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| Guidance on Activities using Gender-Transformative Approaches | |
|---|---|
| Why Gender-Transformative Approaches? | |
| Many adolescent girls and young women face barriers that limit their ability to make informed | |
| decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). These barriers can | |
| contribute to unintended pregnancies, early marriage, school dropout, gender-based violence, | |
| limited access to family planning and delayed use of health services. The situation is even | |
| worse among youth with disability. | |
| The SRHEYW programme therefore promotes Gender-Transformative Approaches (GTA) that | |
| contribute to reducing teenage pregnancies, increasing access to and use of SRHR information | |
| and services, strengthening reproductive autonomy and informed decision-making, promoting | |
| healthy relationships and gender equality, increasing participation of young women and girls in | |
| decisions affecting their lives and improving inclusion of persons with disabilities in SRHR | |
| programmes and services. | |
| What is a Gender-Transformative Approach? | |
| A GTA goes beyond providing information or services. It seeks to address and transform the | |
| underlying social norms, attitudes, practices and power relations that limit the health, rights and | |
| opportunities of women, girls and persons with disabilities. A GTA enables women, girls and | |
| people living with disabilities (PWD) to exercise their rights, influence decisions and access | |
| services without discrimination. | |
| What Types of GTA Does SRHEYW Support? | |
| There is no single way to implement a GTA. Different organizations may contribute through | |
| different approaches. Common denominators of GTA include a gender/power analysis, | |
| participatory processes, youth and women leadership in the process, multi-level and | |
| interlocking repeat interventions, engagement of men and boys as clients, partners and change | |
| agent, and safeguarding against gender-backlash. Among many others, " SASA!" , "Men as | |
| Partners", "Girl-Led Advocacy" and "Community Conversations" are examples of GTA. | |
| 1. Empowerment and Reproductive Autonomy | |
| Activities strengthen the ability of young women, girls and PWD to make informed decisions | |
| about their health and lives. | |
| Examples: | |
| • SRHR education programmes | |
| • Girls' clubs | |
| • Peer educator programmes |
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| • Advocacy, leadership and public speaking empowerment | |
|---|---|
| • Reproductive autonomy programmes | |
| Expected contribution: | |
| • Increased confidence and self-efficacy | |
| • Better knowledge of SRHR rights | |
| • Improved ability to seek and use SRHR services | |
| • Increased ability to make informed decisions regarding family planning, relationships | |
| and education | |
| 2. Community Norms Transformation | |
| Activities challenge harmful social norms and practices that contribute to poor SRHR outcomes. | |
| Examples: | |
| • Community dialogues | |
| • Faith leader engagement | |
| • Discussions on adolescent SRHR | |
| • Community campaigns against stigma and discrimination | |
| Expected contribution: | |
| • Reduced acceptance of harmful norms and misconceptions on gender and disability | |
| • Greater community support for girls' education and SRHR | |
| • Increased acceptance of young people's access to SRHR services | |
| 3. Male Engagement | |
| Activities engage men and boys as positive partners and allies. | |
| Examples: | |
| • Male champion programmes | |
| • Father engagement initiatives | |
| • Couple communication sessions | |
| • Community role-model campaigns | |
| Expected contribution: | |
| • Greater support for girls' and women's choices | |
| • Shared decision-making | |
| • Reduced resistance to SRHR service use | |
| 4. Leadership and Representation | |
| Activities increase participation and influence of women, girls and PWD. | |
| Examples: | |
| • Youth participation in community structures | |
| • PWD advocacy groups | |
| • Youth-led campaigns | |
| Expected contribution: | |
| • Increased voice and representation |
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• Greater influence on decisions affecting health and wellbeing • Increased participation in community leadership positions
| 5. Systems and Service Transformation | |
|---|---|
| Activities improve responsiveness and accessibility of institutions and services. | |
| Examples: | |
| • Advocacy for youth-friendly services | |
| • Disability-inclusive health services | |
| • Citizen feedback mechanisms | |
| • Evidence generation and use | |
| Expected contribution: | |
| • Improved access to quality SRHR services | |
| • Reduced barriers to care | |
| • More responsive health systems |
| What Does NOT Qualify as GTA? | |
|---|---|
| The following activities alone are generally not considered gender-transformative: | |
| • One-off awareness sessions | |
| • Distribution of information materials only | |
| • Activities that generate information without support to remedial action | |
| • Activities that focus only on knowledge transfer | |
| • Activities that do not address barriers, norms or power relations | |
| • Activities that do not involve meaningful participation of beneficiaries | |
| Such activities may still be valuable and contribute to SRHR outcomes but are not considered | |
| gender-transformative on their own. | |
| Principles for All GTA Activities | |
| All SRHEYW-supported GTA activities should have an evidence base that they: | |
| • Analyse power relationships and work towards balancing them | |
| • Promote reproductive autonomy and informed choice | |
| • Contribute to improved SRHR outcomes | |
| • Meaningfully involve young women, girls and/or PWD | |
| • Engage men and boys as clients, partners and change agent | |
| • Promote inclusion and accessibility | |
| • Challenge harmful norms, barriers or discrimination | |
| • Support sustainable community-led change | |
| • Use multi-level and interlocking repeat interventions | |
| • Follow a do-no-harm approach |
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