In 2016, Rutgers and partners Sonke Gender Justice, Promundo-US, and MenEngage Alliance started Prevention+: a five-year, multi-country program in Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Uganda that sought to end gender-based violence (GBV). A first of its kind program, Prevention+ aimed to transform the harmful gender norms that drive GBV at the individual, community, institutional, and governmental levels of society. The program targeted men as agents of change and used intersectional interventions to address the root causes of GBV and gender inequality.
An external evaluation of the program showed that it was impactful across all four levels of interventions. This document expands on five key takeaways or lessons learned, including: 1. Simultaneously working across socio-ecological levels was critical to the success of the program; 2. Participatory program design, where participants themselves were offered meaningful chances to shape and co-develop core program messages and elements, was exciting and impactful; 3. Working within, building on, or improving existing institutions can result in improved and more sustainable programmatic outcomes; 4. Multi-level, cross-sectoral relationship-building was key to ensuring collaboration, capacity-building, and accountability; and 5. Engaging men as part of the solution and promoting positive masculinities are key to preventing violence against women and girls.
