Voices for Change: Empowering Adolescent Girls and Women in Nigeria (V4C)

The V4C programme is designed to change societal attitudes that create barriers to gender equality and entrenched, negative social norms across Nigeria, in order to create an enabling environment to improve girls’ and women’s access to health, education, economic security, political opportunity and justice. According to the V4C website, the programme "capitalizes on current trends in Nigeria, such as the growing access to digital/mobile technology, while seeking also to change some of the more entrenched formal and informal barriers that prevent girls and young women realising their potential."

The programme’s core strategies are outlined as follows:

Media and Communications

V4C's media and communications approach is designed to shift attitudes and behaviours to promote gender equality through the following three key components:

• Brand: The V4C brand focuses on positive values in individuals, reflecting on "a new order of unique individuals who are not only cool but smart and outstanding in everything they do." Various brand themed events and promotions will be conducted.
• Programmes: Entertaining and educational programmes, such as a radio drama series, are being produced to trigger attitudinal change. The radio drama combines a mix of real life practical scenarios in the lives of young people as well as entertaining storylines.
• Digital & Social Media: V4C is harnessing the popularity of the web, social media, and mobile technology to deliver a strategy of mass, local and one-to-one communications. Branded websites that are easily accessible by smart phones have been developed by V4C to provide virtual safe spaces for young people to engage and interact. These spaces are designed to offer users support and information relating to their physical and emotional well-being.

Safe Spaces

In order to reach female and male students aged 16 to 25 in post-secondary institutions, V4C is implementing its safe space programme where groups of young people gather to learn, share information, and hold discussions. Separate safe spaces are being created for female and male students, with opportunities to bring them together from time to time. Each constituted safe space has been designed to run for a period of 12 weeks, during which time participants are taken through a safe space curriculum designed to equip them with life and leadership skills, as well as facilitation skills so that they may conduct training and influence their fellow peers. The session are guided by the Safe Space Manuals.

Masculinity

V4C is working with men in leadership positions who influence public opinion and can make public declarations for change, in order to contribute to a critical mass of people (including boys and men) in support of gender equality. "V4C has prioritised the engagement of men and boys in order to change their attitudes and behaviour, influence social norms around being men and encourage their active contribution to sustainable changes in the lives of girls and women."

Governance and Political Processes

One strategy to improve the enabling environment for adolescent girls and women is to strengthen gender-related legislation and women’s political participation. On the strength of this, the programme is working with formal institutions (ministries, national assembly and political structures) with the aim of to increase the inclusion and participation of girls and women’s issues in political and governance processes.

Shifting Social Norms

V4C has selected three social norm areas for change, based on research and analysis, consultations with experts, and internal discussions among the V4C team and DFID. The issues targeted for change by V4C are as follows: violence against women; women in leadership; and women’s role in decision-making. V4C is working at the individual, community, and social-structural levels to implement social marketing and behaviour change communications to shift attitudes in the wider society, and to inform citizens that others have changed their attitude.

For v4C-related research, reports, and resource materials, go to v4C website.

The project is also running the Gender Hub online platform
which aims to promote the work of others and provide increased access to information on gender issues in Nigeria. It is intended for gender experts within and beyond Nigeria including: feminist academics, women’s rights activists, men’s network convenors, researchers, programme staff, girls’ mentors, gender-focal points within Government agencies, project workers, journalists and media workers.

Gender equality

The programme is responding to the fact that "a significant number of girls in northern Nigeria do not complete secondary school. And whilst 85% of men have a bank account, or own a house or land, only 15% of women do.Girls and women do not take up leadership positions even when they have skills and capacity to do so. Of 24 post-secondary institutions scoped by V4C – including those with a majority of female students – only two had any female student leaders. The cause of these inequalities between men and women are found in a complex mix of economic, historical and social factors."