The Challenge

• GBV and domestic violence are one of the most prevalent human rights abuses in Iraq, particularly for displaced women and women from marginalized communities.

• Research indicates a high tolerance for violence against women and girls and lack of support for survivors, conditions which support perpetration of violence.

• To address domestic violence, a communitybased prevention approach is necessary to transform harmful norms and attitudes towards violence and survivors of violence.

Project Background

• Communities Care is a global UNICEF project that uses innovative social norms and gender programming to prevent gender-based violence (GBV).

• It was piloted in Somalia and South Sudan with promising results.

• Building on this experience, MAGENTA adapted Communities Care for the Iraqi context to transform harmful social norms which accept domestic violence.

The Objectives

• To build the SBC capacity among key stakeholders through tailored training packages, providing actionable behavioural insights that they can use in their daily work.

• To encourages stakeholders to be role models for the positive change they hope to see in their communities and position themselves as agents of change.

What We Did

Formative Research

• Mixed methods research was conducted in Ninewa and Duhok with IDPs, returnees and host communities.

• The research provided critical insights into the beliefs and attitudes towards domestic violence against women and girls, and perceptions of domestic violence and GBV response services.

• MAGENTA leveraged the insights to inform the adaptation of the UNICEF Communities Care toolkit tailored to prevent domestic violence through community dialogue and engagement.

Research Findings

Social and Behavioural Insight

Recognizing the role of social norms in the acceptance of domestic violence in Iraq, the toolkit was adapted to support:

• Change in individual beliefs towards gender equality and non-violence

• Fostering of preventative norms which support survivors

Toolkit Adaptation

• Guided by the research findings, we identified key areas of the toolkit for contextualization and adaptation.

• After adapting the toolkit, we tested selected sessions from the curriculum to assess engagement and comprehension.

• We then conducted a training of trainers for community discussion leaders (CDLs) and piloted the programme with six groups across Duhok and Ninewa.

• Finally, we conducted a master training for participants from local NGOs, CSOs, and governmental institutions to support scale up of the programme.

The curriculum is composed of 28 sessions to be delivered over the course of 14 weeks. Each discussion group consists of 20-25 people who meet twice a week for about one hour and a half. This group is led by the CDL, who uses the discussion guide as a stepby- step guide on facilitating and delivering the sessions, which are divided into four phases, each with its own topics and objectives.

Outputs and Outcomes

Implementation Scope

Evaluation Results

• Overall, the pilot results indicate positive shifts in attitudes towards non-acceptance of domestic violence, and harmful gender norms.

• Not only did individual beliefs towards non-acceptance of domestic violence shift – so did willingness to tell others about that belief.

Attitudes Towards Gender Roles and Expectations

• Pilot results indicate an increase of positive attitudes which support gender equality of between 25 – 30%

• At endline, participants indicated increased disagreement with gender discriminatory beliefs, and increased willingness to tell others about these beliefs of between 34 – 52%

• Least amount of change occurred in belief statements related to victim-blaming and the right of husbands to decision making and control of their wife/female family members

Acceptance of Domestic Violence

• Pilot results indicate a promising reduction in attitudes which support domestic violence of between 17 – 34%

• At endline, participants indicated increased disagreement with beliefs which support domestic violence and increased willingness to tell others about these beliefs of between 33 – 54%