What is SASA!?

An Activist Kit for mobilizing communities to prevent violence against women and HIV. Organized into four phases to influence community norms:

Start (Knowledge)

Awareness (Knowledge & Attitudes)

Support (Skills)

Action (Behavior)

Components of SASA! Process: Phasing in ideas systematically led by community members Reach: Creating critical mass across all sectors and using multiple strategies for intensive exposure Content: Language of power is provocative; decreases defensiveness, gets personal

The SASA! Approach: How it works

Awareness

Support

Action

Learning about the

community Selecting Community

Activists Fostering ‘power within’

staff and community activists

Helping activists gain

confidence Informal activities

Encouraging critical thinking about men’s ‘power over’ women

Strengthening skills and

connections between community members Joining ‘power with’

others to support change

Trying new behaviors, celebrating change

Fostering the ‘power

to’ make positive change

Action

involving community members, leaders and institutions to build critical mass

Support Start Awareness

Structure of SASA!

SASA! Strategies

Activities to reach out to all levels in the community to affect social norm change

Local Activism

Media and Advocacy

Communication Materials

Training

Content evolves with each phase

SASA! in Kampala

Partnership between CEDOVIP: implementation Raising Voices: monitoring and

technical assistance LSHTM: evaluation

Programming began April 2008 Urban and peri-urban

communities in Kampala District Impact studied through a

randomized controlled trial whose results were significant

Process: Community Led

Over 400 Activists (female/male) recruited, spearhead activities

Regular support, training, mentoring and monitoring from CEDOVIP and Raising Voices staff

Wide range of activities done around and in CA’s neighborhoods

Informal person-to-person activism, some large events

Support/referrals to community members in need

Implementation: Institutions

Work with Police, Health Care Providers, Religious and Cultural Leaders, Local Government Officials, Ssengas (traditional marriage counselors)

Same training processes, similar activities, processes Regular support by CEDOVIP staff Focus on strengthening institutions (formal

mechanisms) as well as influencing individuals

Lessons Learned for effective community mobilization

Working in communities intensely, over time is more meaningful than one-off or sporadic activities

Important to work with a cross section of the community to ‘regular’ women and men to leaders and MPs

Essential to involve both women and men (not only one sex) as both contribute to sustaining social norms

A combination of communication channels is important Requires strong organizational capacity to provide sustained

support to community-led activities Invest in social norm change interventions at community level. Prevention is possible!

Lessons

Focus on critical consciousness…questioning to stimulate discussions rather than preaching/teaching.

the importance of guiding communities through a change process that moves to support and action

Language of power to focus discussions Use a benefits-based inspirational framing

info@raisingvoices.org www.raisingvoices.org

Thank you!