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

first 21 months of the campaign, the Men’s Domestic Violence Helpline received more
than 6.000 calls, mostly (64%) from men seeking treatment to stop their violent
behaviour.
(Source: Gibbons & Paterson, 2000. Freedom from Fear. Campaign against Domestic
Violence: An innovative Approach to Reducing Crime).
5. Making change to end VAW appear attractive and rewarding: Social marketing,
grounded in the theory of reasoned action, seeks to convince its target audience that
adopting a specific behaviour is good for them and appropriate within their society. It
has been used extensively in family-planning campaigns, HIV prevention and other
health-related issues. Social marketing is considered a highly effective tool in
disseminating messages (WHO, 2009. Promoting Gender Equality to Prevent
Violence against Women).
Example: The Consent is Sexy campaign was initiated by the South African NGO
Nisaa and designed by Adlib Studios in close co-operation with students from the
University of Witwatersrand (2009). Posters that can be downloaded from an interactive
website show that saying no to non-consensual sex, and respecting a partner’s “no”, can
be perfectly “cool”. In order to engage the audience in discussions on consent and to
avoid a patronizing tone, the posters ask questions rather than offer ready-made
solutions. All poster messages were tested and developed with representative focus
groups drawn from the Wits student body. An online survey with college students
yielded extremely positive feedback, and comments posted on the site suggest a lively
dialogue, which suggests that students are receptive to the campaign message.
6. Providing models for target audiences to take action to end VAW: All theories
outlined above can inform this approach.
Example: Soul City in South Africa uses a TV soap opera and community-based
activities to model constructive ways for communities and individuals to end VAW. In
one Soul City TV episode first screened in 1999, neighbors protest against the violent
behaviour of a husband by beating their pots and pans near the character’s house.
Within weeks, pot-banging to stop partner abuse was reported in several communities in
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Campaigns December 2011