Impact Data from the Field
Below we highlight impact data from our community work in Rwanda that demonstrates the power of our approach and the importance of transforming hearts, minds and communities from the grassroots up!
Some of the tools we use to assess our impact include:
Focus group discussions with skilled Rwandan facilitators, engaging boys and girls separately
KAP assessments (specific measurement of changes in Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices)
Self-esteem assessments based on standardized best practice tools, adapted for the Rwandan context
Specific knowledge tests that assess retention of key pieces of information, such as where and how to report violence
“I want to keep the conversation going, keep pushing them [parents], there’s nothing men can do that women can’t do – and I will keep pushing this until they change their mindsets.”
Major and measurable shifts in harmful attitudes and beliefs
Our work aims to influence both the hearts and minds of young people on a deep, personal level that will stand the test of time long after we have worked with them. Our approach is participatory, conversational, vulnerable, challenging, honest and transformative - and it works.
Some highlights of our impact in terms of attitudes and beliefs include:
Significant improvements among both boys and girls from baseline to endline focus group discussions, related to gender inequality and stereotypes, power and agency, decision making, gender-based violence, victim blaming, consent and youth leadership in the community.
Girls positively transformed their attitudes and beliefs around gender equality and gender-based violence from an average of score of 66% at baseline to 93% at endline in our latest project, My Voice, My Power.
Boys in turn improved their beliefs and attitudes about gender and violence, from an average baseline score of 68% at baseline to 89% at endline.
At the beginning of My Voice, My Power, ALL girls in our baseline focus group discussion said they would not refuse to have unprotected sex with a boy if he insisted on not using a condom, for fear of him dumping them or losing his attention. At the end of the project, ALL girls agreed they would not have unprotected sex with a boy even if he pressured them, and “if a boy doesn’t respect your boundaries, he doesn’t really care about you.”
Before we began My Voice, My Power, only 7 out of 20 girls agreed with the statement "violence is never, ever the fault of the victim”; at the endline evaluation, all respondents agreed with this statement.
Out of 14 respondents, only 1 adolescent boy at the baseline disagreed with the statement “A leader is someone who is in charge, who tells others what to do”. At the endline, ALL respondents disagreed.
As exciting as these results are, we believe there is even greater value in the direct feedback of youth participants themselves, feedback which paints a more comprehensive ‘real life’ picture
of the transformative impact of their time with us.
“It’s important because if you’re not aware of gender, you can’t claim your rights; you do things because you think that’s just how they’re supposed to be. For example, in the past, I would do home chores alone, without involving my brother, and we thought this was normal - but now that I’m aware, my brother now does chores he would never have done in the past, and it’s because I know it’s not just for me to do all this work.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-17
“I was always curious about riding a bicycle, but here it’s not allowed for girls. So after learning that girls can do anything boys can, I went and asked my brother because we have a bicycle at home, and now I learned how to ride a bicycle. I never in my life imagined I would be able to learn how to ride a bicycle, and now I can, and I do. I felt proud of myself, and happy, because it’s something I always wanted to do, and my brother also never thought I could do it, so it was a big deal for me.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-17
“Gender knowledge is important because it made me see that I can make a decision in my life, in the past we thought it was all pre-determined, there was nothing we could do (it was just part of ‘being a girl’, due to our sex), but now I know that’s not true, and I can make a decision in my life.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
Changing
deep-seated beliefs about masculinity, power and violence
A robust body of global research and evidence shows that harmful gender norms around masculinity are the primary driver of all forms of violence against women and girls. We challenge boys and men to think critically about their identities, beliefs and attitudes and to make real changes in their lives.
“This workshop showed me how girls are often abused and mistreated, and this touched my heart as a personal impact to me, it made me look for what I can do to stop that. I also made the decision of not becoming that kind of man who abuses women."
- adolescent boy in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
“Women and girls face violence because of ideas men and boys have about “being a man”, especially emotional violence. Men who believe that men are the only ones who are good and strong consider women as inferior people. This has a bad impact on how girls see themselves and can even prevent girls from taking chances and applying for jobs or doing different things. This affects girl’s and women’s development.”
- adolescent boy in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“What changed me was learning that girls have the right to make a decision. I used to think that boys and men are the ones who make the final decision in everything, to show that you are a real man. For example, if I ask a girl to go and watch a football match with me and she tells me that she is not in the mood to watch football, I’ll be offended and try to insist that she come with me. We used to be the ones who made the final decision, which was wrong because you are forcing someone to do something they don’t want. You are taking away their rights. This type of mindset is wrong. Boys and girls have to decide together and do what they both had agreed on.”
- adolescent boy / young man in rural Rwanda, aged 17-20
“The most impactful thing was learning about girls' lives and what they go through, and the beliefs we were trained to have about them unconsciously, without even realizing it - and the worst part is that we didn't even realize it! Because people can become selfish to refuse to see that what they're doing is wrong, and that gender equality should be promoted, without hesitation."
