CHANGE Plus: Promoting Behaviour Change towards the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation in Practising Communities and Community-Based Advocacy

Funder

European Commission DAPHNE III

Value to Coventry University

£18,000

Project team

Partners

Terre De Femme, Germany; Plan International, Germany; FSAN, Netherlands; Equipop, France; APF, Portugal; AIDOS, Italy; End-FGM, Belgium; Bangr Nooma, Burkina Faso; Plan International, Mali

Duration of project

15/1/2016 - 14/01/2018

EC DAPHNE logo

Project overview

The CHANGE Plus project aimed to raise awareness, change attitudes and promote behaviour change on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in practicing African communities in four EU countries: Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and France. The aim of the project was to develop, implement and disseminate an innovative approach to behaviour change regarding the practice of FGM using the REPLACE Approach. This involved conducting community-based participatory research, in particular mapping belief systems perpetuating FGM; and using the REPLACE Community Readiness to End FGM Assessment to monitor and evaluate behaviour change.

Project objectives

CHANGE Plus aimed to:

Raise awareness;
Change attitudes; and
Promote behaviour change concerning FGM amongst African Diaspora communities in the EU

Impact statement

In total, 48 CHANGE Agents from various African diaspora communities were empowered through training to promote behaviour change towards the abandonment of FGM within practising communities across four EU Member States. Moreover, 10 CHANGE Champions have been trained to advocate for an enabling environment towards the abandonment of FGM on local, national and European political levels, as well as to mentor newly trained CHANGE Agents in two countries (Germany and the Netherlands).

Through the training programme and the implementation of behavioural change activities, accompanied by regular exchange meetings, the CHANGE Agents and Champions were empowered and gained new skills and knowledge on both personal and professional level, from which they will further benefit after the project period. On community level, behaviour change was initiated, silence was broken and taboos around FGM were lifted. More than 2,000 people from African migrant communities were reached in four EU Member States. Awareness of FGM has been increased through extensive press and media work. Stakeholders benefited from advocacy and communication activities throughout the project period.