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Gender, development and ICTs (Gender & Development Journal, 26:2, 2018)

The digital revolution is transforming how human beings live, work, and relate to each another. Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have vast potential to communicate, gain access to information and services, and catalyse collective action for social justice.

But there is also the risk this revolution will fail to challenge stark inequalities in terms of who benefits and whose voice is heard. And technologies can be used by those who seek to challenge rights as well as realise them. In this issue, Gender & Development focuses on ICTs from the perspective of gender justice, and shares feminist experiences of using digital to advance women’s rights.

Click here for more information and access to articles.

A cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the effect of community mobilisation and advocacy on men’s use of violence in periurban South Africa: study protocol (BMJ Open 8(3), 2018)

This paper describes the design and methods of a cluster randomised controlled trial (C-RCT) to determine the effectiveness of a community mobilisation intervention that is designed to reduce the perpetration of violence against women (VAW).

Methods and analysis: A C-RCT of nine intervention and nine control clusters is being carried out in a periurban, semiformal settlement near Johannesburg, South Africa, between 2016 and 2018. A community mobilisation and advocacy intervention, called Sonke CHANGE is being implemented over 18 months. It comprises local advocacy and group activities to engage community members to challenge harmful gender norms and reduce VAW. The intervention is hypothesised to improve equitable masculinities, reduce alcohol use and ultimately, to reduce VAW. Intervention effectiveness will be determined through an audio computer-assisted self-interview questionnaire with behavioural measures among 2600 men aged between 18 and 40 years at baseline, 12 months and 24 months. The primary trial outcome is men’s use of physical and/or sexual VAW. Secondary outcomes include harmful alcohol use, gender attitudes, controlling behaviours, transactional sex and social cohesion.

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Ensuring government accountability for expanded access to female condoms in South Africa (PATH Case Study, 2015)

In 2012, the South African government launched a new National Strategic Plan on HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB) for 2012-2016 that included ambitious female condom procurement targets. Reproductive health advocates viewed these targets as progress toward expanded protection options for women. They also saw an opportunity to monitor and encourage implementation, especially since translating health policies into concrete programming remained a challenge in South Africa. Over 18 months, they implemented a series of advocacy activities to maintain a steady drumbeat of attention on female condoms and increase accountability among South African officials for procurement and programming. The conclusion of these advocacy efforts coincided with the government releasing its largest-ever tender for female condoms, requesting a supply of 54 million units over three years. This number tracks closely with the targets laid out in the HIV/STI/TB National Strategic Plan.

The case study finds that coordinating and mobilizing local South African civil society and media partners to deliver advocacy messages through creative means—such as the “Dance4Demand” Global Female Condom Day campaign in 2014—was critical in persuading government decision-makers to act on their commitments.

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Politicians’ perspectives on voice and accountability: evidence from a survey of South African local councillors (Making All Voices Count Research Report, 2017)

A growing body of research exists on democratic accountability. Much of this research focuses on citizen strategies for expressing their views, and on efforts to hold politicians and government service providers accountable. Despite this research, little is known about how politicians in young democracies view these aspects of democratic governance.

Given that accountability can be understood as a feedback ‘loop’ between citizens and elected representatives, it is necessary to gain a better understanding of the norms and values of politicians themselves, the pressures they face and the ways that they communicate with their constituents.

This paper details findings from an original survey of approximately 1,000 South African councillors in 2016 and 2017 to explore what representation and accountability looks like from their perspective. How do they understand the various links in the accountability chain, including citizen input and deliberation, norms of good government and pressures from political parties, friends and family? The quality of democratic accountability, and the success of interventions to improve citizen representation, may depend on the norms and beliefs held by elected representatives.

Click here for for further details and to download the report.

Contested and Under Pressure: A Snapshot of the Enabling Environment of Civil Society in 22 Countries (CIVICUS 2017)

Between 2013 and 2016, civil society in 22 countries carried out an Enabling Environment National Assessment (EENA). The EENA is a civil society-led process that analyses the extent to which national conditions enable the work of civil society.
The EENA analysis explores in particular how laws and regulations relating to civil society are implemented in practice, and how they impact on civil society. The assessments, led by national civil society partners, employed a common methodology that encompassed interviews with key stakeholders, consultations, focus groups and desk research. In every country, six core dimensions were assessed: the ability of civil society groups to form, operate and access resources -all aspects of the freedom of association – plus the freedoms of peaceful assembly
and expression, and relations between civil society and governments.
Overall the EENA assessments reveal a picture of an environment for civil society that is volatile, contested and often under pressure, but also with some optimism in some contexts about the potential for progress.

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