The Real Men Seek Help Campaign

I kindly appeal for your support in building a track record in the domestic and family violence sector. I am Malulu Yako, an author, Bachelor of commerce graduate and founding member of the Yakhela Sizwe Institute (a publisher).

Due to the Covid-19 disaster an urgent response, in the top 10 South African gender based violence hotspot community of Kwazakhele in the Nelson Mandela Bay, is needed.

By starting an anti gender based violence campaign prompting help seeking from anyone who perpetrates abuse of women and girls, a track record of evidence based prevention is achievable. I am giving away a free copy of an (205 page) anti gender based violence ebook titled "What has lied to us men", in order to raise money for the campaign to be known as the Real Men Seek Help Campaign.

The title is an essential supplement towards the study of self enabling men and masculinities, important for the male feminist and social science projects.

In order to achieve success, with the funds raised we aim to contract with a professional media or branding firm to create messaging, content and materials for raising awareness of the importance and benefits of stopping gender based violence. This will also involve motivating abusive men to seek help for their violent behaviours in addition to the selected company incorporating input and feedback from a campaign committee structure.

Herewith the link to the description and free copy to be read on Kindle, any preferred Kindle app or Kindle cloud reader for Laptop & P.C.:- https://a.co/2Q5W6T7

MOTION FOR CAMPAIGN FUNDING BY:

Malulu Yako together with Yakhela Sizwe Institute as contributor to Research Paper (to be found under the summary proposal)

2954 Njoli Road

Kwazakhele

Gqeberha

SOUTH AFRICA

https://bit.ly/KwazakheleNjoliRd

https//bit.ly/Kwazakhele

https://bit.ly/KwazakheleReception

Telephone: +27 71 358 3116;

Location: https://www.africabizinfo.com/ZA/yako-w-w-c_1f-041-464-7812

E mail: [email protected]

SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL

BCom graduate, author and founding member of the Yakhela Sizwe Institute (Publisher) Malulu Yako is organising support for an awareness campaign aimed at preparing communities to promote abuser/perpetrator help seeking in an effort to reduce and prevent cases of gender based violence. Initially the campaign will be run in the Nelson Mandela Bay Region residential area of Kwazakhele, over a period of two years. According to South African Police Services (SAPS) statistics Kwazakhele is the Top 10 gender based violence (GBV) hotspot in South Africa (https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=28452). (Kindly scroll down until you see the heading GBV Hotspots) or https://bit.ly/Top10GBVHotspot

The initiative will include:

• Publicity through media events by means of television coverage, radio broadcast and press advertorials;

• Distribution of campaign promotion literature and communication material such as posters, information kits, stickers, pamphlets or flyers and newsletters;

• Ambassadorial pledges from influential citizens and organisations;

• Multimedia messaging, email, social media postings and customizing of T-shirts;

• Song for the campaign and campaign launch;

• Outreach activities such as workshops and school presentations;

• Training on offering support to help seeking men who want to find appropriate intervention programmes to enroll in;

• Partnerships with the minibus taxi industry as a means of providing repeated exposure to campaign messages for a broad segment of the male population; The project is expected to reach large numbers of the KwaZakhele male population in the tens of thousands.

The Real Men Seek Help awareness campaign, viewed as a pilot initiative because of its intended nature as a complement to women victim/survivor support services and male perpetrator intervention counseling programmes, will emphasise :

• A message detailing anti GBV factors, which reveal the benefits and importance of men stopping gender based violence and seeking help from an abuser intervention programme, that are included in the research paper found at the following link https://bit.ly/RealMenSeekHelpPaper ;

• Changing behaviour and social norms through high level awareness raising and prevention campaigning within key groups (targeting educational institutions, traditional leadership, religious leaders, men and boys);

• Shifts away from toxic masculinities towards embracing positive alternatives for expressing masculinities and other sexual and gender identities, within the community;

• Establishing and coordinating structures that ensure sustainability through evidence based results;

The conceptualizing of the awareness and outreach message of the campaign has been successful. We are requesting for support towards the costs of partnering with the branding and media sector where there will be a bidding process by means of an issued request for proposal in addition to, the selected company incorporating input and feedback from the campaign committee structure.

SECTION 1: CONTEXT

1.1 Background to gender based violence, femicide and importance of intervention initiatives in South Africa

Gender based violence (GBV) is widespread and disproportionately affects women and girls in South Africa. Evidently during the Covid-19 outbreak it has escalated enormously urging a multifaceted response across sectors of society. It is now accepted that any violence against women and girls has significant implications for females, irrespective of gender identity or sexual orientation. For some time the public and political debate has been calling for increased penalties and convictions for perpetrators of various forms of gender-based violence. However, these responses are unlikely to prevent such violence from occurring.

A representative survey suggests that around 30 percent of men believe that they have the right to be violent towards women. In a Gauteng (South Africa's most populated province) sample of a study it was revealed that 76% of men admitted to having perpetrated gender based violence. Interviews in Cape Town of 1394 men found that 44% of men were willing to admit to having abused their partners.

