Title: Influencing Cultural Norms

Owners:

Erin Scheick - Erin.Scheick@americanbar.org

Miriam Müller - mmuller1@worldbank.org

Kiersten Stewart - kstewart@futureswithoutviolence.org

Summary:

Develop technology that can reach young boys, ages 10-13 and their influencers (sports, media, coaches, TV, video games, peer networks, parents, faith-based organizations).  If we can access this population and change norms around masculinity and attitudes around the acceptability of domestic violence, we can impact norms at the societal level.  Can we provide a service that a target group of influencers (e.g. coaches) use and link it to messages, materials and techniques that redefine masculinity.  Related problem: How can Futures Without Violence get the information they have available out to their target audiences?  What audiences of influencers does the stakeholder have access to that we could use for a prototype (teachers?  coaches?  parents?  counselors?)?

Background:

  Social norms and stereotypes often underlie societal and individual acceptance of intimate-partner abuse and gender-based violence (e.g., “masculine” identity as strong, controlling and aggressive, and “feminine” identity as passive and submissive).

  Dynamics of power and control within a relationship may transcend traditional gender stereotypes, but patterns for establishing and maintaining power over an intimate partner can be similar between abuser and victim, no matter the gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, SES, etc. of the parties.

  Social pressures and expectations, as well as personal, economic, cultural, language, or other factors might create barriers to leaving an abusive relationship.

  One strategy for countering domestic violence is to create healthy, positive and respectful role models for young adults, so as to foster a change in social norms and stereotypes.

  Various NGOs around the globe (including Promundo in Brazil and Futures without Violence in the United States) have developed tools to reach young men and provide them with positive messages about healthy, equal, respectful and violent-free intimate partner relationships.

  One possible avenue for reaching young men is through sports, which is consistent across different cultures, as young men often get together in groups to play sports and fraternize. Older coaches or team captains can serve as leaders in demonstrating and modeling healthy attitudes about intimate partner relationships and dismantling harmful stereotypes about male and female gender roles.  

The material

 Futures without Violence developed a toolkit for coaches: Coaching Boys Into Men, which is used to help shape the attitudes and behaviors of young male athletes. Coaches play an extremely influential and unique role in the lives of young men – often serving as a mentor to the boys they coach. Because of these special relationships, coaches are poised to positively influence how young men think and behave both on and off the field. From team practice sessions to casual conversation, coaches have many opportunities to impart their philosophy onto their young athletes.

  We will bring the toolkit to the Hackathon: It equips coaches with the tools necessary to initiate discussions with their athletes about respect for women and girls, and demonstrate that violence, aggression, power and control are not equivalent to strength.

Technology needed (2 potential ideas related to this material)

- Develop an app to share with coaches. Ideally, this app would be engaging and intuitive, and provide coaches with an updated (and easy to use) technological version of the Futures without Violence material. In particular, the Coaching Boys Into Men program includes “Teachable Moments” (in the PLAYBOOK) as well as a “Training” section (in the CARDS) that each provide coaches with scenarios and scripts for discussing various themes with their athletes. The idea would be to translate this material into an easy to use interactive app that might encourage coaches to actually use the material and integrate it into their practice/training schedule. The app could perhaps function in two ways – one by providing guidance to coaches for hosting conversations about violence against women, and second by providing an easily searchable problem-solving tool that coaches could use to find advice if and when an issue may arise.  

- Develop technology (app, video game, etc.) that will reach young boys, aged 10-13, and perhaps “infuse” their everyday activities with positive messages about respect toward women and girls and healthy relationships. Examples of messages or scenarios (“What would you do?”) can be drawn from the toolkit (e.g., perhaps a “What would you do?” part that encourages young boys to think about creative responses when they recognize a family member, friend, classmate, teammate or peer behaving in a way that reinforces gendered stereotypes and power and control). 

Perhaps the below examples can be turned into apps or other technology that is more interesting to engage in than traditional flyers or pamphlets. 

Related Examples:

http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/section/our_work/men_and_boys/_coaching_leadership/

http://www.icrw.org/where-we-work/parivartan-coaching-boys-men

http://www.promundo.org.br/en/activities/activities-posts/program-h/

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