Social Work with People Practicing Same-Sex ... - ILGA Europe

The plan should be the desk document of all implementers of the advocacy campaign,
while supervision over full and timely realization of this plan should be delegated
to the campaign coordinator.
4) Risk assessment.
Realization of the advocacy campaign can entail certain risks for the advocacy agent.
For example, Regional Charitable Christian Foundation ”solidarity” that works in Ivano-
Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Ternopil and Zakarpatya oblasts in the area of provision of social
services to MSM, will face a significant risk of undermining the trust of partners, if
it starts dealing with advocacy for MSM. Explanation is simple: homosexual lifestyle
contradicts Christian religious doctrine, so charitable organization that calls itself
Christian, should not get involved in protection of rights and interests of people,
who practise homosexual behaviours. Another example of risk is the realization of the
advocacy campaign outside the organization's statutory territory of activities. It can
be viewed by the donor and/or competent government authority as going beyond the
organization's legal competence. Of course, organization may take these and similar
risks in its work, but the amount of risks should correlate to potential benefits of the
advocacy campaign. Then that organization may decide whether the game is worth the
candle. Peculiar risks relate to the tactics of the campaign. While selecting methods,
one should be extremely cautious regarding techniques that may lead to confrontation.
If this occurs, it is generally impossible to return to softer methods. For example,
organization of gay parade is one of confrontational tactics, which can complicate any
future dialogues. Gay parade is not good for declaring “external goals of the advocacy”
of LGBT movement, or to “improve the quality of life of LGBT”. Gay parade actually
emphasizes sexual orientation of its participants, while advocacy measures should
emphasize the sense and the idea of the event. If gay parade is an end in itself for
some activists, then we should suggest an alternative — organization of “love parade”.
Such event is good enough for participation of heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and
transgender people. In other words, it will neither highlight sexual orientation of its
participants, not it will bring forward some legal or political demands.
10. Implementation and Monitoring of the Advocacy Campaign.
Finally, when the entire campaign is carefully planned, it is time for the main stage of
the campaign — implementation. Within this stage two important processes occur in
parallel:
The first one is the campaign realization;
The second one is monitoring.
Monitoring should be carried out during the course of the campaign and upon its
completion. We should assess every event, every measure, and every type of activity in
terms of its qualitative and quantitative characteristics. To do so, during the planning
of every type of activity (measure), we need to define a set of performance and
effectiveness indicators.
Definition of monitoring
Monitoring means systematic collection and processing of information, which is used
to enhance the decision-making, and also — indirectly — to inform the public on the
results of this or that activity. Monitoring is the feedback tool for the implementation
lf projects and programmes; it has one or several organizational functions, such as:
• Identification of the dynamics of impact of out advocacy interventions subject to
advocacy;
• Establishment of links with the environment, that ensure feedback regarding
previous successes and failures of a specific policy or programme;
• Ensuring conformity with rules and contractual obligations.
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