Preventing Violence against Women and Children
Past Project Highlights
Preventing Violence against Women and Girls
Country: Palestine
Year: 2022
Donor: Anonymous
In 2022, Theatre for a Change collaborated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in Palestine on a new project using interactive radio drama to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls.
A 2019 study found that the majority of Palestinian women have experienced some form of violence by their husbands or partners, with psychological violence being the most prevalent type of violence directed towards women.
The project used radio to amplify the voices of women and girls who have experienced violence, and to create linkages between survivors and support services available to them through the National Referral System (NRS).
The project partnered with Nisaa FM, a well-respected broadcaster with a women’s rights focus, based in Ramallah. Two listening clubs – in Gaza City and Hebron – were set up, enabling community members to come together to listen to the broadcasts, and to share their own experiences related to the topics being addressed, in a safe and supportive space.
By the end of the project, 76% of surveyed listeners reported feeling greater agency in reporting gender-based violence to a professional, up from 39% at the start of the project.
Reducing Violence Against Women and Girls in the Context of Climate Change
Country: Malawi
Years: 2019-22
Donor: GIZ
From 2019 to 2022, Theatre for a Change implemented a project in Southern Malawi focused on improving the ability of teachers to protect primary school children from sexual and gender-based violence in flood-affected areas.
Southern Malawi is especially prone to flooding and cyclones due to its geography. This project was designed in response to the devastating flooding experienced by Malawi in 2019, where in addition to loss of homes and livelihoods, women and girls faced a heightened risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Over a span of three years, we trained over 800 teachers to work with 5,100 children in 40 flood-prone schools. The teachers were trained to understand, prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence, particularly in the context of flood emergencies.
After being trained, the teachers set up and delivered Girls’ Clubs in the 40 schools, which used theatre, participatory learning and interactive radio drama to explore gender rights, and to encourage and support girls and boys to report abuse.
At baseline only 36% of teachers and 9% of children had a good understanding of sexual and gender-based violence and safeguarding. By the end of our project, this had improved to 91% of teachers and 60% of children.
By the end of the project, safeguarding committees with robust reporting procedures were established in four teacher training colleges and all 40 primary schools.