Beliefs and Practices of Somali Citizens Related to Child Protection and Gender

"Effective social change initiatives aimed at eliminating harmful practices and promoting gender equality require a granular understanding of how people perceive and talk about these issues. Yet in Somalia, where there are areas of poor infrastructure and political insecurity, on-the-ground, qualitative research is difficult to undertake and costly to reproduce at scale."

This report presents findings from a project consisting of five interactive radio shows on key protection issues that affect young women and girls, carried out in January and February 2017 designed by Africa’s Voices Foundation (AVF), UNICEF Somalia, and MediaINK. Specific topical issues included: female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); child marriage; girls’ access to education; and juvenile justice. "Within a framework for social research design and analysis, these shows sought to address gaps in knowledge on social norms and barriers to change."

Based upon UNICEF'S recognition that "Communications for Development - dialogue and conversations directed towards changing norms and behaviour - will be essential to ensure the protection of children", the project sought to provide recommendations on how to tailor communications for respectful dialogue using local content through understanding the beliefs that underpin social norms rather than describing the social norms in a community. Question were developed for use in the interactive radio project to elicit collective beliefs of Somali audiences on the premise that "changing collective beliefs can be achieved through media (e.g., radio) where people are not only exposed, but also have a chance to discuss these new ideas and perceive that others also endorse them."

AVF designed the radio questions to elicit SMS (test message) responses via mobile phone. Unlike "surveys, this approach gathers opinions in their cultural context and through a conversational mode, more aligned to the socio-cognitive processes that generate and shape the beliefs of interest." AVF worked with UNICEF Somalia to identify information gaps on collective belief around the four issues, designed open-ended radio questions and follow-up SMS questions to obtain information on respondents' practices and their demographic information. A chart on page 14 offers wording of the questions. Questions were broadcast for three days each week for two months, and "responses were then read out in the weekly radio show alongside expert voices and key influencers in society for an inclusive and engaging C4D intervention, in turn encouraging further participation....40,544 text messages were received in response to questions aired on the radio from 16,541 people within 73 districts across Somalia -of these participants 45.2% were female. 

Responses were organised in a theme-based framework and then coded. "The dataset was then analysed for associations between beliefs and practices, and associations between beliefs and demographic groups. Odds ratios were used because they are particularly sensitive to sample size and therefore set a higher threshold for achieving results with statistical significance."

Results include the following by topic:

• FGM/C: 46% supported the practice for reasons of: religion; controlling the sexual behaviour; girl risked being stigmatised; and it is a traditional practice. The reasons varied by geographical region between the northwest (NWZ) and the south and central (SCZ). 43% disagreed for reasons of: religion; long-term and short-term health impacts; ability to enjoy sexual intercourse; violation of basic human rights. Again reasons varied by geographical region. 84.3% of messages said that ‘yes’ FGM/C happens in the community for many of the same reasons that people supported the practices. Recommendations include: "In SCZ using religious leaders and narratives based on the Qoran to re-frame perceptions of religion and FGM/C will be crucial to positive change.... By contrast in NWZ, it may be important to ensure that programming includes a focus on re-framing narratives of female sexuality and autonomy - a sensitive topic that may be best suited to formats such as community theatre and radio dramas. strategy towards elimination."

• Child marriage: 59.9% in favour of marriage before the age of 18 years for reasons of: religion; puberty as the key threshold prescribed by sharia; sufficient maturity; longer period of reproductive labour; able to give birth. 40.1% said girls should marry at 18 years or older for reasons of time for girls to pursue education; psychological maturity; risks to health associated with childbirth; better housework capabilities; the decision to marry belonged to the girls alone. Responses of those over age 30 were more supportive of child marriage than those under 30. Recommendations include: "Project a positive model of womanhood as defined by intellectual and emotional development." Engage male audiences by including with the child marriage topic programming around issues that are perceived as important to men, such as employment, agricultural livelihoods, and politics. Be cautious in crafting messages that include religious beliefs. Build "inclusive conversations that span generations, so that the voice of youth can be heard by older decision-makers."

• Girls' access to education: 16.6% of messages said ‘no’ [girls should not have the same level of education as boys] for reasons of: household work to be done; boys were more capable or more valuable; girls marry young; a woman's role is as a mother; education would lead to girls flirting with men; women should only receive religious education and only need a limited amount. 83.4% of messages said ‘yes’ [same level of education for both genders] for reasons of equality between the genders; lasting positive effects on her family; beneficial to the community; girls more capable than boys; finding an appropriate job; community awareness of the benefits of education for women. Recommendations include: Use specific positive narratives and proverbs identified through this research and brand around the idea that educating women is like educating the family and benefits the wider community; in NWZ, use language and proverbs and, in SCZ, a broader campaign for gender equality;  improve legislation and provide material resources to support education.

• Juvenile justice: 59.5% of messages said ‘yes’ [violent juvenile criminals should be treated differently from adults] for reasons of: lacking maturity; focusing on their reform; too young to receive harsh punishment. 37.5% of of messages said ‘no’ for reasons of: criminals should not be differentiated by age; 14-18 year olds have moral maturity and have reached puberty; sharia law; to prevent repeat offenders; in the case of severe crimes; because children's rights are not protected; punishment should fit crime and justice should be applied equally. Recommendations include: role modelling cases of reform and rehabilitation while campaigning to enact and enforce legislation on juvenile justice; present alternative models of human development in which biological maturity is not equivalent to moral and emotional maturity; grounding legislation clearly in an argument taken from Islamic sharia, developed in full collaboration with local religious leaders.