A new communication campaign for women is addressing psychological abuse.
“It has been developed and launched by the Oscar A. Romero Reflection and Solidarity Group, an NGO working to make violence against women and girls visible and help eradicate it,” said María T. Díaz, its communication specialist.
Covering almanacs, bags, posters, aprons, key rings, stickers, leaflets and audiovisual materials, the campaign is being implemented parallel to the National Meeting to Say No to Violence against Women.
Why has your NGO been launching public communication campaigns against gender violence in Cuba?
Our Group is a local civil-society organization promoting community projects from a rights-based perspective that focuses on social equity and diversity.
It is mainly intended for social actors and seeks to implement training strategies and other community actions.
How are you working at present?
We are basically following up a strategy we started implementing in 2011 with the participation of university students of specialties like social communication, journalism, audiovisual production, and graphic design.
The idea is to equip them with information tools to better deal with gender issues, patriarchal traditions, masculinity, etc.
What is the purpose of the current campaign?
It is to promote behavioral change, remove old myths, and share experiences.
The idea is also to reach target groups, including urban and rural community members under projects that involve researchers, scholars and grassroots leaders. We have been supported by international organizations like Swiss Cooperation, OXFAM, DIAKONIA, and several United Nations agencies.
We have also established in-country partnerships with the Marta Abreu University in the central province of Villa Clara, the Agrarian University of Sancti Spíritus, and community-based institutions in Camagüey, Jagüey Grande, and Pinar del Río.
Why is this campaign focusing on women?
The main focus under this campaign is psychological violence against women. It is truly widespread and is often seen as something natural.
How are you conveying the messages at the local level?
We always need to identify target groups. This task is rendered all the more difficult under the current campaign because these acts affect all women, including farmers, professionals, working women, and even students.
Our language should thus be very clear, precise and appropriate. These are key words in any communication process.
We are planning to implement local actions in nine provinces, especially in communities where women are beaten up, abused and have no place to go for support.
We will yield better results if we manage to raise further awareness on the need to put an end to violence against women and girls
