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How to do an Audience Analysis

February 7, 2020

This article was curated from COMPASS


An audience analysis is a process used to identify and understand the priority and influencing audiences for a SBCC strategy. The priority and influencing audiences are those people whose behavior must change in order to improve the health situation. A complete audience analysis looks at: 

  • Socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, age, language and religion.
  • Geographic characteristics like where the audience lives and how that might impact behavior.
  • Psychographic characteristics such as needs, hopes, concerns and aspirations.
  • Audience thoughts, beliefs, knowledge and current actions related to the health or social issue. 
  • Barriers and facilitators that prevent or encourage audience members to adopt the desired behavior change.
  • Gender and how it impacts audience members’ behavior and ability to change.
  • Effective communication channels for reaching the audience.
Why Conduct an Audience Analysis? 

An audience analysis informs the design of materials, messages, media selection and activities of a SBCC strategy. It establishes a clear, detailed and realistic picture of the audience. As a result, messages and activities are more likely to resonate with the audience and lead to the desired change in behaviors.

Who Should Conduct an Audience Analysis? 

A small, focused team should conduct the audience analysis. Members should include communication staff, health/social service staff and, when available, research staff.

Stakeholders should also be involved throughout the process. Consider effective ways to engage stakeholders to gain feedback and input, including: in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, community dialogue, small group meetings, taskforce engagement and participatory stakeholder workshops. 

When Should Audience Analysis Be Conducted?

An audience analysis should be conducted at the beginning of a program or project, in conjunction with a situation analysis and program analysis. The team should start thinking about the audience during the desk review and fill in any gaps during the stakeholder workshop. It is part of the Inquiry phase of the P Process. 

Estimated Time Needed

Completing an audience analysis can take up to three to four weeks. When estimating time, consider the existing audience-related data, what gaps need to be filled and whether additional stakeholder or audience input is needed. Allow for additional time if formative research is needed to fill in any gaps that may exist in the literature.

Learning Objectives

After completing the activities in the audience analysis guide, the team will: 

  • Determine the priority audience. 
  • Determine the influencing audience(s). 
  • Describe the priority and influencing audience(s).
  • Develop an audience profile for each priority and influencing audience(s).

Prerequisites

Steps

Step 1: Identify Potential Audience(s)

To address the problem statement and achieve the vision decided upon during the situation analysis, brainstorm and list all potential audiences that are affected by or have control over the health or social problem. For example, if the problem is high unmet need for family planning, potential audiences may be:

Step 2: Select the Priority Audience

An effective SBCC strategy must focus on the most important audience. The priority audience is not always the most affected audience, but is the group of people whose behavior must change in order to improve the health situation. The number of priority audiences depends mainly on the number of audiences whose practice of the behavior will significantly impact the problem. For example, priority audiences may be:

To identify the priority audience(s), keep in mind the vision and health or social problem. Then consider:

  • Who is most affected
  • How many people are in the audience
  • How important it is that the audience change their behavior
  • How likely it is that the audience will change their behavior
  • Who controls the behavior or the resources required for a behavior change

Step 3: Identify Priority Audience Characteristics

Identify the socio-demographic, geographic and psychographic characteristics of each priority audience. Include their communication preferences and other opportunities to reach them. 

Organize priority audience information in a table (see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates).

Step 4: Identify Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

Understand what the priority audience knows, thinks, feels and does about the problem in order to determine the audiences’ stage of behavior change. This allows the program to tailor messages and activities based on the audience’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors.

There are a number of ideational factors that commonly influence individual behavior and should be considered when examining the audience’s knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

The situation analysis, stakeholder workshop and any additional quantitative or qualitative research will indicate what the priority audience currently does in reference to the problem and what the audience knows, thinks and feels about the problem or desired behavior. Keeping in mind the ideational factors, examine that research to understand each priority audience. Ask questions such as:

  • What does the priority audience already know (knowledge) about the problem?
  • How does the priority audience feel about the problem (attitude)?
  • How does the priority audience see their role with respect to the problem (self-image)?
  • Does the priority audience feel at risk of having the problem? How at risk do they feel (risk perception)?
  • What are the community’s beliefs and attitudes toward the health problem (social norms)?
  • How capable does the priority audience feel about being able to take action to address the problem (self-efficacy)?
  • What emotional reaction does the priority audience have towards the health problem (emotions)?
  • What level of support does the priority audience believe they would receive from family members or the community (social support and influence)?
  • How capable does the priority audience feel about discussing how to reduce the problem (personal advocacy)? 

Add this information to the table (see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates).

Step 5: Identify Barriers and Facilitators

It is crucial to know what prevents or encourages the priority audience to practice the desired behavior. Identify barriers and facilitators of change in the literature and list them in the table (see Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template under templates).If the desk review does not adequately identify behavioral factors, conduct additional qualitative research (interviews, focus groups) with members of the priority audience. Some important barriers to consider include:

  • Habit: People are comfortable doing things the same way they have always done them.
  • Fear: People expect change to bring negative consequences.
  • Negative experience: Some audiences may have had a bad experience, such as with the health care system, and thus may be cynical or resistant to change.

If the desired behavior requires adopting/utilizing products or services, consider issues of availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability.

 

Step 6: Consider Audience Segmentation

Audience segmentation is the process of dividing the priority audience into sub groups according to at least one similar characteristic that will affect the success of the SBCC effort.  Look at the selected priority audience and decide if it is similar enough that it can be effectively reached by the same set of channels, messages and interventions. Ask the following questions about the priority audience to decide if segmentation is necessary:

  • Are any audience members particularly difficult to reach, requiring a different set of channels?
  • Do any audience members have distinct views or concerns about the problem?
  • Do any audience members require a different message to reach them effectively?
  • Are any audience members at greater risk? 

If yes, the audience may need to be segmented further.  See the audience segmentation guide for more information on how to identify and prioritize audiences so that messages and interventions can be most effectively targeted.  

Some urban women of reproductive age may have different concerns or views about family planning. One group might be afraid of side effects while another group does not use family planning because they do not know where family planning services are available. These groups would require different messages and interventions and should be segmented if resources allow.

