Engaging men in the prevention of violence: An impact evaluation study of a football-based intervention in Brazil
Location
Engaging men in critical reflections on constructions of gender roles, through group educational activities for example, are a key part in addressing their use of violence against women. Nevertheless, it is often challenging to recruit and retain men in such groups. To address this challenge, we have developed an intervention within the format of a four-month amateur football tournament in the belief that the popularity of the sport will help to motivate men to join and continue with the intervention. Moreover, the idealization of aggression and masculinity that often pervades the sport will provide a tangible entry-point for engaging the men in discussions about violence and gender norms. There have been other initiatives which have used football or other sports to work with boys and young men on violence prevention, however, we do not know of any such efforts that have been targeted to adult men.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Christine
Last Name
Ricardo
Website
Organization
Promundo
Country
Brazil, RJ
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is this initiative/innovation linked to any established organization?
Yes
Organization Name
Promundo
Organization Website
Organization Phone
55-21-2544-3114
Organization Address
Rua Mexico 31, Bloco D, sala 1502
Organization Country
Brazil, RJ
Is your organization a
CSO/NGO
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Your idea
Name Your Project
Engaging men in the prevention of violence: An impact evaluation study of a football-based intervention in Brazil
What stage is your project in?
Operating for less than a year
When was the project initiated? or When are you planning to begin?
The development of the intervention began in August 2009. Intervention activities are scheduled to begin in mid-March 2010 and last four months (through July 2010). A baseline survey will be applied prior to the initiation of activities to assess participant attitudes and practices related to violence. One post-test survey will be applied immediately after the conclusion of activities and, potentially, a second survey six months afterwards.
Describe your idea and explain why it is innovative
Engaging men in critical reflections on constructions of gender roles, through group educational activities for example, are a key part in addressing their use of violence against women. Nevertheless, it is often challenging to recruit and retain men in such groups. To address this challenge, we have developed an intervention within the format of a four-month amateur football tournament in the belief that the popularity of the sport will help to motivate men to join and continue with the intervention. Moreover, the idealization of aggression and masculinity that often pervades the sport will provide a tangible entry-point for engaging the men in discussions about violence and gender norms. There have been other initiatives which have used football or other sports to work with boys and young men on violence prevention, however, we do not know of any such efforts that have been targeted to adult men.
What kind of beneficiaries is your initiative addressed to?
Women.
Describe the profile of the beneficiaries of this project
The key beneficiaries of the project are the current and future female partners of the men who will be reached by project activities which will promote alternative, non-violent ways of men interacting with women. The men themselves will also benefit as many of the rigid norms about masculinity which are associated with use of violence, and will be deconstructed through project activities, are also associated with risk-taking behaviors among men. Through the football tournament and accompanying group educational activities that will commence in mid-March 2010, the project will directly reach approximately 250 men ages 17-50 living in a low-income urban community in Rio de Janeiro. Approximately 250 additional men will be reached through campaign activities (actually we hope to reach the entire community, 5000 people, on some level or other) that will be affiliated with the football tournament. After this phase of implementation, we will focus on advocacy and capacity-building to replicate and scale-up the intervention in Rio and nationally.
What is your initiative’s implementation strategy?
The intervention will be embedded within a football tournament that will take place over four months. Prior to each game, the men will participate in 1 – 1 ½ hour workshops in small groups. The content of the workshops (14 in total) will include discussions about gender socialization and roles in the home, community and society and their links to various forms of violence, including physical, psychological and sexual violence against women as well as homophobia, racism, and other forms of violence and social injustice. The men will be encouraged to analyze the links between rigid gender norms and the aggression and prejudices that often surround football (e.g. homophobia among players, spectator violence) as well as reflect on the gender imbalances that exist in terms of support for men’s and women’s football. There will also be an on-going campaign to disseminate messages about violence prevention to other men in the community.
In your opinion, what are the main barriers or obstacles in connection with this theme?
Men’s use of violence against women is a learned behavior and rooted in norms and attitudes about gender roles in the home and child care-giving, intimate relationships, and society in general. While the intervention seeks to engage the men in critical reflections on these norms and attitudes, the core question is whether a four month intervention will be sufficient to lead to lasting change. Moreover, while we believe that the football tournament will serve as a compelling incentive for the men to participate, the sport is laden with aggression and rigid ideas of masculinities that we will be trying to deconstruct within the context of the intervention. One of the main challenges this project faces is questioning some of the culture of such a beloved sport without turning men off from the project.