- adolescent boy in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
“There is a common mindset that people have that gives excuses to men. We even have a proverb in Rwanda that says that “the man is always right”. This mindset permits men to do what they want without being held accountable. It portrays men as people who don’t make any mistakes and even if they do, that is how they are created. When there is a conflict between a wife and a husband in the family and they find themselves fighting, most of the time they blame the wife. Sometimes, they even punish the wife because they don’t think that the man might ever be the wrong one. This creates violence towards women and gives men a free pass to commit violence without being held accountable.”
- adolescent boy / young man in rural Rwanda, aged 14-20
“The problem is not about what the girl may be wearing. The problem is those who commit violence. Whatever a person is wearing, you don’t have the permission to force someone to do something she doesn’t want. If there is no consent, then it becomes violence. Most people are not aware of this and they still think that sometimes a girl should be blamed. This is wrong because it doesn’t help people who face violence and it reduces the number of people who report.”
- adolescent boy / young man in rural Rwanda, aged 14-20
Significant improvements in critical knowledge
Girls and boys we work with have shown significant improvements in knowledge around critical topics such as gender, violence, consent, leadership and equality.
Some highlights of our impact in terms of knowledge include:
Girls in our pilot cycle of My Voice, My Power went from an average of 31% score knowledge of empowering self-defense and anti-violence beliefs, knowledge and tactics to an average 95% score.
Boys in our pilot cycle of My Voice, My Power went from from an average score of 64% to 87% in their accurate knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Girls in our pilot cycle of My Voice, My Power went from from an average score of 46% to 89% in their accurate knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Girls in the same project went from 31% to 96% in terms of knowledge of youth community activism.
Peer-to-peer learning and the ripple effect of community influence
Girls and boys we work with become outspoken youth advocates for social change, and influence their siblings, friends, parents, teachers and other community members. This is how individual change becomes social transformation!
“What is the benefit of knowing these things if I don’t speak up and share with people?”
“I passed by a group of people talking about violence on the road, there was this case of a man who had raped a young girl, he was taken to prison, but everyone was blaming the young girl; so when I reached home, I discussed it with my mom, and I told my mom about victim blaming, at first my mom even blamed the girl, so I took the time to explain to her, and we had a long conversation about it. In the end, my mom thought about it for two days, and then she brought it up again to me, and asked me more about it, and then she wanted me to share everything I learned in the project with her, whenever I came home from a session, and she was really happy about what I had learned.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“I will share with other boys who may still have that mentality of girls being inferior to boys, that they should change the way they think about girls and that we can combine the strengths that we have to build something greater."
- adolescent boy in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
“I talked to my friend about boyfriends and boys pressuring girls to sleep with him, and the expectation that girls should be submissive and obedient, we had a discussion about it and my friend also became convinced that it’s wrong to just accept what a boy pushes you to do, and to not speak for yourself.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“We had a discussion in our classroom about home chores that boys can do, and we debated about boys carrying babies on their backs. We challenged them to ask themselves why not, boys also have backs and arms, they can also carry babies. Many people now agree with us, some are still stubborn, but many now see what we mean and agree.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“I want to influence different people individually in a very serious, in-depth way, so that we can band together and influence others as a group.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“We are planning to teach others what we learned. We would like to be known in our community so that our club might participate in changing the mentality of youth in particular.”
- adolescent boys in rural Rwanda, aged 14-19
“For me, I have made a personal commitment that every time I am in a meeting or a group, I will bring it up, I will talk about it.”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“I have talked to some friends in my neighbourhood, but I haven’t reached everyone yet, and I want to influence everyone in my area.
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
“For me, I sometimes hear people talking about such things in passing, on the roadside, etc., so I want to intervene, what is the benefit of knowing these things if I don’t speak up and share with people?”
- adolescent girl in rural Rwanda, aged 14-18
The power of a youth-friendly, participatory approach
Working with young people requires a unique approach, one that engages and challenges the mind while also allowing room for play, joy, expression and growth. We use a safe space approach in all of our work, that prioritizes respect, honesty, inclusion, diversity and the power of active participation, free from judgment or stigma.
“I love how the instructor includes us and encourages us to speak our minds about what we think or experience. She gives us various examples that help us understand the topic clearly, and it is really fun.”
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
“Really it was amazing, you gave me power inside me that I feel I can use to change others, and I can play an important role to bring justice and human rights in society and in my country."
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 13-18
"I loved the free speech that we could have, which allows all the people to ask and find out other opinions, and to be corrected in case you are thinking in the wrong way, When we were together with the girls, and they told us their point of view, we were able to ask them and get more information from them, and that was a great experience."
- adolescent boy in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
“This workshop was so interesting because this is what we face in our daily lives, so it's crucial to talk about it."
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 13-18
"I really enjoyed how we were invited to speak up our minds and no one's idea was underestimated. I also enjoyed that we were able to talk about real life since this is our everyday life."
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
"My first suggestion is to introduce these kinds of workshops into each and every school in Rwanda!"
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18
"This workshop wasn't boring like so many other workshops I've been to, it was fun and educational. Paper Crown gives you knowledge in a good and fun way!"
- adolescent girl in urban Rwanda, aged 14-18