Projects run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (JHU∙CCP) in South Africa, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo have joined the global movement to raise awareness about gender-based violence (GBV) and advocate for policy changes to eliminate violence against women.
Brothers for Life in South Africa, PACTO in Mozambique and Bienvenue aux Changements dans la Communauté in DRC join the almost 4,000 organizations around the world who have participated in the international campaign – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence – since it was launched two decades ago.
The 16 Days Campaign runs annually from November 25 (International Day Against Violence Against Women), to December 10 (International Human Rights Day). The campaign calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and brings together activists working at local and international levels to share effective strategies, demonstrate solidarity and pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women.
A PACTO GBV campaign poster features public figures from across Mozambique.
Hard-hitting PSA on GBV Launches in South Africa
Brothers for Life wants you to take a stand against gender-based violence!
And it wants you to tell the whole world about it, too.
Brothers for Life is a national campaign in South Africa that encourages men to positively influence each other as men, partners, parents and leaders. The campaign is a collaborative effort led by South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), the Department of Health, USAID/PEPFAR, Johns Hopkins Health and Education in South Africa (JHHESA), Sonke Gender Justice, the United Nations System in South Africa and over 100 other civil society partners working in the field of HIV prevention and health.
In conjunction with the 16 Days Campaign, Brothers for Life has developed a forceful public service announcement that starts with dialogue showing an abuser’s perspective – but then, through deft manipulation of punctuation, the dialogue becomes a call to action against gender-based violence. The announcement concludes with the slogan: “When you change, everything changes.”
The public service announcement has been placed on YouTube, at http://youtu.be/GO7fK-G2YSU [1]. Brothers for Life aims to generate 500,000 views by the end of the 16 Days campaign on 10 December.
This new PSA builds on last year's Brothers for Life’s GBV campaign in which well-known South African actor Patrick Shai tearfully spoke out about his past as a wife-beater in order to persuade other abusive men to seek help. Read about the 2010 16 Days Campaign. [1]
Brothers for Life asserts that ordinary men must spread the word against this problem and be a positive influence on the men and boys around them. By watching the Brothers for Life PSA, and encouraging other people to see it, all viewers become part of the movement for change.
Learn more about Brothers for Life [1] and watch the public service announcement [1].
TV and Radio Spots Condemn GBV in Mozambique
CCP’s PACTO project (Active Prevention and Communication for All), a USAID/PEPFAR-funded project in Mozambique, is participating in the 16 Days Campaign with community and media activities.
PACTO is part of the PEPFAR Gender-based Violence Initiative which seeks to scale up existing HIV prevention, care and treatment work to address gender-based violence.
The goal of the PACTO 16 Days Campaign is to mobilize, educate and stimulate debate and action among all citizens to fight to eliminate violence and guarantee human rights. PACTO partnered with the Government of Mozambique and several civil society institutions on the campaign, including FDC, Rede de Homens pela Mudança (HOPEM), Fórum Mulher, WLSA, N’weti, ArtSocial, Ministry of Women & Social Action, Ministry of National Defense and UN Women.
A centerpiece of the campaign is a series of radio and television spots [1] featuring public figures and local leaders from across Mozambique offering testimonials and declarations against domestic violence. These public leaders are also featured in posters with GBV campaign messages [1].
Over the course of the campaign, Mozambicans will have the opportunity to sign a petition denouncing all forms of violence against women. The signed petition will be published in newspapers, and delivered to CBOs and NGOs for presentation to the local courts where such cases are tried.
Learn more about PACTO [1].
Using Strategic Communication Interventions to Lessen GBV in DRC
As a partner in the Bienvenue aux Changements dans la Communauté (Welcome to Changes in the Community) project in DRC, a 5-year, USAID-funded project, CCP is developing the behavior change communication (BCC) strategy to change attitudes about gender and lessen the incidence and impact of sexual and gender-based violence. The project is led by International Medical Corps.
CCP has undertaken qualitative research on attitudes towards SGBV in DRC which will inform the project’s communication interventions. Some findings include:
- Early marriage is institutionalized;
- Forcing a woman to have sex is considered normal practice;
- Forcing a rapist to marry his victim is considered a practical and acceptable solution;
- There is a lack of confidence in the government to enforce laws against SGBV and to protect people from it. (Military personnel and community leaders themselves are often the perpetrators.)
- It will first be necessary to “break the silence” caused by shame and fear of stigma before behaviors can be changed.
CCP will use these research findings to establish baseline indicators for measuring program impact. CCP will also assist IMC to design a comprehensive and holistic BCC strategy that will be implemented throughout the project area.
Learn more about Bienvenue aux Changements dans la Communauté [1] and the work being done on the prevention and treatment of sexual violence in DRC.
