By Brian Stevens | Engagement Director
Thank you for your generous support for the Haitian-led movement to prevent violence against women and girls. More communities than ever are committed to preventing violence and balancing power between women and men thanks to the generosity and solidarity of people like you.
Leaders from 20 Grassroots Haitian Women’s Organizations Gather for Advocacy Forum
Even as Haiti's political crisis escalates, with more violence and insecurity reported in Port-au-Prince, leaders from 20 grassroots women's rights organizations gathered in southeastern Haiti for an advocacy forum.
Your generosity, together with their courage and determination, keeps this kind of violence-prevention work going -- even in these challenging times. Thank you for standing in solidarity with them!
For three days, 20 representatives from various women and girls' organizations gathered for the forum organized by the Rethinking Power team with the objective of strengthening a gender-based violence prevention network in the Southeast Department. The RP team also encouraged these organizations to engage in exchanges to share experiences and best practices.
During the forum, the RP team conducted training sessions for participants on advocacy around violence against women and girls, and the legal framework for addressing violence against women and girls in Haiti. The forum allowed these organizations to develop a shared advocacy agenda and create a committee to facilitate monthly meetings between different organizations.
With your support, our Rethinking Power team has expanded their reach to 84 communities in Haiti, under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
They are determined to organize more communities using an approach proven by researchers at the Global Women’s Institute at The George Washington University to cut intimate partner violence by more than half, community wide.
Training the Next Generation of Violence-Prevention Activists in Haiti
Your generosity makes the work to train Haiti's next generation of violence-prevention activists possible too.
This past March the Rethinking Power team conducted a workshop for high school students in the southeastern town of Lamontay, near Jacmel, on preventing violence against women and girls.
Students learned about the five types of violence: physical, verbal, psychological, sexual, and economic, the consequences of each, and how to prevent violence.
Prevention is just as crucial as response efforts, students learned, because it addresses the root causes of violence like the imbalance in power between women and men and girls and boys -- so that people can stop violence before it happens.
Your solidarity encourages students and reinforces their determination to become the next generation of violence-prevent activists that Haiti needs now more than ever. Thank you for your generosity.
Organizing Training for Journalists So They Can Better Report on Preventing VAWG
This past April -- with your generous support -- the Rethinking Power team conducted a workshop for journalists on how to report on violence against women and girls.
Just like the students trained by our team, journalists learned about the five types of violence: physical, verbal, psychological, sexual, and economic, the consequences of each, how prevention is just as crucial as response efforts, and how their reporting on the root causes of violence -- like the imbalance in power between women and men and girls and boys -- can empower people to prevent violence before it happens.
Thank you for making training like this possible for people from all walks of life!
Training in Community-Based Solutions to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls
Far from the political crisis in Port-au-Prince, your gift is supporting the work of grassroots activists in towns across Haiti who are rolling out community-based solutions to prevent violence and balance power between women and men.
A key component of their effort is gaining the support of local leaders like elected representatives, school directors, and pastors to name a few, who have the power to direct resources and encourage the institutions they run to make ending gender-based violence a priority.
That's why Beyond Borders' Rethinking Power team is investing significant time and creativity to engage local leaders like these -- an initiative that your generosity makes possible.
In April and May the Rethinking Power team led workshops with local leaders from communities in southeastern Haiti. The topics included discussions on personal and communal power and how each of us can choose to use our power to prevent violence.
Workshops like these are the foundation of a multi-year effort to accompany communities as they organize themselves to prevent gender-based violence and balance power between the women and men -- work that won't be stopped by the political crisis in the capital.
Your investment in the mission of Rethinking Power makes this kind of persistent, community-based movement-building work possible!
Thank you again for your generous support for the movement to prevent violence against women and girls. More communities in Haiti are committed to preventing violence and inequality because of you.
RP Team Organizes Events for International Women’s Day
On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Rethinking Power team worked with a diverse group of local organizations to hold activities celebrating the day. RP team members took part in radio interviews and a conference with other organizations to mark the day.
RP Team and The Feminist Movement in the Context of Haiti’s Political Crisis
RP Team members animated a workshop with the organization Fanm Deside. Participants discussed the feminist movement in the context of Haiti’s current political crisis.
By The Numbers: The Latest Movement Building Work You Make Possible
In the last quarter, your support has made it possible to complete initiatives like these:
Your generosity, your solidarity, your care, and your concern makes you part of the movement to prevent violence against women and girls and balance power between women and men too. Thank you for your faithful support!
What People Are Saying About The Impact of This Work
One of the best ways to convey the impact of the work to prevent violence against women and girls that you are making possible is by sharing with you what community members themselves are saying.
"After completing the 5-day training with you, I decided to redirect my thesis to obtain my law degree on the topic of 'Litigation against violence against women in Haiti.” ~ A teacher at a school who attended training
"I believe this is not the last partnership we will develop with the Rethinking Power team because the methodology affected me in a way I didn't expect. I believe the community will remain grateful to the team for providing us with this tool to work in the community. The community is still sick, and we must continue advancing in violence prevention." ~ Enock, Local Activist
"After the 5-day training, I learned many things I used to do were violence, and I never thought they were violence. Sometimes there were things I prevented the young women in my life from doing, and I even dared to raise my hands against them. I never knew it was violence. Today, I learned it's violence, and I decided never to do that again." ~ Laguerre, Participant in the Community Activist training
Thank You Again
Thank you again for all that you are making possible through your generous support for Beyond Borders' Free, Educate, and Empower Girls in Haiti project on GlobalGiving. We are deeply grateful for your solidarity in these challenging times.
You are building the movement to prevent violence against women and girls and ensure that every day more girls and women in Haiti are living free from violence, discrimination, and inequality. If you have any questions about what you read in this report, please contact Brian Stevens, Beyond Borders’ Engagement Director, at (305) 450-2561 or b.stevens@beyondborders.net.
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