Annie BandaNational Coordinator COWLHA

3- 6 December 2012Johannesburg, South Africa

STRENGTHENING ATTENTION TO GBV IN NATIONAL HIV STRATEGIES AND PLANS

“The COWLHA’S Experience”

COWLHA’s response to the intersection of HIV & GBV using Stepping Stones The Coalition of Women Living with HIV

and AIDS (COWLHA) has implemented two projects between 2010 and 2011 that have addressed the intersection of GBV and HIV by engaging couples in addressing the two issues. The focus of the projects was to protect the rights of women living with HIV and women in general from HIV vulnerability or its impact resulting from gender imbalances by engaging men.

COWLHA’s response to the intersection of HIV & GBV using Stepping Stones Community Stepping Stones workshops

involving couples were carried out to facilitate debate on why both men and women behave the way they behave in relation to HIV, stigma and discrimination, gender based violence.

Both men and women agreed in plenary on ways of addressing through community dialogues sessions.

Communication skills among couples were enhanced.

Why GBV & HIV interventions? Gender-based violence or the threat of such

violence hinders women’s ability to negotiate risk reduction or to engage in safer sexual practices. It limits women’s abilities to seek HIV testing, treatment, care, or support, and can hinder them from disclosing their HIV status

The interventions garner efforts to prevent violence are essential in view of gender inequalities. Hence, the COWLHA projects of engaging men to challenge gender imbalances that infringe on the rights of women.

Engaging men through stepping stones approach COWLHA’s earlier approaches for

addressing women’s rights violations either sidelined men or simply taken them as perpetrators.

As a result, the impact of such approaches did not produce the best of results

COWLHA as a women’s rights organisation recognised that it is crucial to involve all relevant stakeholders in all efforts to eliminate violence against women.

Engaging men through stepping stones approach cont.. In previous projects COWLHA only trained

women on their rights issues of GBV but never engaged men which did not yield encouraging results because their environment remained the same .

But through the said project, 132 trainers of trainers were trained in the Stepping Stones methodology of which 61 were men.

The trained men served as champions for women’s rights within their communities and are examples to their peers.

Engaging men through stepping stones approach cont.. Couples were invited to stepping stones sessions where

they were questioned on why they behave they way they behave and what needs to be changed to enhance violence free relationships.

Stepping stones helps couples to improve on their communication skills, sex and sexuality education among others.

As a result, the project improved the sexual lives of couples because families became institutions where the needs and wants of both the husband and the wife are mutually met.

The project also improved positive prevention which is one of the reported challenges by COWLHA members that their partners (men) were usually refusing to use condoms.

Engaging men through stepping stones approach cont.. The desire to have children by men

sometimes leads to violation of sexual and reproductive health rights of women. E.g. some women are forced to have kids by their husbands or risk losing their marriages even against the advice of doctors. But the engagement of men through stepping stones has had a positive impact on both women and men. Ref. case study 1:

CASE STUDY 1

Martin confessed that before the Stepping Stones training, he used to argue with his wife over the use of condoms within their marriage because he did not see the need while Beatrice always insisted on condom use. This was always a bone of contention in that they often disagreed on condom use but SS training has helped Martin to realise the importance of using a condom and he acknowledges that he never realised that he was violating the rights of his wife by insisting on not using condoms against her wish. Since the training was concluded, we have always used condoms and arguments arising from use of condoms no longer happen” he said

Martin and Getrude………….

WHAT ENGANGING MEN THROUGH STEPPING STONES HAS DONE

The Stepping Stones methodology has helped to shift making sexual reproductive health being male centered to couple centered, in which case the sexual reproductive health rights of both the husband and the wife are respected. As such, through the project and methodology therein, COWLHA is achieving its objectives of ensuring that the rights of women living with HIV are being protected and fulfilled and inevitably reducing incidences of gender based violence by engaging men as partners.

WHAT ENGANGING MEN THROUGH STEPPING STONES HAS DONE Spouses are now able to kiss and even

hug each other in public as you can see the pictures below. This could not happen before the SS training.

A SUCCESS STORY

Stepping Stones excites Midwife Technician!!!!!!!!!!!

“My name is Patricia Mwenyeheri. I am 40 years old,aNurse/Midwife Technician working at Mzandu HealthCenter in Ntchisi district. I was Encouraged to hear that the founder of Stepping Stones is a woman living with HIV and

is highly educated. In the community where I am working, people get surprised that I am living with

A SUCCESS STORY

HIV as a nurse because they do not expect someone like a nurse, doctor or medical assistant to have HIV.

Sometimes people say discouraging things but I do not get embarrassed and I am a COWLHA member living positively with HIV. The Stepping Stones training has changed me completely especially the sessions on ‘Self Assertiveness’ and ‘I Statements’ because they have made me more strong”.

Lessons learnt

The fight against GBV can not be won if men are always blamed for perpetrating it without engaging them in a meaningful way.

The fight for the protection of women’s rights within the women’s movement cannot be won if men are sidelined.

Grouping men and women separately to generate issues of concern to be discussed in plenary is more effective towards generating sober debates on issues and not personalities considering that in local communities, women tend to shut up when men are around due to cultural norms.

Way Forward

There is need to intensify programmes that engage men in order to create more male champions for the rights of women other than treating men as perpetrators of women’s rights violations…..there is strength in meaningful engagement and partnerships

THANK YOU

FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!!!!