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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SYNTHESIS
REVIEW OF THE
STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CAMPAIGN
2004-2010
The Stop Violence against Women Campaign was Amnesty International's first
long-term global thematic campaign. It lasted six years (from 2004 to 2010),
was very ambitious in its scope, and required major shifts in Amnesty
International's ways of working.
We commissioned an external review of the campaign in order to identify key
areas of learning and recommendations that can be used to strengthen our future
work. Two independent consultants were commissioned to carry out this review,
and to provide us with an objective, honest assessment of the campaign.
The evaluation aimed to look for indications of Amnesty International's contribution
to changes in the external world, assess how the organization worked in
partnership with women's movements and networks, and to identify successes and
areas for improvement at the operational level of the campaign.
Because of the scale of the campaign, and the huge range of actions carried out
by Amnesty International around the world over six years, a case study approach
was agreed. Case studies were carried out in the UK, Kenya, Uganda and
Venezuela. The consultants sought feedback from Amnesty International sections
and structures through a general survey. Whenever possible, an effort was made
to include the views of right holders in the enquiry process at project level.
This was combined with feedback from staff and partners, as well as reference
to earlier evaluations of the campaign.
In their report, the consultants highlight a number of key lessons learned and
provide recommendations for improving our delivery of global campaigns as well
as the way we assess our impact. The report also showcases some of the
successes and achievements of the campaign.
The review's findings are a mixture of what worked well and what could have
worked better, as is to be expected in a review of a major, complex and global
campaign that spanned six years and involved a huge range of actions taking
place in different cultural contexts.
For example, our partnership work was a major element of the campaign, and the
review points out that many interviewees said the best thing about the campaign
was our sustained engagement with women's organizations. Yet it also notes that
as partnering was new for many of those involved, there were inevitably lessons
to be learnt from both sides.
The review recommends that Amnesty International should continue to listen to
and learn from partners, ensuring clear agreements and shared understanding of
roles and responsibilities. Exit strategies need to be discussed with partners
to ensure clarity on why, how and when partnerships will come to an end.
The report also stresses the need for more joint planning between different
functions within Amnesty International and the importance of good coordination
within the International Secretariat, and between the International Secretariat
and sections and structures. We will consider carefully all recommendations in
the report, including the need to strengthen planning processes and strategies,
training for Amnesty International staff and supporters and monitoring and
evaluation systems.
Read the report, A synthesis of the learning from the Stop Violence
Against Women campaign 2004-2010, here.
We are committed to learning from the review. At its recent meeting in May the
International Executive Committee (IEC) welcomed the review and stressed how
important it is for the movement to learn from the findings and
recommendations.
The IEC also encouraged leaders in the organization to ensure that the key
points from the review are widely circulated amongst relevant staff and
activists, and that their section/structure considers carefully how to respond
to them.
We have already started the process of gathering feedback and generating
discussion on the findings and recommendations. It is important that we listen
to the views of staff, supporters and partners, and – just as we should
celebrate successes – to be prepared to assess where things have worked less
well and to ensure improvements for the future.
We are committed to building relevant lessons into our ways of working. A
special project team has been created to help with the dissemination of the
report and to coordinate an official management response. The evaluation report
has been widely circulated within the Amnesty International movement.
Key stakeholders groups will be engaged in the process and a series of specific
workshops are being delivered, focusing generally on:
The approach is participatory and privileges engagement with key
stakeholders. Embedding lessons learnt and improving future actions would
however entail a deeper process of changing systems, procedures, and behaviour
within the organization.
The campaign partners and all those interviewed during the evaluation will be
notified of the outcome of the evaluation and encouraged to provide feedback to
Amnesty International.
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