Search for Common Ground (Search) has been privileged to work with our partners in Lebanon, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan over the past three years to build interreligious freedom roundtables to enable advocacy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) in target countries. The Lebanon roundtable became known as […]
This report captures findings from the midterm evaluation of the project “Partners for Justice” implemented by Search since September 2019.
The overall goal of this project has been to reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Lebanon by raising awareness on gender equality, equitable masculinities, shaping attitudes of men, women, boys, and girls on VAWG, and creating opportunities for men and boys to become allies in ending VAWG in the targeted five geographic areas (Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Bekaa, South and North Lebanon).
The midterm evaluation highlights how the project’s activities met the first objective of empowering men and boys to engage with women and become allies and champions for gender equality and the prevention of VAWG. The training provided throughout the project enhanced the skills and knowledge of participants (CSO youth representatives, young media professionals, etc.) on gender and masculinities and turned them into advocates for the fight against VAWG in their communities. The project’s inclusive approach, involving both men and women, empowered direct beneficiaries as well as community members, especially men and boys. The results of the survey with community members showed that overall, there is a general disapproval of VAWG. Nonetheless, men still appear more likely to strongly agree with statements indicating that violence against women and girls is permissible, while women are more likely to disagree or have a neutral position. The survey shows that there has been a positive change in the awareness of and attitudes towards the permissibility of VAWG. This demonstrates that the Partners for Justice project was successful in transforming participants, both women and men, into allies for gender equality and VAWG prevention.