Step 7: Identify Key Influencers

Based on the priority or segmented audience, identify the key influencers. Search the situation analysis, stakeholder workshop and any qualitative research findings for indications of who strongly influences the priority audience’s behavior (see Audience Focused Literature Review Chart Template under templates). Influencers can be individuals or groups. Their different roles – as friends, family, leaders, teachers, health providers and of course, the media – often determine their level of influence. Consider the following factors to help identify influencing audiences:

  • Who has the most impact on the priority audience’s health-related behavior and what is their relationship to the priority audience?
  • Who makes or shapes the priority audience’s decisions in the problem area?
  • Who influences the priority audience’s behavior positively and who influences it negatively?

Step 8: Organize Influencing Audience Information

For each influencing audience identified, search the literature to identify information about them and their relationship to the priority audience. Look for:

  • How strongly the group influences the priority audience
  • What behaviors they encourage the priority audience to practice
  • Why they would encourage or discourage the desired behavior
  • How to reach them

Organize information on influencing audiences in another table for later use in the SBCC strategy (see Influencing Audiences Template under templates):

Step 9: Develop Audience Profiles

Review the notes about each audience and try to tell the story of that person. Audience profiles bring audience segments to life by telling the story of an imagined individual from the audience.

The audience profile consists of a paragraph with details on current behaviors, motivation, emotions, values and attitudes, as well as information such as age, income level, religion, sex and where they live. The profile should reflect the primary barriers the audience faces in adopting the desired behavior. Include a name and photo to help the creative team visualize who the person is. Answers to the following questions can lead to insightful profiles that help the team understand and reach audiences more effectively: 

The audience profiles will feed directly into the creative brief process and will be an integral part of the SBCC strategy. See the Samples section for an example of an audience profile.

Templates

Audience Characteristics and Behavioral Factors Template

Audience-Focused Literature Review Template

Influencing Audience Template

Samples

Sample Audience Profile

Tips & Recommendations

  • Talk to audience members. Do not rely solely on the project team’s beliefs or what program staff and health workers say or assume about the audiences.
  • Put yourself in the audience’s shoes. To truly understand what audiences know, think and feel, set aside assumptions and preconceived notions. 
  • Work in teams. The collaboration among team members (four or five people recommended) will provide richer and deeper insights into the issues. If possible, include people who have direct experience working or living in the community. 
  • Find other ways to gather information. It is important to recognize that some documents may have information gaps that will require additional inquiries (formative research) to fully understand the potential audience. Interviews with local experts (e.g. medical and public health staff) can help explain the issue and identify those most at risk or affected by it.
  • Incorporate the communication channels prioritized during the stakeholder workshop. Also consider other opportunities to reach audiences, such as places (e.g., schools, clinics) and events (e.g., health fairs, community events). SBCC strategies can take advantage of such opportunities to connect with audience members about the topic.
  • The priority audience’s perception about how the community views an issue may differ from how the community actually views the issue. The perception of what the family/community thinks often will be the deciding factor when it comes to taking a health action. This can prevent the individual from taking the best action. Addressing the misperceptions with your program or campaign could lead to a more successful behavior change intervention than one that does not address misperceptions.
  • Audience profiles should represent the experience of real people. This will help the program team better understand the audiences they are trying to reach and ensure that audience members see themselves in the messages developed for them.
  • No two audience profiles should look the same; the best profiles use qualitative research as a source. Profiles are living documents that should be updated when new information becomes available. 

Lessons Learned

  • Designing messages and activities with shared characteristics in mind increases the likelihood of audience members identifying with the issue and feeling able to address it.

Glossary & Concepts

  • Priority audience refers to a group of people whose behavior must change in order to improve the health situation. It is the most important group to address because they have the power to make changes the SBCC campaign calls for. Sometimes this is also referred to as the intended audience.
  • An influencing audience is made up of those people who have the most significant and direct influence (positive or negative) over the priority audience. The influencing audience can exist at different levels: at the family level, community level (e.g. peers, relatives, teachers, community or faith-based leaders) or national or regional level (e.g. policy makers, media personnel, government leaders). 
  • Demographic information is statistical data (e.g. age, sex, education level, income level, geographic location) relating to a population and specific sub-groups of that population.
  • Psychographics are the attributes that describe personality, attitudes, beliefs, values, emotions and opinions. Psychographic characteristics or factors relate to the psychology or behavior of the audience.
  • Ideation refers to how new ways of thinking (or new behaviors) are diffused through a community by means of communication and social interaction among individuals and groups. Behavior is influenced by multiple social and psychological factors, as well as skills and environmental conditions that facilitate behavior. 
  • Ideational factors are grouped into three categories: cognitive, emotional and social. Cognitive factors address an individual’s beliefs, values and attitudes (such as risk perceptions), as well as how an individual perceives what others think should be done (subjective norms), what the individual thinks others are actually doing (social norms) and how the individual thinks about him/herself (self-image). Emotional factors include how an individual feels about the new behavior (positive or negative) as well as how confident a person feels that they can perform the behavior (self-efficacy). Social factors consist of interpersonal interactions (such as support or pressure from friends) that convince someone to behave in a certain way, as well as the effect on an individual’s behavior from trying to persuade others to adopt the behavior as well (personal advocacy).
  • Gender refers to the socially and culturally constructed roles and responsibilities deemed appropriate for men and women. Such constructions influence how males and females behave. In many cases, the way a community defines gender roles and expectations disadvantages women and girls. For example, if community norms dictate that boys should eat meat and vegetables while girls get rice and porridge, mothers will have difficulty ensuring that girls get enough of the right foods to be healthy.
  • Barriers to change prevent or make it difficult to adopt a behavior. Barriers come in many forms – emotional, societal, structural, educational, familial, etc. 
  • Facilitators of change make it easier to adopt a behavior. As with barriers, they can take many forms. 

