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For over 90 minutes, a coalition of civil societies, jointly with private sector players, convened a 90-minute session to explore actionable, cross-sector solutions for advancing GBV prevention and response across Africa. This short time will never be enough to truly unpack and solve the issues at the heart of this epidemic in our society, but it did highlight the importance and need for more multi-sectoral dialogues toward action.
The 16 Days of Activism against GBV offers us an opportunity to share key learnings and inspire collaboration between the private sector and the wider community in the movement against GBV so that we can encourage partners from different walks of life to unite to work together towards a future free from violence and abuse in Africa. Some learnings we want to highlight are:
- Time is an investment: building meaningful partnerships and trust across sectors takes time and dedicated effort. We started planning early to build relationships and allow time for ideas to germinate.
- Co-share the process: Tools and approaches such as co-creation sessions, active communication, and collaborative workshops allow partners to meet one another where they are in their GBV journey and build co-ownership.
- Let people talk about the issue: inclusive formats can facilitate an open, cross-sector discussion. Discussions need to break down silos and preconceived notions. Pluralistic spaces and peer circles co-guided by industry peers foster grounded and collaborative dialogue, enabling participants to engage meaningfully and collaboratively in exploring GBV prevention models.
- There is room for everyone: celebrating everyone’s differences to form multiple multi-sector partnership models could maximize impact through unified efforts. For example, civil society organizations can support corporations in their branding and campaigns to frame masculinity appropriately and establish dedicated approaches to engaging boys, men, and fathers, challenging prevailing gender stereotypes, and engaging all of society for transformative change.
- Sustainability of engagement: corporate involvement in GBV initiatives must go beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The private sector can play many roles by leveraging its existing expertise – for example, sharing its advertising and marketing space, and developing robust workplace policies, support mechanisms, and blended financing models.
- If we can do it, you can do it too: it all begins with a conversation, and we need more of these dialogues for meaningful progress to ending GBV. Your business can affect social change whilst simultaneously achieving your business objectives. Meanwhile, civil society can play a meaningful role in supporting corporate models to achieve social impact aligned with their values and practices. Social responsibility and business success are not mutually exclusive. They can reinforce one another.
To effectively address and end GBV, we urge a collaborative, cross-sector commitment that prioritizes the needs and voices of survivors. Together, we can create an impactful and measurable change, ensuring preventative solutions and responsive support for families and communities in South Africa and beyond.
SIGNED BY A COALITION OF ORGANISATIONS
- Brands on a Mission
- The Justice and Violence Prevention Programme
- Reach Digital Health
- SPAR Group
About Brands On A Mission
Brands on a Mission (BoaM) is a B-Corp consultancy dedicated to transforming operational models to accelerate impact on global health and well-being. From FMCG brands to world leaders in public health, policy, and development, BoaM delivers tailored solutions to drive sustainable, inclusive impact across sectors and public health issues. With a growing portfolio focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in sub-Saharan Africa, BoaM’s flagship initiative, African Voices, is shaping the narrative of SRHR to elevate and advance its cause across the continent. As part of this initiative, we have developed Fatima TV, an AI pre-teen, Pan-African girl, and virtual influencer aimed at reducing the stigma surrounding SRHR and empowering girls throughout the continent.
