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

facilitator introduces the subject, keeps the discussion going, and ensures all
participants contribute to the discussion and no one dominates it.
Ethics: When organizing focus groups with representatives of the “general public”, it
may be advisable to tell potential participants that their opinions are needed on a health
issue, rather than on VAW, so as to avoid alienating potential participants who have
negative preconceptions about discussing VAW. Take utmost care especially when
organizing focus groups with survivors of violence – ethical considerations must apply.
See Guiding principles in this module. Bear in mind that a large proportion of female
participants may have been exposed to VAW, even if they do not identify themselves as
VAW survivors.
Resource:
� The Gender-based Violence Tools Manual for Assessment & Programme Design,
Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Affected Settings (2003) by the
Reproductive Health Response in Conflict Consortium includes detailed guidance
on focus group discussions.
Example: An impact evaluation of the second phase of Sexto Sentido, ‘We’re Different
We’re Equal’ (a weekly “soap opera” by Puntos de Encuentro on Nicaraguan
commercial television promoting change in the social context in which young people
make decisions, and negotiate their identities, relationships and sexuality) was carried
out in partnership with PATH, Leon University and the USAID Horizons Project. The
research team informed participants in interviews and focus groups at every phase of
the data collection of (i) the nature and relevance of their participation in the research,
(ii) contact persons in case any issues should arise, (iii) the need to have participants’
explicit consent to being interviewed, d) the option to withdraw from participating at any
stage of the research. At the end of each interview, participants received information
materials on VAW and contact details of relevant local services.
The full evaluation report is available in Spanish: Propiciando cambio personal y social
alrededor del género, sexualidad y VIH: Evaluación de impacto de la estrategia de
comunicación de Puntos de Encuentro, Puntos de Encuentro, CIDS/UNAN León, PATH,
Horizons Program (2008).
Read the Case Study and Evaluation (in Spanish).
Rapid assessment surveys and mini-surveys
Rapid assessment surveys can be used to gather information on knowledge, attitudes,
skills and behaviours related to VAW in a community. As with most tools used in
community development programmes, a single rapid assessment, while useful as a
formative exercise, does not fulfill high standards of scientific rigor. Instead, carrying out
several such assessments over time or with different groups is likely to yield sufficient
insights for effective campaign planning and implementation. For a sample rapid
assessment survey, see the SASA! Toolkit (Tips Booklet) by Raising Voices.
Mini surveys are usually based on a short, structured questionnaire of standardized
questions. They tend to be administered to 25 to 50 people at a time. One can select
270
Campaigns December 2011