Resources and References

Resources

A Field Guide to Designing a Health Communication Strategy

Conducting a Social Marketing Campaign

Leadership in Strategic Communication: Making a Difference in Infectious Disease and Reproductive Health

Ideation

The Transtheoretical Model

Theories of Behavior Change

References

 

LGBTQI+ Campaigning in Asia: Case studies

June 17, 2019

Campaigning is both one of the most challenging and one of the most exhilarating tasks for a campaigner for sexual, gender and bodily diversities.

It takes us “out there” to face the public, on what often seems like an impossible task to change hearts and minds.

It takes us into the extremely counter-intuitive field of the human psychology, exploring what makes people tick, and what makes societies change. And more often than not we scrabble about with our inspiration and courage, not knowing exactly what works, how it works, and the ways in which we could make things better.

And yet campaigning is the moment when our imagination heightens, when we unite to make it real, when we find the right messages to “crack the code” of people’s hearts, when we come together as a movement, with our friends and allies. Campaigning is when our own hearts beat faster.

This publication aims to provide you with some examples of these moments. It is a tribute to the work and the creativity of activists campaigning for sexual, gender and bodily diversities in Asia. Hopefully it to inspire you to draw on your own creativity.

It also aims to share with you some of the insights and the lessons learnt through these campaigns. This is important because, in addition to inspiration, changing hearts and minds also requires some good knowledge of social psychology, campaigning methodologies and research.

All of the case studies summarized here are edited from in-depth interviews with campaigners who shared their learning with us. The contents of this regional campaigning report are first and foremost the result of the sharp thinking of the organisations involved, and the networks supporting them. This is a collaborative effort that has arisen from the inspiring stories shared by the campaigners themselves.  We would like to express our gratitude for all the people involved who have taken precious time to share their thoughts and ideas with us. These stories and experiences are those that the organisations wished to share with us.

We wish you a happy reading!

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Getting Hope back into the picture

April 1, 2019

This paper appeared in Open Global Rights

Its authors advocate for a change in mindset of campaigners for Human Rights.

While some of their points are specific to “mainstream” Human Rights issues, that is issues with which a majority of people are theoretically OK but don’t actively support (like Freedom of Expression), some lessons hold true for campaigners for minority issues (i.e. issues that a majority of people does not support, like homosexuality in conservative countries)

Lesson 1

Talk about solutions, not problems. People want to be paired with positive stories and results, not stories of loosing victims. And by talking about problems, you reinforce their presence in people’s minds, making them sound more and more “natural”

Lesson 2

Talk about what you stand for, not what you oppose. People need a vision for the future. People need to see that we share a common vision. This is what will make them support your cause.

Lesson 3

Be part of the solution, not the problem: People need to see you as someone who brings an answer, not someone who brings trouble. It can be an answer to the conflicts they feel as several of their values are opposing each other. Or an answer to a grim society, etc.

 

 

Full article

For a human rights movement dedicated to exposing abuses, positive communication does not come naturally. But to make the case for human rights, we cannot rely on fear of a return to the dark past, we need to promise a brighter future.

Hope is a pragmatic strategy, informed by history, communications experts, organizers neuroscience and cognitive linguistics. It can be applied to any strategy or campaign. By grounding your communications from the values you stand for and a vision of the world you want to see, hope-based communications is an antidote to debates that seem constantly framed to favour your opponents, so that you can design actions that set the agenda rather than constantly reacting to external events.

A hope-based communications strategy involves making five basic shifts in the way we talk about human rights. This guide has been produced in collaboration with Thomas Coombes (@T_Coombes) to help you apply to any aspect of your daily work.

Shift 1: Talk about solutions, not problems

While the human rights movement will always have to expose abuses, we also need to show how to fix them. Positive communications are about talking about what we want to see, not just what other people are doing. It is much harder for leaders to excuse not tackling problems than it is to justify failing to implement solutions.

The danger of focusing all our attention on the worst crises is that people become inured to it. When we focus on the problem, we reinforce it in the mind of our audience. Or as George Lakoff wrote, “People tend to adapt to a new state and take it as a new reference point.”

The sense of a world in crisis pushes people into the hands of populists who offer them security, and a return to some imagined idealised past.

Caption: In India, the BJP’s 2014 Achche din election campaign promised that “Good Days are Coming”. If populist leaders are able to promise a happy future, why can’t human rights groups?

We need to convince people that another world is possible. Visionary ideas change the world, and people who put them forward set the agenda instead of being on the defensive. Campaigning against austerity measures, for example, are unlikely to make decision-makers act differently unless they make the case for a viable alternative, be it greater public investment or thought-provoking initiatives like Universal Basic Income.

The environmental movement made this shift when it realized that stories of impending doom created despondency instead of urgency. The LGBT movement shifted from campaigns against discrimination to shared values by focusing on one of many possible policy solutions: equal marriage, a call rooted in love and compassion that everyone could relate to. If we want something to change, we need to stop just saying “no” to the problem, but give governments something to say “yes” to, by putting forward bold policies: smart human rights solutions that trigger debate, and showing what the desired transformation will achieve. Even in the darkest crisis, we can always focus on the first step towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

Shift 2. Highlight what we stand for, not what we oppose

The human rights movement should show how human rights is a practical application of universal shared values like compassion, solidarity and dignity, rather than defining rights by the absence of their violations (“a world without torture”, “protection from harm”).

The movement’s favourite expression today is “not a crime”. Journalism is not a crime. Refugees are not criminals. This fuses together the concepts of criminality and human rights in the minds of our audience, invites a debate about whether or not journalists are criminals. It’s no surprise, then, that surveys constantly show people think human rights protect criminals (nearly four in ten globally, according to a 2018 IPSOS survey). But worse still, it misses the chance to tell our audience what journalism brings to our society and propose measures to give us more of it.

Human rights advocates tend to do this because we believe that raising awareness is enough, that if we just let people know that journalists are being treated like criminals, we will trigger outrage and shame. Instead of name and shame, we need to name and frame. We need to call for what we want to see and spell out the shared values at stake.

