Change, 2011). Available in English.
� A Learning Package for Social and Behavior Change Communication
(Communications for Social Change, 2010). Available in English.
� Communication for Social Change Website. Available in English.
COMMON ACTIVITIES IN COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION FOR CAMPAIGNS
Clubs
A club is a type of community group that brings together community members around
particular fields of interest or activities. One may propose to integrate campaign action
into the activities of existing clubs, or stimulate the emergence of new clubs dedicated to
supporting an existing campaign. Activists’ kits or special kits for clubs can suggest
specific activities and help promote a coherent message. In reading / book clubs,
members discuss texts they have read (or they read to illiterate members).
Examples:
- A popular example is the Soul Buddyz Club, a platform initiated by Soul City in South
Africa, where children interact to be proactive, responsible agents of change within
their communities. Some 2.000 schools and libraries are affiliated to the Soul Buddyz
movement.
- In Orissa State (India), the We Can campaign co-operates with a State-wide network
of women’s self-help groups, which exist even in the most remote communities, to
animate discussion on gender equality and violence against women.
Case Study: “My Strength Is Not for Hurting” campaign
The original campaign was launched in February 2001 by Men Can Stop Rape, a US
organization, to prevent rape and other forms of dating violence among youth. The
primary target audience was male youth in public high schools in Washington, DC.
Secondary target audiences were their female counterparts and school administrators,
nurses, teachers, and coaches.
The campaign model has been adopted in various communities in the USA and South
Africa. In 2005, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) launched
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Campaigns December 2011