Approach to combat violence against women launched

Islamabad: A new mobilisation model titled, SASA! (Start, Awareness, Support and Action) was shared at a key event with government, civil society, international organizations and other development entities, in Islamabad. The SASA! Conference was arranged by Aiming Change for Tomorrow (ACT) and funded by the Australian Government.

SASA is a community mobilization approach to prevent violence against women (VAW) and HIV, developed by Raising Voices in Uganda. SASA works by supporting communities through a comprehensive process of social change focused on interrogating unequal power dynamics between women and men. This approach engages a critical mass of people across all levels of society in order to create social norm. It helps community members to reflect on their own lives and relationships before trying to influence others. SASA! helps to create happier, healthier, safer relationships between men and women around the world.

Representatives from government, the, World Bank, DFID and other stakeholders from the diplomatic community and development sector were also present. Zartaj Gul, Minister of State for Climate Change was the chief guest for the event. The conference included a presentation on SASA! by Kampala based non-governmental organization Raising Voices and implementing partners presented on the journey to adapting the SASA! model to the Pakistan context and its implementation.

Testimonials of Community Activists (CAs), a comprehensive documentary on SASA! keynote session and award ceremony for the CAs was also part of the conference.