Traditions and Opportunities – A Toolkit for GBV Programs to Engage Community Leaders in Humanitarian Settings [EN/AR]
Introduction
“Working with community leaders to address GBV is a very good and promising approach because community leaders are the guardians of all our beliefs and customs. Because GBV is rooted in beliefs and customs, trying to address GBV without engaging community leaders can lead to a big conflict, and you won’t have any impact. Community leaders also play roles in providing response to GBV survivors. Survivors go to chiefs of villages to bring their concerns and experiences, and the leaders have practices for dealing with concerns and an approach to justice that is based first on keeping social cohesion, but GBV cannot be resolved like any other conflict. Based on my experience in GBV programs in my own country and elsewhere, I’ve learned that it is more challenging to engage community leaders in some places than others. Sometimes religious aspects make it more challenging. But if you ask any leader to describe what a leader is, what a leader does, they will talk about protecting the community. And that is also what we want—to protect women and girls in the community.”
– Experienced GBV Program Manager
Why This Toolkit?
Humanitarian programming to address GBV in emergencies has gained greater attention in recent years, with focused interventions to better meet the needs of survivors and communities. Engaging community members—including community leaders— is key to the success of GBV prevention and response programming. Community leaders carry great responsibility and influence in communities, particularly
in emergency settings. As critical stakeholders, GBV programs have long engaged community leaders as gatekeepers, service providers, and agents of change. However, GBV programs have often lacked tailored guidance and support to explore potential areas of community leader engagement and navigate challenges related to this work, including risks of inadvertently reinforcing leadership structures that do not center women and girls. This Toolkit aims to provide GBV practitioners with new ideas, guidance, tools, and resources to meet these challenges, and to safely and effectively engage community leaders to advance GBV prevention and response in humanitarian settings.
Who Are Community Leaders?
Community leaders are members of the community who serve in formal or informal leadership positions, such as elders, chiefs or tribal leaders, religious leaders, local government officials, traditional aunties, midwives, school officials, etc. They are both male and female, and they have roles in their communities that help them to influence or serve others.
Why Community Leaders?
Community leaders play important roles as custodians of traditions, customs, and norms, and often have a strong influence on the attitudes and behaviors of others. They may be sought for support and guidance on matters related to the community and the family, including marriages, distribution and ownership of resources, and interpersonal conflicts. In many contexts, community leaders are involved in responding
to incidents of GBV, including intimate partner violence, early and forced marriage, and sexual violence perpetrated within the community. This is especially true during emergencies and displacement when formal systems break down or are more difficult to access. Community leaders can therefore serve key roles in ensuring adequate support for survivors of GBV and building communities that are free from violence against women and girls.
Source: International Medical Corps