Making it clear that what constitutes apparently dominant masculinities in South Africa is their violent character. It is thus widely presumed that the high level of gender-based violence in contemporary South Africa is because of the prevalence of violent masculinities. The question is that in light of the rates of admission are men willing to take responsibility for their abusive behaviours.

In 2007 the World Health Organization stated that as violent masculinities prevail it is increasingly acknowledged that initiatives aimed at ending domestic violence are needed to target and engage men as the primary perpetrators of abusive behaviour.

Studies of rates of female homicide and intimate partner violence between 1999 and 2009 showed that the South African figure is still five times the global average, and rates of intimate partner femicide had not significantly decreased. The researchers of these studies highlighted the urgency for policy-driven prevention regarding these figures.

In response to the call for measures to be taken against intimate partner violence the South African government has responded by drawing up and implementing the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide. The emergency action plan features key interventions such as changing social norms and behaviour through high level awareness raising and prevention campaigns.

The framework is also in accordance with the strengthening of delivery capacity to rollout evidence based prevention programmes that are intent on encouraging shifts away from toxic masculinities and towards embracing positive alternatives for expressing masculinities and other sexual and gender identities within specific communities or groups.

In the context of abusive men not being accountable for their actions evidence shows that counseling intervention programmes directed towards perpetrators of GBV are not successful if the users are not accepting of their responsibility for having committed intimate partner violence.

Thus, it has been found that awareness campaigns attracting male help seekers to counselling services in order to reform their abusive behaviour and improve their relationship skills are of crucial significance. The most pertinent drivers influencing the personal decisions of abusive men to accept responsibility and seek help for their behaviour are awareness campaigns, that engage with men who use violence in a non-judgemental, proactive, productive manner that mitigates disassociation and defensiveness.

Such initiatives are very effective in encouraging these men to actively enrol in abuse prevention programmes. When considering the number of violent men in need of intervention, such campaigns that seek to educate men of the importance and benefits of ending violence towards women are of vital importance.

Thus, us men taking responsibility for accepting the importance and benefits of stopping gender based violence would ultimately influence the increased safety of women and children in the community.

SECTION 2: OBJECTIVES OF THE REAL MEN SEEK HELP CAMPAIGN

The overall vision of the REAL MEN SEEK HELP CAMPAIGN is encapsulated in the following statement:

This campaign initiative works to create a society in which the femininity of women and the innocence of girls is respected, protected and their wellbeing is kept safe from any violence or abuse perpetrated by violent masculinity.

We do this through:

• Involving our communities in offering constructive guidance to would be help seeking men to stop abuse and use of violence in their intimate relationships;

• Removing barriers towards help seeking by positively influencing ideas around masculine help seeking and communicating the importance and benefits of stopping gender based violence;

• Piloting cost-effective approaches to creating male demand for help seeking from local community based perpetrator intervention counseling services;

• Urging us men to accept responsibility for altering violent behaviour in order to impact the reduction of male perpetration behaviour;

• Addressing the misogyny and gender stereotypes that underpin male violence against women; and

• Constructively persuading men who use violence to cease attributing blame towards a partner or spouse for their abusiveness;

The goal of the Real Men Seek Help Campaign can be stated as follows:

Within the next five years, more men will participate in the fight against gender based violence through dissemination of information and advocacy in an effort to improve the health and welfare of women and children in communities.

More specifically, the purpose of the project is:

Within two years, to raise awareness targeted at challenging the behaviour of perpetrators through community based support, with an emphasis on establishing evidence based results in the reduction of gender based violence figures in the Kwazakhele Community.

SECTION 3: ENVISAGED PROCESS

3.1 Overview

The intention is to use Kwazakhele (a GBV hotspot with a population of 100 000 residents) to pilot our approach. The prevention and intervention awareness campaign will be carefully monitored, evaluated and recorded in order to make replicability in other hotspots around South Africa possible.

Assistance with tracking, retrieving or acquiring updated figures in Kwazakhele for purposes of reporting will be received from the SAPS GBV statistics database and also from the local community based perpetrator intervention counseling services, with regards to increases in levels of perpetrator help seeking.

In order to achieve success in the pilot, we aim to contract with professional media or branding firm(s) to create messaging, content and materials for raising awareness of the importance and benefits of stopping GBV. This will also involve motivating abusive men to seek help for their violent behaviours in addition to the selected company incorporating input and feedback from the Campaign Committee structure.

Core objectives for this awareness campaign are to:

• Create effective prevention and intervention messages that are impactful, engaging, and shareable along with being true to the spirit of what has been successfully conceptualized. The messages of the importance and benefits of stopping gender based violence are to be used as a guide for the process.

• Reach the largest audience of youth and young adults as possible by utilizing the most effective platforms for those demographics.

• After completion of the campaign, we are looking for the contractor to complete an analytical report that explains what worked best, and why, in the form of actionable intelligence for our committee and our grantees.