Talk about the policy you want, explain how the government could do it, and explain what values it would be living by if it implemented them. Tell stories that build up our way of seeing the world without necessarily directly dealing with the issues we work on every time.

When human rights organizations talk about values, they tend to find justification for human rights in national values. But to find things that unite people around the cause of human rights, we should look beyond narrow national frames. Most “tribes” are “imagined communities” that require a common enemy to exist, something today’s populists are adept at exploiting. Human rights, as opposed to rights that accrue to national citizenship, require that people feel like they belong to a common human family. That cannot be constructed with any common enemy. We need frames that focus on the things that unite human beings, not those that keep us apart.

In new human rights messaging guidance, Anat Shenker-Osorio warns that “Evoking national identity brings ‘us/them’ top of mind and makes respondents less receptive to others’ rights”. Instead of saying “As Indians/Europeans/Christians, we believe in treating each other fairly”, Anat invites us to say “as caring people”. This bigger “we” cultivates a sense of belonging to a different, more universal identity: our common humanity.

If the human rights movement were to stop speaking within the frames of our opponents (security, the economy or other, national interests), what narrative would we shift to? What is the ideal human rights frame?

The human rights movement needs a new narrative. Today we operate in issue silos, tackling each right one by one on the merits specific to that case. As a result, wider audiences understand human rights as something that protects us, that we are “entitled to”, rather than something we can all use to make things better.

We tend to visualise what we are against, not what we are for: hands grasping bars illustrate injustice, but what does justice look like?

We should instead talk about a common, universal world view, a society where people take care of each other. A common world view that we can strengthen in the minds of the public day by day, story by story, tweet by tweet.

If we do not make the case for the world we want to see, who will?

 

Shift 3. Create opportunities, drop threats

When we talk about solutions, we give people an opportunity to be part of making things better, instead of using threats or guilt to make them act.

We need to reflect on the experience of being part of the human rights movement. We want to build, we want to take society on a journey to a better place, but when we talk we lean heavily on the language of conflict, which is divisive. Do we want people to think of us as fighters, radical and divided, defending the interests of the few, or builders, constructing something for all?

When we talk about human rights as protection from harm, our implicit message is based on fear and self-interest. These could be your rights. Imagine if your rights were taken away. One day it could be you.

But there is another way. We can appeal to the better angles of our nature. Human rights can connect people in solidarity. It can offer a chance to act on the human desire to be a good person, do the right thing, and help other people.

Successful movements are propelled forward by enthusiasm and passion. While Donald Trump united his base with the simple red baseball cap, ordinary people demanding women’s rights queued for hours to buy “Together for Yes” buttons in Ireland and thronged the streets wearing green scarves in Argentina. Symbols of belonging are not just about fundraising or powerful images, they create a shared sense of belonging that elevates a cause to something historical, momentous and inevitable.

But we cannot generate lasting passion and enthusiasm that pressures leaders purely through outrage and disgust: we must celebrate what we stand for. Joyful, inspiring content like Planned Parenthood’s Unstoppable campaign serves not just to inspire, it creates political momentum:

For people to hear our messages they need to see us as unifiers, people who build constructive solutions, people who will take them on a journey instead of fighters. We also need them to feel like they live in a less polarised culture, by contributing to a popular mood of togetherness and community—the ideal breeding ground for human rights friendly policies.

Indeed, more and more research points to the fact that fear and pessimism triggers conservative and suspicious views, while, hope and optimism tend to more liberal views. New research from Hope not Hate, for example, says:

“Where people are more likely to feel in control of their own lives, they are more likely to show resistance to hostile narratives, and are more likely to share a positive vision of diversity and multiculturalism.”

In Hidden Tribes, a 2018 report from More in Common, insists that the media landscape accentuates the conflicts but downplays the solidarity in our society. It advises us to find common ground to counteract the divisions magnified on our screens with stories of human contact and respectful engagement that “spotlight the extraordinary ways in which [people] in local communities build bridges and not walls, every day.”

Shift 4. Emphasize support for heroes, not pity for victims

Instead of inducing pity for victims, offer people an opportunity to side with heroes, and be a part of making change happen. Show them ordinary people who show extraordinary perseverance, determination and courage. Help your audience make connection to individuals, not groups, by highlighting the little details that  everyone can relate to.

If we want people to be compassionate, show them other people being compassionate. Presenting people in a way that induces fear, pity and anger may also inadvertently contribute to dehumanisation. If a politician calls a group of people animals, do pictures of those people in cages reinforce that metaphor? Faced with dehumanizing politics, human rights must do everything it can to re-humanize people.

A focus on re-humanizing people as an end in it itself opens up a whole new avenue of potential strategic operation for human rights campaigns, in which organizations pursue attitudinal change that would make possible a raft of policy improvements. We can focus on telling positive stories that will change attitudes towards the people we are trying to help.

More in Common research in Italy identifies not only fear of migrants but also a sense of solidarity and a disgust with racism, arguing for the need to strengthen values of hospitality and empathy, demonstrating “the real-world integration stories of migrants into Italian cultural life—in areas such as language, sport, food, community activities and entertainment.”

These kind of insights can be the basis for targeted content that tells humanising stories to specific audiences based on their values and interests, like the Swiss NGO that served up YouTube ads introducing refugees to people before they could watch racist videos.

Much of our audience has in-built stereotypes about “other” people, that sometimes will not be changed by hearing their story. But, as the HeartWired guide for change-makers written by communication strategists Amy Simon and Robert Perez notes, we can open them up to change by showing them someone like them engaging with the “other” and changing their mind.

The HeartWired approach’s focus on changing mindsets offers a new long-term strategic goal for human rights communicators – focus on campaigns that bring about long-term shifts in attitude towards other groups of people.

People who change their minds and decide to help are also heroes, as in this powerful for add for marriage equality in Ireland where the heroes are traditional parents supporting their children.

These are also stories of a changing society, stories that show how change happens, and offer a glimpse of the world we want to see.

