The widespread prevalence of violence against women and girls (VAWG), including child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM), domestic violence, and human trafficking, is hindering progress on women’s rights and opportunities in Nepal. Despite some well-intended policies and programs, implementation gaps remain a challenge. This gap is largely the result of deeply entrenched social norms, cultural values, attitudes, and practices that are rooted in gender stereotypes and discrimination that justify the violence and exploitation of women and girls. In response, Oxfam’s Creating Spaces Project has a long-term vision to address VAWG and CEFM through coordinated prevention and response initiatives that embrace the core values of existing national policies and strategies. In this context, Everest Club Dailekh conducted the research presented in this report, to contribute to a better understanding on whether and how community discussion centres (CDCs) increased women’s leadership on addressing harmful social norms to end VAWG and CEFM.
The methodology employed in this research was predominantly feminist, participatory, and qualitative, which substantiate changes brought about, and challenges faced by, the CDCs through the experiences and perspectives of its members. The tools and methods used include a review of relevant documents and findings from existing research on the same subject, training to staff as data collectors, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with CDC participants, key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders who have a role in influencing change, case stories exploring the social phenomena around the influencers or women who are role models, and diary entries about CDC members’ everyday lives. The conceptual framework for social norms change assumes that interventions for shifting patriarchal power structures and strengthening local women’s rights movements are necessary for preventing and responding to VAWG and CEFM.
Read the detail report here.