This analytical report will include a breakdown of:

• Which editorial and emotional angles were most effective in driving awareness.

• What audience emotions surfaced during the course of the campaign;

• Recommendations as to how to refine messaging for social platforms moving forward;

3.2 Outputs

The scope of work for the contracted agency will include:

• Campaign development and project management

• Timeline development with benchmarks which include opportunities for input and feedback by the Campaign Committee

• Content strategy

• Development of creative assets (based, at least in part, on the input and feedback provided by the Campaign Committee)

• Earned media and paid social support, including placement of media buys

• Search engine optimization

• Mobile device optimization

• Regular reports during campaign to track progress and outcomes

An analytical report completed post-campaign which breaks down:

• Which editorial and emotional angles were most effective in driving awareness to an issue?

• What audience emotions surfaced during the course of the campaign?

• Recommendations as to how to refine messaging for social platforms moving forward.

The planned outputs for the two-year period are as follows:

• Administer outreach and workshop initiatives effectively in the Kwazakhele community;

• Institute a campaign committee structure as a basis for sustainability;

• Formulate a report detailing the experiences and impact of the project as a basis for replicability;

SECTION 4: CONCLUSION

In summary:

• Malulu Yako requests support for the campaign development and project management component of the Real Men Seek Help Campaign.

• This campaign is specifically aimed at raising awareness targeted at challenging the behaviour of perpetrators through community based support, with an emphasis on establishing evidence based results in the reduction of gender based violence figures.

• We believe that the context in which we are operating makes such a project an imperative. Our intention is to pilot the campaign in the Nelson Mandela Bay residential area of Kwazakhele as a model for replicability by organisations, agencies or interested social partners.

• The emphasis on a campaign in line with South Africa’s development strategy through a community-based initiative makes it likely that the project will be viable.

• The campaign’s objectives are strategically aligned to the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide as a basic framework.

• A free ebook shall be available for download as a means to garner support by bringing about contributions towards the campaign.

• We believe that professional management, skill, financial competencies and collaboration with experienced branding and/or media agencies will qualify to make a success of this project.

SECTION 5: BUDGET SUMMARY

In brief, we are asking for any support in the achievement of a budget in the sum of US$ 25 000 in Year 1, and US$ 20 000 in Year 2. This would cover the following:

• The partner agency creatively achieving the stated goals and objectives, including specific concepts, tactics, and production idea.

• Utilization of the prevention and intervention messages developed during the successful conceptualization process and execution of all tasks and milestones within the project timeline.

This request for funding is also to cover the cost of administration, the envisaged community outreach programme, help seeker motivation support training and workshop initiatives.

Concerning envisaged campaign materials, here is other successfully conceptualized draft literature that can be viewed here:-

https://bit.ly/Draftposter1 / https://bit.ly/Draftposter3

Any purchases of the paperback available on Amazon bookstore will go towards the Real Men Seek Help Campaign:- https://bit.ly/WhatHasLiedToUsMenbyMaluluYako

It has been a pleasure having to present this motion in request for your support and hope that such an enterprise will bring about lasting relationships through this campaign that continue to exist well into the future.

An enormous thank you for your sympathy and support in the fight against gender based violence.

Malulu

September 15 2021

https://bit.ly/MaluluYako

[email protected]

SWOT ANALYSIS

The following SWOT Analysis helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign in the domestic and family violence sector, as well as the opportunities and threats facing it.

This, shows how the Real Men Seek Help Campaign will build on these strengths, address weaknesses, use the opportunities and confront the threats. This shows a realistic and accurate picture of the sector, and that the insight and determination to build its capacity is sustainable.

Working through these issues gives confidence to promote and market the campaign to society.

STRENGTH

The Real Men Seek Help Campaign is a dedicated course of action bringing evidence based impact to social change and prompting the reduction of cases.

WEAKNESS

In the domestic and family violence sector funds are predominantly for victims/survivor support or recovery and not for male help seeking projects.

OPPORTUNITY

There is a need in South African society for high level awareness and prevention campaigns as per the second pillar and third key intervention of the National Strategic Plan on Gender Based Violence and Femicide.

THREAT

Limited supply of prevention and intervention counseling programmes for male help seeking users.

CAMPAIGN FUNDING STRETCH GOALS (YEAR 1)

$5,500.00

Initiate campaign development and drawing up of the content strategy. Development of creative assets and materials production. Begin to administer outreach and workshop initiatives effectively in the community.

$12,000.00

Introduce project management. Paid social support in the form of ad space purchases on social networking platforms. Driving of earned media (message shares, posts, mentions and other individual forwarding of content less any real investment).

$20,000.00

Placement of media buys (advertising on guaranteed value earning platforms). Training on offering support to help seekers looking for appropriate intervention programmes to enroll in. Search engine and mobile device optimization. Formulate regular progress and outcomes reports plus an analytical report detailing the experiences and impact of the project as a basis for replicability.