Although gender-based violence (GBV) exists worldwide, it is especially pervasive and challenging in conflict-affected settings. The breakdown of the family unit, high population density, and lack of community safeguards pose obstacles to implementation of GBV prevention programs. Unfortunately, little evidence exists regarding effective GBV prevention interventions in these settings. Through Our Eyes (TOE), a multi-year participatory video project, addressed GBV by stimulating community dialogue and action in humanitarian settings in South Sudan, Uganda, Thailand, Liberia and Rwanda. The authors used evidence from transcripts from focus group discussions and key informant interviews with individuals who created the videos to those who attended video screenings. Data was analysed using a Grounded Theory approach. The assessment found that TOE contributed to a growing awareness of women's rights and gender equity. Furthermore, both men and women reported attitudinal and behavioural changes related to topics such as intimate partner violence. The fostered community dialogue helped de-stigmatize GBV and encourage survivors to access services. Participatory video is argued to have the ability to tailor messages to specific community needs, engage men as key players, foster community dialogue, and initiate social change related to GBV in a variety of conflict-affected settings. The authors argue that public health professionals should employ participatory video as an innovative technique to address GBV and promote positive gender norms within conflict-affected and other humanitarian settings.
Governance and participation in health
This paper outlines stakeholder views on environmental barriers that prevent people who live with psychosocial disability from participating in mental health policy development in South Africa. The authors conducted 56 semi-structured interviews with national, provincial and local South African mental health stakeholders between August 2006 and August 2009. Respondents included public sector policy makers, professional regulatory council representatives, and representatives from non-profit organisations (NPOs), disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), mental health interest groups, religious organisations, professional associations, universities and research institutions. Respondents identified three main environmental barriers to participation in policy development: stigmatisation and low priority of mental health, poverty, and ineffective recovery and community supports. The authors conclude that a number of attitudes, practices and structures undermine the equal participation of South Africans with psychosocial disability in society. They call for a human rights paradigm and multi-system approach to enable full social engagement by people with psychosocial disability, including their involvement in policy development.
The global AIDS response has shown that at the core of health lie considerations of social justice, human rights, and accountability. As momentum builds for a Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH), the authors of this paper argue that there is an opportunity to take stock of lessons learned from the response to HIV and AIDS and ensure that they are replicated and institutionalised in an eventual Convention. They further argue that the most critical aspect to the success of the HIV response has been the leadership and activism of civil society. Success requires active monitoring of progress and shortcomings, combined with political and social mobilisation to expand investment and access to the services and underlying conditions that protect and advance health. While the FCGH must make civil society support and engagement an indispensable principle, the AIDS movement can contribute substantive content and mobilisation for its adoption. A broad international legal framework for health can help address some of the key legal, policy, regulatory, and programmatic challenges that continue to hinder effective responses to HIV.
Uganda’s parliament passed the Public Order Management bill, which gives Ugandan police broad powers to permit or disallow any “public meeting”. The law defines a public meeting as any gathering of more than three people in any public place where the “failure of any government, political party, or political organisation” is discussed. This definition includes peaceful demonstrations of more than three people, and organisers would be required to inform police in advance or face criminal sanction. The law allows police to use force – including, in several instances, firearms – no matter what the alleged offense. The Bill has been passed to the President to gazette into law.
This study took place in Northern Ghana to assess the impact of male involvement in reproductive health and Family Planning (FP) services. Twelve focus group discussions were held with both male and female community members, six in communities with functional community health-based planning and services strategy (CHPS) and six for communities with less/no-functional CHPS. Fifty-nine in-depth interviews were held with other stakeholders at both district and regional levels. The results revealed a general high perception of an improved health status of children in the last ten years in the communities; however, participants reported that malnutrition was still rife in the community. The results also revealed that women still needed to get spousal approval to use contraceptives; however, the matrilineal system appears to give more autonomy to women in decision-making. The CHPS strategy was perceived as very helpful with full community participation at all levels of the implementation process. Males were more involved in FP services in communities with functioning CHPS than those without functioning CHPS. The authors argue that involving males in reproductive health issues including FP is important to attain reproductive health targets.