Practically, this means creating social media moments based on interactions between people, that organizations can package as b-roll and images and send to digital news organizations like AJ+ and NowThis News, changing the narrative from “us vs them” to one of humanity. A Danish travel agent used DNA to show a group of people how much they had in common, Heineken asked people who were very different to build a bar together, and Amnesty International Poland asked refugees and Europeans to look in each other’s eyes for four minutes.

We are in a world where the majority of people want to do the right thing. But crisis and conflict-driven media narratives paint a different picture. We need to tell stories that reinforce the human rights worldview—where people take care of each other, and stand up for the rights of people far away just because they are all human.

Above all, we need to tell stories of humanity and compassion, thus reinforcing the idea that human rights are about people standing up for each other. We need stories that put the human in human rights.

Shift 5: Show that “we got this”! 

Political strategist Mark McKinnon says all campaigns are either a narrative of hope, fear, threat or opportunity. How do we talk about hope and opportunity when human rights defenders are under attack and we need to defend ourselves, to fight back?

We need to stop talking about human rights under attack. That makes us seem like a losing cause and who wants to get on a train going in the wrong direction?

You light a candle when its dark, and you need human rights most when they are absent. Human rights defenders have “long been on the front line”, but frames of crisis and peril can inadvertently harm perceptions of the movement’s effectiveness, as Kathryn Sikkinkrecently argued.

People want to be part of something successful. Amnesty International France are running a “Thrill of Victory” campaign to associate the words “Human Rights” with “victory” instead of “problem” or “violation”.

In her pioneering study of human rights language, Anat Shenker Osorio urges the movement to display a quiet confidence:

“Where white nationalism offers an explanation and antidote for what feels like the world spinning out of control, human rights often provide a storyline that cements the feeling of unrelenting and accelerating change. Although the human rights paradigm is, by many measures, about order and known outcomes, the sense that “we got this” or there could be some steady, reliable, normalcy rarely comes from human rights.”

To show that “we got this”, we need to show more human rights in action. What does it really mean to do human rights and what does this look like? What is the picture we want people to have in their head when they think of human rights, human rights defenders and human rights activism? For some, this might mean holding protests, calling up politicians and writing letters to political prisoners for others it could be people coming together at community events or cultural moments.

Whatever they are, the activities the human rights movement undertakes need to tell a story of change, and show that human rights are not just a thing that we are born with or passively receive from governments, but something we do: a tool for making our societies better or a way of living together. Describing human rights as actions helps indicate that we must constantly make choices to cultivate and grow them.

Moreover, we need to change the expectations and associations with the very words “human rights”, explaining them as a metaphorical “tool” that we put in the hands of ordinary people to make change. Anat Shenker-Osorio’s research provides several avenues for further testing: Is human rights a shield or insurance policy that protects people from harm, a map or compass that points us in the right direction, or string or glue that binds us together in our common humanity? This way of thinking about human rights can not only inform our messaging, it can revolutionise the way we human rights and other organizations carry out their mission.

There is hope for human rights. People share our values and they want to do what is right. We just have to get better at activating those values, and talking to people about them.

These shifts will feel unnatural to many in the human rights movement. But the evidence shows they are the path to victory. And human rights is too important not to do whatever it takes to win.

Fake news, real damage – How fake news been has used against LGBT people

February 22, 2019

Think about the first time you heard the term ‘fake news’ – most likely it was uttered by Donald Trump, during his run for President in 2016. But although the term was new to most people even two years ago, the concept is painfully familiar to the LGBT community; after all, many grew up hearing nasty, whispered rumours from schoolmates, or reading lies about LGBT issues in the media every time LGBT rights were ‘debated’.

But fake news – or disinformation – is now on the rise, super-charged by social media and weaponised by authoritarian leaders and the far right worldwide. And unfortunately, it’s starting to become clear that the LGBT community – along with other minority groups  – are one of the main targets. Now more than ever, we need to know why and for what purpose.

The disappointing result of Taiwan’s recent equal marriage referendum shows how – first and foremost – fake news is used to undermine the fight for LGBT rights. This has always been the case of course. Whenever progress tries to take a step forward, there are those whose aim is to spread lies about the LGBT community. They would be laughable if they weren’t so damaging.

Take the recent Romanian referendum to try and band same-sex marriage: campaign posters and ads urged people to vote “Yes” otherwise gay couples would steal their children.

Even when progress is made, and seemingly secured, fake news continues – perpetrated by those who want to roll back equality, which is rarely a one way street.

But while attacks on LGBT people are often the means and end to fake news stories, in more and more cases they are a proxy in a broader struggle to drive polarisation and stoke fears about progressive politics. LGBT people are cast as scapegoats, to try and build support for the far right or authoritarian leaders.

Just look at the recent Brazilian election, which saw a far-right former military officer win the Presidency. Fake news, spread through WhatsApp in particular, played a major role in the outcome. And one of the main stories spread by Bolsonaro’s side, was that his opponent had ordered the distribution of “gay kits” to schoolchildren to turn them homosexual. This was a reference to an actual proposal by Haddad’s Workers’ Party to launch a “Brazil without homophobia” programme in schools, part of which involved distributing anti-discrimination materials to teachers.

If we are now living in the age of populism, unfortunately Brazil marks a worrying harbinger of what’s to come. We can expect more of this in national elections – and progressives need to prepare accordingly.

And we can expect more at an international level. Because increasingly, fake news about LGBT people is used by authoritarian regimes on the chessboard of international diplomacy. A pink curtain is descending across the world, dividing support for LGBT rights (and liberal democracy) on the one hand, and reactionary authoritarians like Putin and Erdogan on the other. They demonise homosexuality and portray it as symbolic of a corrupt, immoral West. Internationally therefore, fake news about LGBT people is used to fan anti-gay hatred and deploy it to undermine ideas of universal human rights, and build alliances that can push back against Western influence.

Fake news is not new. Nor are lies and misinformation against LGBT people. But that does not mean we are facing ‘business as usual’. Too often the LGBT community is the canary in the coalmine – often, it is LGBT people who suffer first when politics takes a new and dangerous turn. Now is no exception. Fake news is being weaponised, and LGBT people are directly in the firing line.

