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

In sum, in a campaign there are simple, complicated and complex challenges and grey
areas in between. Known and knowable cause and effect relationships will be evident
between some of your activities, and the resultant processes, products and services that
are under the campaign’s control. Most importantly, the causal relationship between
activities and outputs and the results that matter most– outcomes and impacts – will be
unknowable until after you achieve the results, if they ever are. The clearer and more
accurate you are in distinguishing between the simple, complicated and complex
dimensions of your work, and acting accordingly, the greater the success you will have.
(Ricardo Wilson-Grau, personal communication inspired by Quinn Patton, 2010, and
Westley, Zimmerman and Patton, 2007).
Practical tips for setting the campaign issue
� Try to name the campaign issue in one sentence and in a concrete and accessible
way, e.g. “few survivors of domestic violence in our country dare to seek help when
they need it”, or “many community judges in province X disregard national law when
dealing with domestic violence”. State what it is, who it is about, where and when it
occurs.
� If the issue is rather broad, e.g. “too many girls in our community suffer or die from
harmful traditional practice”, try to frame the problem more precisely – what is the
harmful traditional practice referred to? If it cannot be decided at this point, the
following planning steps will help to add precision.
� The broader the campaign issue, the more people are likely to be affected in many
different ways and the more complex it might be to campaign on the issue.
Research can help narrow down the issue. Build on existing research, but verify the
quality and credibility of the reports consulted, and use different sources so as to get
a more complete picture. Reports by reputed research institutes including
government statistical offices, think tanks, UN agencies and reports submitted to UN
monitoring bodies, such as the CEDAW committee, tend to be more credible sources
than news reports.
� Propose a solution to the issue identified. How can the problem be overcome? Who
needs to take what action so as to change the situation for the better? How can the
campaign most effectively contribute to the necessary change?
RESEARCH ETHICS
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Campaigns December 2011