Equality before the law, corruption-free government, inclusiveness, gender equality, and respect for the environment are among the priorities for any future set of development goals, as identified during four civil society and government meetings on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the targets that should replace them when they expire in 2015. Four "ground-level panels" were held in four developing countries, including Uganda. Respondents on the panel in Uganda agreed that no one should be left behind, urging a grassroots approach to policy. They proposed that bottom-up processes, where the people decide what is to be done by their government, must be a priority. The panel also felt foreign investment should create opportunities for Ugandans, and external investors should respect local customs and culture.
This report draws on the experiences and views of people living in extreme poverty and marginalisation in 107 countries. The authors distil messages from 84 participatory research studies published in the last seven years. Forty-seven of these studies are based on creative material coming from visual participatory methods. Their findings show that a development framework post-2015 will have legitimacy if it responds to the needs of all citizens, in particular those who are most marginalised and face ongoing exclusion from development processes. The framework has to incorporate shared global challenges and have national level ownership if it is to support meaningful change in the lives of people living in poverty. The authors first focus on understanding the lessons learnt from people's experiences of predominantly international development assistance, before they merge these findings with learning from the second phase of the synthesis, adding a substantive focus on national and local level policy and development planning and how relationships, and accountability between citizens and governance institutions at these levels can be strengthened through the active engagement of those most marginalised in decision-making.
CIDSE, an international alliance of Catholic development agencies, held a workshop in Brussels from 14-15 May 2013 to discuss ways of creating a new development agenda. This report contains the main findings from the workshop. Participants agreed that the new agenda should have a number of values and principles at its heart: human dignity, rights, freedom and responsibility; justice, equity, solidarity, and fair distribution; care for the earth; and participation and subsidiarity. To enable a paradigm shift towards a just and sustainable world, participants called for a prophetic new narrative of human well-being within creation, gender equity, and solidarity, with an economy at the service of society within planetary boundaries. They also called for transformation of the dominant GDP growth and development paradigm, towards just and sustainable societies and livelihoods. They argued for confrontation of unjust power structures, making common cause with those most affected by inequalities and unsustainability in both North and South. Bold actors for change are needed, those who challenge ourselves to deepen our partnerships, and to engage in alliances with those who share our goals of transformation.
This report presents the findings of a research and advocacy process that included consultative workshops with civil society organisations (CSOs) in all nine of South Africa’s provinces. The research found that the legislated ‘enabling environment’ for civil society was dysfunctional. The serious lack of current and reliable national data about the size, scope and activities of the sector negatively affects the ability of the sector and of government to support it. The sustainability and effectiveness of civil society to address poverty and equity is compromised by these problems. South African civil society sector is facing a funding crisis, which needs to be addressed on many fronts: the authors call for legislative reform and renewed work on an enabling policy environment for civil society, and for grant-making and other forms of investment in social development. International sources are now much less available, which means that local funding sources must be developed and leveraged, including private philanthropy, corporate social investment and the contributions from state-related agencies such as the National Lottery Board (NLB) and the national Development Agency (NDA). The authors urge these funding agencies to work with government leadership to commit to a cooperative process towards over-arching and systemic reform of the enabling environment for civil society. They further recommend that a cross-sectoral working group, which includes strong civil society representation, is established to plan the necessary changes.
A new campaign has been launched, Kenyans for Tax Justice, speaking out against a new Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill, known popularly as the “Unga tax bill”. Activists are trying to raise awareness and compile a petition against the bill, which seeks to apply a 16% value added tax rate on basic commodities that have remained untaxed until now. When the bill was introduced to parliament in 2012, citizen welfare groups strongly opposed its adoption but it is now up for debate in parliament. The activists mobilising against the VAT bill say they want to use the campaign to highlight the government’s hypocrisy in increasing taxes for ordinary citizens, while at the same time giving multi-national companies major tax breaks. Government estimates place Kenya’s lost revenue from tax incentives to foreign investors at 100 billion Kenya shillings (1.1 billion dollars). Tax Justice Network Africa estimates that in 2010 and 2011, the government spent more than twice the country’s health budget on providing tax incentives.