Fundraising

February 9, 2018

Despite the size of your campaign, there will be times when certain resources and actions will require financial support. For many, fundraising is the lifeline for their campaign. There are many methods and creative ideas to running a successful fundraising campaign for your cause or organization. Here are some suggestions and resources to keep in mind while coming up with ways to financially sustain your campaign.

Storytelling

February 9, 2018

Stories shape our world visions and they have the power to change the world. But telling a story is not as obvious as it seems. It requires a deep understanding of how we make sense of what we are told.

This section provides some insights into this hugely exciting field.

Theory 101

February 5, 2018

Building your campaign or movement does not happen in a vacuum but is tied to wider structures of oppression and discrimination such as classism, sexism and racism. Theory 101 provides you with the definitions, examples, and resources needed to understand how all these systems of marginalization and oppression are connected to each other.

How to mount an effective letter-writing campaign

January 6, 2017

From the release of political prisoners to political change both large and small, letter-writing campaigns have also been a solid staple for social activists across the world. Although modern technology may have replaced the written letter with emails and social media, the tactics within these campaigns still remain largely the same. Today we give you 7 tips to run the perfect letter-writing campaign for IDAHOT 2016.

1 – Set your goals

There are probably hundreds of things you’d like to achieve through activism. Although we all want to end global inequality and discrimination, we sometimes have to set our sights on more reasonable, achievable goals. Even the most successful campaigns will struggle to promote meaningful change if their aims are poorly-defined.

When creating your campaign make sure you have an achievable and easy-to-define goal that you’d like to reach. This might be repealing a law, increasing funding to a certain area, a simple political change, or any number of other goals.

Most importantly of all, make sure your goal is achievable by the group or individual you are targeting. It might be worth researching the power and influence they hold first of all, which leads us to…

2 – Find your target

You’ve found the issue in your community you’d like to change, but you need also to find out who can change it. If you’re calling for a government official to take action then you should first research the best way to get in touch. Most officials have websites and phone lines that can help you find this information.

For a department, or organization, it’s worth find a direct contact for the person with the power! In a similar way, if you’re contacting a private business then it’s important to make sure you address the person that actually makes the changes.

Overall, writing to a specific individual or group that directly works with your issue is always more important. It’s also important to remember that someone high up the chain might have the power, but will be much harder to contact and

3 – Spread the word

Invite your friends! Family! Loved ones! Community group! Church group! Whoever!

If you already have a campaign group or network established then spread the word to as many people as possible. Modern technology makes this even easier, with Facebook events, Twitter and email.

Set a date (or dates) and a time for everyone to meet, and let as many people know as you can. It might seem obvious, but even the best organized events will fail if not enough people manage to take part.

4 – Make it accessible

The more people willing to take part, the better – but it can sometimes be hard for everyone who might support your aims to take part. If you’re holding the campaign as part of an event at a public venue then make sure it’s easy to find, and accessible for everyone.

If possible try to avoid bars and nightclubs, or any other kind of space that might make people uncomfortable. Community centres or conference spaces are usually the best option.

If your campaign isn’t part of a single public event then make sure the information needed to take part is easily available, either online or in an accessible format. One important aspect of this would be creating the basic resources everyone needs, such as a draft letter or email, an address, and the goals of your campaign.

And adults aren’t the only ones that matter! The input of children and young people can be especially powerful and important. Whenever possible, make sure you try to involve young people in your campaign, especially if the issue is something youth-oriented. Getting the opinions and thoughts of a broad range of society is incredibly important when advocating for change!

5 – Make it fun!

Let’s be honest: Sometimes campaigning isn’t everyone’s cup of tea! Activism can be a lot of fun, but letter-writing isn’t exactly a thrill-a-minute activity!

If you’d like as many people as possible to get involved then it’s good to have some other form of incentive to attract them.

If you have the funds or the time, food is always a great option. Other activities could include a film screening, tea and coffee morning, or even something as simple of a meet-and-great with other members of the community.

6 – Invite the press

An important part of letter-writing campaigns is raising awareness of your issue. Inviting local media and journalists can be a great way to get your issue into the headlines.

Not only does it raise awareness, but the added attention can help add pressure to those you’re trying to target.

Contact your local newspaper, radio or television stations and speak to them about the issue you’re trying to address. If you’re holding an event then invite journalists along to discuss your aims.

If you know how, writing a press release with important information about your campaign might also be a good way of working with the press.

If you’re expecting a lot of media attention then it might be worth arranging a member of your team to act as the press liaison. This is the person that deals directly with any questions and enquiries and therefore should be someone who is well-informed and articulate when it comes to your issue.

7 – Keep up the pressure

Most importantly don’t forget to keep up the pressure until your goals are met!

A single letter-writing campaign is likely not to bring about all the change you want along. Instead, make sure that multiple campaigns, of different scales and styles, are taken out.

Making your campaign one part of an ongoing campaign for change is the best way to make sure that public opinion remains high, and that those who are capable of making change, do so.

Why I think LGBTI women should support the #NoSizeFitsAll campaign

September 28, 2016

From GayStarNews

 

Why I think LGBTI women should support the #NoSizeFitsAll campaign
Jenny Fallover is backing the #NoSizeFitsAll campaign
28 September 2016
by 

I tweeted for the #NoSizeFitsAll campaign as soon as I read about it.

Why do I think it’s important? I will be the first to confess I don’t know a lot about fashion and I am more of a jeans and t-shirt girl myself but maybe that’s because I have never really seen myself reflected in fashion.

I am sure other gender non-conforming LGBT women probably feel the same. There are amazingly cool androgynous and gender fluid models out there (Ruby Rose who created the Break Free video for example) but the problem is that they are all size ‘impossible’ to achieve for most women.

What effect does being constantly bombarded with unachievable ideals that foster negative body images have upon women (and men who are increasingly falling foul to the pressures of conforming to a certain body image)?

