Led by Shelah Bloom, Suzanne Maman, Elly Arnoff, and Lauren Hill.
The webinar addressed MEASURE Evaluation's evaluation of the implementation of the Women’s Justice and Empowerment Initiative (WJEI) by conducting intensive field studies in Benin and Kenya and document review with telephone interviews in South Africa and Zambia.
Sustaining the Impact: MEASURE Evaluation Conversation on Health Informatics
Strengths and Challenges in the Implementation of Women’s Justice and Empowerment Initiative (WJEI)
1. Strengths and Challenges in the
Implementation of Women’s Justice and
Empowerment Initiative (WJEI)
Evaluation Team:
Suzanne Maman, PhD
Shelah Bloom, ScD
Elly Arnoff, MPH
Lauren Hill
2. Presentation Summary
Introduction
Gender-Based Violence Context
Project Implementation
Evaluation Methods
Findings & Recommendations for Kenya and
Benin
Overarching Recommendations
Next Steps
3. Introduction
WJEI
3 year program in Kenya,
Benin, South Africa & Zambia
Objectives
1) Awareness-raising
2) Legal system support
3) Care & support of survivors
Evaluation Aims
Assess WJEI strategies in
each country
Identify best practices &
lessons learned across
countries
Recommendations for
replication
4. Before the Initiative: Gender-
Based Violence Context
South
Africa
Zambia Kenya Benin
Programmatic
• Existing
national
network of
one-stop shop
centers
• Extensive
research on
GBV
• Existing one-
stop models
from pilot
project
• Existing small-
scale efforts by
local
organizations
focusing on
awareness
• Very few prior
GBV programs
and none on a
national level
• Limited
research on
GBV
Legal
• Rape and
marital rape
illegal
• Sexual
harassment
illegal
• Extra-marital
rape illegal,
but not other
types of GBV
• Sexual assault
illegal, but not
marital rape
• Domestic
violence illegal
• Rape illegal, but
with weak
enforcement
6. South Africa
Thuthuzela Care Centers
Implementing partner: RTI
International
Dates: 2009-2012
Geographic scope: national, 9
provinces
Activities
Awareness-raising
Focus on promoting TCC services
Legal system support
Strengthening the dedicated Sexual
Offences Courts and building capacity
of the judiciary
Care & support of survivors
Technical assistance to 23 new and
existing TCC sites
Grants to NGOs for psychosocial
services and follow-up support
7. Zambia
A Safer Zambia (ASAZA)
Implementing partners: CARE
International & World Vision
Zambia
Dates: 2008 – 2011
Geographic scope: 7 districts in 5
out of 9 provinces
Activities
Awareness-raising
Mass media campaign
Training & community events
Legal system support
Promoted GBV law
Trained paralegals
Care & support of
survivors
Established coordinated
response centers (CRCs)
8. Kenya
Sita Kimya (we will not be silent)
Implementing partner: Pathfinder
International & Population
Services International
Dates: 2009 - 2011
Geographic scope: Kibera slum in
Nairobi
Activities
Awareness-raising
Community awareness sessions
in Kibera
Promoted locally-branded slogan
Legal system support
Sensitized police
Gender-desk at local police station
Care & support of survivors
Community-based services
Strengthening health services at
Kenyatta National Hospital’s GBV
Recovery Centre
9. Benin
EMPOWER
Implementing partner: CARE
International
Dates: 2007 – 2012
Geographical scope: national with
focus in 56 provinces
Activities
Awareness-raising
Mass media campaigns
Sensitization sessions
Legal system support
Advocacy trainings
Promoted GBV law
Care & support of survivors
Referral mechanism
11. Key Research Questions
Broader environment of program
implementation
Key project design decisions
Strengths and challenges
Perceived change in gender norms and
attitudes
Sustainability
12. Field Data Collection Methods
Developed semi-structured
interview guide
Trained research assistants
Conducted face-to-face in-
depth interviews & focus
group discussions
Interviews/discussions were
audiotaped, transcribed and
translated for analysis
13. In-depth Interviews (IDIs) & Focus
Group Discussions (FGDs)
Respondent types
Funder
Host government partners
NGO & CBO implementing
partners
Community-based project
agents
Program beneficiaries
Service providers
Judicial system/police
Non-WJEI stakeholders
14. Qualitative Analyses
Read for content
Topical and thematic coding
Double-coding
Identify emerging themes
Summarize data
Interpretation
17. Findings: Awareness-raising
Strengths
Strong communications
approach
Facilitator training
Audience-tailored messaging
Branded messaging
Locally produced film
High community
engagement
Mobilization
Ownership
Capacity-building
Perceived changes
Knowledge and awareness
Attitudinal & behavioral
changes
Breaking the silence
18. Findings: Awareness-raising
Challenges
Facilitation difficulties
Multi-sectoral knowledge base
Compensation
Venues
Limited branding materials
Messages not always
acceptable
Some schools
Dissenting opinions & attitudes
Limited population reach
Limited time-frame
Male engagement
Community turnover
19. Recommendations:
Awareness-raising
Effective messaging around GBV
Tailored to specific audiences
Raise rights-consciousness
Offer points of services
Locally-branded slogan
Target entire population
Contextually specific approaches to reach men
