Projekte

Kurzbeschreibung:

Projektziel

The programme aims to increase gender equality and reduction of gender-based violence (GBV) in the SADC Region by strengthening the capacity of the MenEngage Africa (MEA) country secretariats and networks in Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe to advocate for better policies and laws and to address GBV risk factors by disrupting harmful social and gender norms.

Erwartete Ergebnisse

1: MEA country secretariats and networks in the three focus countries have strengthened capacities to coordinate, implement, enhance and scale up their gender transformative approaches to GBV prevention and gender equal parenting, including greater accountability to women’s rights principles.

2: An increased body of evidence from MEA country secretariats and networks on promising practices to transform gender norms is disseminated by MEA communication channels and SADC Gender Unit to MEA networks, with expectation that MEA networks will have increased knowledge about promising practices.

3: MEA country secretariats and networks have influenced the development, implementation and monitoring of national and regional laws and policies that promote gender transformative strategies for gender equality and GBV prevention, including the adoption and implementation of the GBV Model Law at SADC level.

Zielgruppe

The core target group for this project are the MEA country networks in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Malawi, and specifically, the three country secretariats who will receive sub-grants for interventions. The country secretariats are Lifeline/Childline Namibia, the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) in Zimbabwe and Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre (MHRRC). Through the MEA country networks the programme aims to reach 12,000 direct beneficiaries including women and girls as well as other stakeholders such as women's rights organisations, government officials and policy makers, religious and traditional leaders, men and/or boys and journalists/media. The number of estimated beneficiaries per country is 3,410 in Malawi, 980 in Namibia and 7,610 in Zimbabwe.

Maßnahmen

Key interventions in Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe include:

- Capacity building of MEA country secretariats and networks on gender transformative intervention implementation, including gender equal parenting (MenCare).

- Strengthen capacity and commitment of religious and traditional leaders to address harmful social and cultural norms.

- Media, including social media, campaigns in key thematic areas.

- Sub-grants provided to MEA national secretariats to implement activities for country networks.

- Training on regional and national policy processes and creative advocacy strategies for MEA country secretariats and networks.

- Technical input into national, regional & global policy processes, including SADC, Commission on the Status of Women.

Hintergrundinformation

GBV is caused by gender inequality – including unequal power relations between women and men, rigid gender roles, norms and hierarchies, and ascribing women lower status in society. Deeply rooted structural obstacles such as unequal distribution of resources, power and wealth, combined with social institutions and norms that sustain inequality, are holding African women and girls, and as a result, the rest of the continent, back. GBV, including intimate partner violence and sexual violence, has been further exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of the virus, and measures taken to contain it such as lockdowns and closing of schools, have resulted in an increase in the number of cases of GBV, and put a heavy burden on women who have had to bear the load of care work. The redirecting of funds and resources to address the pandemic has exacerbated challenges for CSOs addressing GBV and gender inequality.

Sonke Gender Justice (SGJ) works across Africa to strengthen government, civil society and citizen capacity to promote gender equality, prevent domestic and sexual violence, and reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS. SGJ is also the Secretariat of MEA, which is made up of 22 country networks spread across East, South, West and Central Africa, with over 300 non-governmental organisations at grass-root, national and regional levels. MEA forms part of the MenEngage Global Alliance which is composed of NGOs and UN agencies that seeks to engage boys and men to achieve gender equality.