The Women’s Equality Party have some alarming statistics:

‘Eating disorders affect 1.6 million people in the UK, 89% of whom are female. 14-25 year olds are the demographic most affected by an eating disorder, with 5% of girls and women suffering from anorexia—the most deadly psychiatric disease (10-20% of cases are fatal).’

There is also a financial cost as a result of women having a negative body image:

‘Health care costs for eating disorders in England have been estimated as £80-100m with overall economic cost likely to be more than £1.26bn per year.’

Looking back at pictures of my younger self I was alarmed at my perception of myself at the time. In some photographs I was very slim, skinny in some and yet I covered my body with very baggy clothing as I felt my thighs and rear were huge and that my stomach wasn’t flat enough.

The #NoSizeFitsAll campaign wants the fashion world to do more to showcase diverse body images

As a result, like most women, I went on one yo-yo or fad diet after another throughout my twenties.

Then I came out as a lesbian and had an epiphany. I realized I no longer had to conform to the gender stereotypes that are supposedly in place in order to attract heterosexual men (though most of the men I know prefer women with curves).

Whilst I still didn’t really know where I would fit into the lesbian community, I suddenly felt somewhat liberated.

Women are all shapes and sizes and we should celebrate our differences rather than beat ourselves up about it.

Whatever gender you identify as, if you feel as strongly as I do about this issue then visit the Women’s Equality page, go to the act section and support this campaign.

Jenny Fallover (@jfallover) is Delivery Program Manager, Enterprise Business Systems at Thomson Reuters, and is part of the Global Leadership Team and EMEA Co-Lead with the company’s Pride at Work network group. She is also London City Director for Lesbians Who Tech and on the committee of the Gay Women’s Network.

 

Catwalk image: Art Comments licensed via CreativeCommons2.0

16 Striking Campaigns for the Cause to End Violence Against Women

July 30, 2016

Striking examples of powerful campaigns to get inspiration from !

Curated by PIXEL

While we at The Pixel Project always seek to emphasise the positive, the fact remains that, in many places in the world, activists working to end Violence Against Women (VAW) face considerable obstacles:  denial of the problem; cultural taboos that prevent open and honest discussion; viewing VAW as a “women’s issue instead of a human issue; and hostility from men’s rights activists and extremists who seek to keep women “in their place.”  The latter was tragically and recently seen in the early October shooting of Pakistani girls’ rights activist Malala Yousafzai.

Given the hostility they often face,  many VAW activists recognise that they have to be more creative than activists working in more popular causes (e.g. cancer, children’s issues, animal rights and the green movement). A sense of humour and a penchant for effecting change from within also does not go amiss.

So today, in honour of all VAW activists, nonprofits and grassroots group to toil in such thankless situations to bring about positive change to the lives of women and girls facing violence, we present 16 of the most striking campaigns/programmes we have come across in the last year of our work, in no particular order. That many of them include men is an encouraging sign that the issue of VAW is starting to gain traction as a human rights issue, not just a women’s issue.

What these campaigns have in common are:

  • The built-in “water-cooler” factor that gets the community buzzing about the campaign and by extension, the issue of VAW.
  • A good sense of what works in and for the culture and community where the activist/nonprofit/grassroots group is trying to effect change.

We hope that these campaigns and initiatives inspire you to take action and get on board the cause to end VAW.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

Creative VAW Campaign 1: Using Technology to Show Where and When VAW Occurs – India

When a survey noted that India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world to be a woman, P. Sheemer was shocked and decided to take action.  He set up “Maps4Aid”, which allows anyone to submit reports of violence against women through a variety of means, including SMS and email. The report is then recorded and posted to social networking sites. The project hopes to reinforce the idea that violence against women is a terrifying and everyday occurrence in the country, and lists reports according to date and location. The eventual aim is to take the project beyond documentation into intervention, by mapping the most dangerous streets and areas across India, and pressing authorities to provide extra security measures in these areas.

Creative VAW Campaign 2: NGOs Unite to Encourage Men to Challenge VAW – Kenya

A new branch of the international organisation MenEngage launched in Kenya, a country where a 2009 survey found that 47% of married women had experienced domestic violence, an increase of 21% since the 2003 survey. MenEngage Kenya Network calls on men in Kenya, particularly those in positions of authority, to make increased efforts in challenging violence against women and championing non-violent conflict resolution. The campaign will function alongside and strengthen existing work to address more specific forms of violence against women present in Kenya, including female genital mutilation (FGM).

Creative VAW Campaign 3: Photo Contest Motivates People to Fight for a More Equal Society for Women – Costa Rica

A number of organisations, including the Museum of Women of Costa Rica, have launched a national photography contest with the goals of raising awareness of the consequences of aggression against women and inspiring people to work towards a more equal society. It is the first contest of its kind in the country. Photographs must be related to “any of the manifestations of violence (physical, psychological, sexual, economic, symbolic, etc), myths and misconceptions that contribute to maintaining the cycle of violence against women, and resources to overcome it.” Winners will be announced on November 21, 2012 as part of the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Creative Campaign 4: Butterflies Highlight the Plight of Abused Women in Nicaragua – UK

British designer Robert Kennett decided to use his entry in the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show to draw attention to VAW in Nicaragua. His garden featured butterflies and frangipani, a flower native to Nicaragua. Mr. Kennett was inspired by an Amnesty International campaign called Butterflies of Hope, through which he learned that more than 14,000 women in Nicaragua, many younger than 17, had been raped in the past ten years.  In talking about his inspiration he said, “There’s a real stigma there…it’s thought of as the victim’s fault…Altogether I thought there were many women silenced there and I could help express things they couldn’t say.”

Creative VAW Campaign 5: Professional Athletes Speak Out – United States and Canada

North American male athletes are stepping up and speaking out about VAW. In June, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden helped launch the 1 is 2 Many campaign, featuring a PSA with well-known male athletes including soccer star David Beckham, basketball player Jeremy Lin, and National Football League star Eli Manning. “Young boys and men get a lot of mixed signals about what constitutes manhood … that’s why it’s so important today that these incredible athletes, these guys got together, stepped up, and did this,” said the American Vice President.  In Canada, the B.C. Lions football team joined forces with the Ending Violence Association, government, and labour groups on the “Be More Than a Bystander” campaign which speaks to the majority of men who do not commit violence against women, encouraging them to condemn and speak out against the minority that do.