What type of partnerships you have or intend to generate strategic alliances with for the development of this initiative? Choose all that apply
Non-Government organizations.
Describe with whom you have generated these alliances and how
The project will be implemented in a low-income community in Rio de Janeiro where we have worked for many years and established strong alliances. Two community-based activists with whom we have previously collaborated were hired to serve as the local coordinators for the project and the focal points for reaching out to the community leadership and organizations. We have also established alliances with two other NGOs based in Rio de Janeiro. One has a long trajectory in working with families in violence prevention and response – they will provide support in addressing any cases of violence or related concerns that appear during the project. The other NGO works in education and sports and provided support during the field-testing of the workshop curriculum. In order to develop the format of the football tournament itself, we consulted with a community-based sports association.
What are the main results generated and/or expected to generate by means of this initiative?
The expected project results include positive changes in men’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to gender equity and the prevention of violence against women. Specifically, we will seek to measure (through quantitative and qualitative methods) the men’s attitudes about gender roles in the home, intimate relationships and society, self-reported use of physical, sexual and psychological violence against women, knowledge of violence-related laws and policies, self-reported communication with other men and/or sons and daughters about violence against women, and self-reported willingness to intervene in situations of violence they may witness.
What is the main impact that your initiative might generate?
The results from the impact evaluation study will represent a significant contribution to the evidence base for working with men and will serve as leverage for on-going advocacy in Brazil and elsewhere to integrate men and a broader gender perspective in programming and policies related to the prevention of violence against women. Brazil’s leading legislation on violence against women , the Maria da Penha Law, calls for prevention activities with men and boys and the impact evaluation study and results will serve as an important input for engaging government, civil society and other strategic actors to expand existing prevention activities to effectively engage men. Additionally, the fact that Brazil is the host country for the World Cup 2014 is likely to increase general interest in scaling-up a football-based intervention for men.
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Comments
Hi Christine,
this is Elenice from Ashoka´s Changemakers based in São Paulo, Br.
thank your for entering your idea in this challenge. you have an interesting approach to address gender violence through football. are you working with other organizations in Brazil to replicate the model?
As you may know, in this challenge, you can also vote once you have subscribed your idea. I´d like to incentive you to mobilize your network, from now on, to vote in your project.
best,
Elenice
Hi Elenice -
It's great to be in touch and thanks for your interest in the project. The content of the intervention actually draws from materials that have been developed in collaboration with other organizations in Brazil as well as elsewhere. The curriculum for the discussion groups is adapted from the Program H manual which is co-authored by Promundo, two other Brazilian NGOs (ECOS and PAPAI) and a Mexican NGO (Salud y Genero). The campaign, in turn, will use materials from the Brazilian White Ribbon Campaign (Laco Branco) which is led by a consortium of Brazilian NGOs and inspired by the White Ribbon Campaign which was originally launched in Canada and has since spread to more than 60 countries.
We are currently concentrated on the impact evaluation of the project but after the study is completed (in August/September of this year), we will shift our efforts to dissemination and replication.
Best-
Christine
Oi Christine, tudo bem? Lembra de mim? JSB. Achei muito interessante a idéia de associar a violência contra mulheres por meio do futebol amador. Parabéns!
Dear Christine, Thank you for sharing your sport based program. I am sure it will be a great success as it harnesses your experience and expertise in working with men and a popular leisure activity.
Since 2007 I have developed a concept called The Solar Cinema as a platform for community development. Over the years, the model has developed to specifically target men, the main patrons of cinema in India. Our research and discussions with peers in India led us to focus on patriarchy and gender in the context of gender equality, violence, and sexual & reproductive health.
Our first project was started in Pune, India in January. To date 30% of audience members enroll in our training.
We are basing our training on Yaari Dosti (itself adapted from Promundo's Prog.H) with two important changes. We are including additional learning objectives on patriarchy and the social structures that continue to reinforce gender inequality, and secondly, we derive learning objectives from programs that target women in the same community. For example, our community cinema in Pune teaches the young men about the low school attendance of girls in the same community, why this is unfair and what can be done about it.
Please keep in touch, I believe we can share information on our experiences to derive effective methods for engaging men to support women.
Sincerely,
Will Muir
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