Multi-media strategies
Support community-based project agents
Follow up sessions with participants
20. Findings: Legal Strengths
Community holding
perpetrators
accountable
Judiciary
Adjudication of child
sexual abuse cases
increasing
Police
Gender desk helped
reduce bribery/corruption
Local leadership
High involvement
Increased support
21. Findings: Legal Challenges
Judicial barriers
Lengthy process
Witnesses
Cases dropped
Community-handled justice
Police difficulties
Lack of coordination with
health sector
Perception as unsupportive
Staff shortages and turnover
Lack of coordination with
DOJ’s legal activities
Marital rape not in GBV law
Perceived government
corruption
22. Recommendations: Legal
• Identify gaps in national GBV and gender-related
policies
• Promote coordination of health and legal
authorities
• Strengthen the evidence chain for GBV cases
• Support advocacy efforts of local change agents
• Support community-based legal assistance
23. Findings: Care & Support
Strengths
Health services
Increased hospital support
Increased hospital staff
sensitization
Equipment & personnel
support
Increase in cases handled
Community-based
services
Capacity building
Effective case management
Sustainability
24. Findings: Care & Support
Challenges
Health services
Incomplete one-stop shop
model
Personnel issues
Cost of services
Project provider selection
Community-based
services
Lack of resources
Community perception of
violence as a domestic
issue
Case follow-through
25. Recommendations: Care &
Support
Better alliances with
existing health service
providers
Support sustainable
community-based
systems of care and
support
27. Findings: Awareness-raising
Strengths
High awareness
coverage
Diverse communication
strategies
High awareness of the project
and GBV laws
Survivors aware of reporting
and support resources
Effective messaging
Focus on community benefits of
preventing GBV
Happy families and households
Economic benefits of girls’ education
Rights emphasis
Positive rather than punitive
message
28. Findings: Awareness-raising
Challenges
Did not engage all
populations
Isolated communities
Men and boys
Cultural barriers
Incongruence between
messages and community
values
Local leader opposition
Lack of facilitator
compensation
29. Recommendations:
Awareness-raising
Consider norms around family structure and divorce
which the project may affect
Project implications for stability of traditional family structure
Norms around formal law enforcement and attitudes toward forces of law
Consider how to engage men not only as project agents
but as beneficiaries as well
Make discussion of gender more inclusive (i.e. not just women’s rights)
Promote male-positive messages
30. Findings: Legal Strengths
Law seen as milestone in GBV legislation
Unanimously voted in by legislators
High awareness and appreciation of the new GBV
law
31. Findings: Legal Challenges
Police difficulties
View that police deal with perpetrators
heavy-handedly
Case processing can be very slow
Corruption
Survivors discouraged and drop cases
Cultural barriers to law
enforcement
Persistent informal reconciliation
Views that incarceration disrupts family
stability
32. Recommendations: Legal
Consider multiple primary points of contact to
access the legal system
Levels of comfort with different actors may vary by
context
Promote norm-transformative communication
activities to encourage the acceptability and
enforcement of new laws
33. Findings: Care & Support
Strengths
Strengthening of existing government services
through provider capacity building
Survivors aware of services and points of contact
Trust in project agents as survivor advocates
34. Findings: Care & Support
Challenges
Service coordination
issues
Lack of reliable communication
channels
Lack of clear referral mechanism
Gaps in survivor support
Referrals a barrier to continued
care
Medical certificates only available
in larger towns
No housing for displaced survivors
Lack of women’s
economic empowerment
35. Recommendations: Care &
Support
Provide for comprehensive care and support of survivors
to promote case reporting and improve health
Lodging
Support of survivor and women’s financial autonomy
Direct funds for costs of care
Consider access to services in remote areas
Ensure close integration of health and complementary
services
Make medical certificates accessible at a more local level
39. Final Report
Rich descriptions from field research
in Kenya & Benin
Project Implementation
Case reporting issues
Community perceptions on GBV
Analysis on projects South Africa & Zambia
Desk review & interviews with partners
41. MEASURE Evaluation is a MEASURE project funded by the
U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by
the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill in partnership with Futures Group International,
ICF Macro, John Snow, Inc., Management Sciences for Health,
and Tulane University. Views expressed in this presentation do not
necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the U.S. Government.
MEASURE Evaluation is the USAID Global Health Bureau's
primary vehicle for supporting improvements in monitoring and
evaluation in population, health and nutrition worldwide.