Creative VAW Campaign 6:  Father’s Club Addresses Violence Against Women – Haiti

In this small Caribbean country where sexist attitudes are widespread, past initiatives to reduce gender-based violence have tended to exclude men. In an effort to get more men involved, one man in a rural community about 90 minutes from Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince decided to establish a fathers’ group to discuss issues like meaningful consent and the importance of not using violence. Group members receive training from CARE. Group members also go door-to-door in their community to talk to other men about VAW.  “Children see their fathers beating their mothers and some carry on the cycle of violence when they grow up. We’re trying to show other fathers it’s not okay to do that,” said fathers’ group founder Rorny Amile.

Creative VAW Campaign 7: Red Dresses Draw Attention to Violence Against Aboriginal Women – Canada

Jaime Black has found an interesting way to draw attention to the high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. There are 600 official cases of missing or murdered Aboriginal women in the country, 300 of which have not been solved. Ms. Black’s art installation features red dresses hung around the campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Dresses were donated and represent all ages and roles that women in society hold.

Creative VAW Campaign 8: Documenting VAW in “Paradise” – Norway

Photographer Walter Astrada, featured in a previous post in our blog, continues his work to raise awareness of VAW through photography. Having previously photographed women in Guatemala and Congo, he decided to turn his lens to a country with relatively few social ills to demonstrate that, even in a place that many think of as a paradise, violence against women occurs. TRIGGER WARNING: Mr. Astrada’s photographs, featured in the New York Times article linked to above, may trigger strong responses in anyone who has experienced domestic or sexual violence.

Creative VAW Campaign 9: Stopping Harassment of Women on Public Transit – Sri Lanka

The organisation Sri Lanka Unites tried a novel approach to addressing harassment of women on public transit. Hundreds of young men received training and then ventured onto buses to speak with people about public transit harassment.  They apologised to women for any harassment they had endured, informed them of the legal recourse available to them in the event of harassment, and challenged men to take responsibility for the problem. In just one week, these young men boarded over 1,000 buses and reached over 30,000 commuters in the city of Colombo. According to event organisers, the response from the public was very positive, with many asking for more information.

Creative VAW Campaign 10: Alerting Police to Girls in Brothels with Secret Photos – Cambodia

Somaly Mam was forced into prostitution as a child but escaped and now works to free other young victims of sex trafficking.  Her efforts led brothel owners to kidnap and rape her daughter, and issue death threats against Somaly herself. Still, she carries on, using techniques like sneaking into a brothel and surreptitiously photographing the young girls there. Presenting her photographic evidence to authorities has led to raids with mixed results but, as New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof says, this is how the battle against human trafficking is being fought around the world.

Creative VAW Campaign 11: New Stove Decreases Risk of Rape – Sudan

Women in the Zam Zam refugee camp in Darfur risked rape by Sudanese militiamen every time they left the camp to collect wood for their cooking fires. If they chose not to venture out, they would have to spend scarce money on firewood. Ashok Gadgil heard about the problem and worked with Darfuri women and other engineers to create an affordable wood-fired stove that would use less wood. In fact, it uses four times less wood than open fires, saving the women money. The end result—80% of the women can now afford to buy firewood since their new stoves run so efficiently, meaning they do not have to leave the camp to search for wood.

Creative VAW Campaign 12: Black Friday Condemns VAW – Jamaica

Stories of the brutal rapes of four women and a young girl in a home invasion galvanised public sentiment in Jamaica. Fifteen organisations in the country came together to launch a protest, encouraging people to wear black and stand across various locations as a sign of solidarity against VAW and sexual abuse. The protest was supported by Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller who issued a public statement asking members of the public to participate.

Creative Campaign 13: Red Shoes Protest VAW in Juarez – Mexico

Another visual artist used red to highlight violence against a particular group of women. In this case, it was Mexican artist Elina Chauvet. She placed red shoes outside the Mexican consulate in El Paso, Texas to protest against VAW in Juarez and elsewhere in Mexico.

Creative VAW Campaign/Programme 14: Martial Arts Help Girls Resist Threat of Sexual Violence – Lebanon

The Lebanese Council to Resist Violence Against Women organised a program to teach girls Aikido, a Japanese martial art that teaches people to redirect the force of an attacker rather than rely on physical strength. The Aikido instruction was part of a year-long “Together We Make Change…Stop Sexual Abuse” campaign that taught over 2,500 male and female school students about sexual abuse and harassment and how to defend themselves. Organiser Randa Yassir noted that the Aikido element of the program would help girls combat the traditionally held notion that females are weaker and should surrender rather than fight back when attacked.

Creative VAW Campaign/Programme 15: Engaging Men and Women in Struggle to End Domestic Violence and Child Marriage – Pakistan

Qamar Naseem began his role as an activist with the organisation Blue Vein which worked to raise awareness about breast cancer.  In conservative areas of his country, this caused some degree of backlash from people who saw this as a discussion of women’s sexuality. “We faced a lot of resistance,” he said. “We learned that women are not allowed to make decisions about their own bodies.” He realised that to really effect change, programs had to involve men and women. He organised community support groups where community members can talk about issues like domestic violence and delaying the age of marriage for girls. He has also worked to increase girls’ access to education, even when that means challenging militant elements in a community.

Creative VAW Campaign/Programme 16: Combating Street Harassment – Egypt

The Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights conducted a study in 2008 that showed that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women reported incidents of harassment that included sexual touching, grabbing and cursing.  In response, Egyptian women’s groups carried out the Faouda Watch initiative in which they monitored how the country’s president performed regarding women’s rights during a one-month period. They are hopeful that they can convince the president to make street harassment a criminal offense. Other initiatives by Egyptian NGOs and women’s groups include volunteer street patrols, with photographs to document incidents, and an open mic night where women could speak out about their experiences with sexual harassment.

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