We make sense of the changing world through stories. Aboriginal peoples speak of “yarning,” the act of coming together with others to talk and allow ideas to surface and evolve. 

 

Paulo Freire talked about praxis, or action-reflection: the need for people to engage in a constant cycle of action and reflection in order to understand and change their social reality.* 

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We propose that we recognise reflection as a form of action. We need to make that act of respectful reflection with others a part of our everyday lives. 

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The first question of reflection is “What?” In other words, what do we evaluate?

Common reflection methods include monitoring, evaluation, or impact assessment to see if goals were met. It is important to measure what matters, not just what's easy.

An uncommon sense approach begins by looking at if and how the system changed, in terms of shifts in power, changes in narrative, and changes to its Near Star, Guiding Star and deep loop. This helps us see changes we might not have noticed and informs our plans.

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Throughout this book, we have proposed indicators to help you monitor your campaign as it unfolds: 

• The boundaries of the System and its contents

• The relationships and deep loop giving the System its Equilibrium

• The target stakeholders and our Navigation to reach and activate them

• The Storms we may encounter

 

These are tangible elements of the system that you can measure. In this chapter we share with you a campfire dashboard tool for group work to understand changes in the system.

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Keep this process simple and easy to revisit. When you review these indicators we recommend you summarize and consider the findings using four principles of emergent learning***: 

• Raw data (research, numbers) and filtered data (opinions, stories and experiences)

• Insights - making sense of that data

• Hypotheses - what we believe may help us based on the above

• Opportunities - Events, meetings or times coming up that provide an opportunity to test our thinking

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Each principle helps us to separate out data from insights, insights from hypotheses, and identify opportunities for improvement.

 

Footnote

Sources: *Pedagogy of the Oppressed

***Adapted from Four Quadrant Partners work on Emergent Learning Tables, http://www.pointk.org/resources/files/Introduction_to_Emergent_Learning_Tables.pdf 

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Breakthrough, an India and US-based human rights organization, launched the Bell Bajao (Ring the Bell) campaign to call on men and boys across India to take a stand against domestic violence by performing a simple bystander intervention – ringing the doorbell when they witnessed domestic violence taking place. 

 

The campaign had the following objectives:

• Make the issue part of mainstream conversation 

• Increase knowledge about and change community attitudes towards domestic violence and towards HIV-positive women 

• Alter individual behavior

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Reflection on past campaigns to shape the Bell Bajao campaign:

• In previous campaigns, men were featured mainly as perpetrators of violence. Bell Bajao sought to activate solution-focused values and priorities by highlighting mens’ roles as thought leaders, partners and an integral part of the solution to reduce violence 

• Previous campaign evaluations found that Breakthrough’s nuanced messaging (combining HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women) was too complex to be absorbed by mass audiences. This time, the organization used a broad and easily understood message about domestic violence, making other nuances secondary 

• Breakthrough did further research including through a baseline survey of public attitudes towards domestic violence. This  found that: people rarely took action when they noticed domestic violence occurring; that both men and women equally were likely to take action; while men tended to take the lead in intervening if they did take action. This helped refine the campaign messaging even more, resulting finally in the simple, direct message ‘Bring domestic violence to a halt. Ring the Bell’, with men and boys being the key audience 

 

Monitoring and Evaluation of the Bell Bajao campaign

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Breakthrough did further reflection and identified:

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1.Changes at system levels: After two years, the campaign was not able to assess behavior changes and the impact on women (What level) but did gather information on changes in knowledge and attitudes shared.

• How level (community infrastructure, delays and loops):

  • Many interviewees were surprised that a person could interrupt domestic violence “giving any trivial reason”

• Where level (information flows): The campaign reached out through both media and education networks in one district, and just through media in another:

  • In the first district awareness of the Domestic Violence Act rose from an average of 3% to 21%

  • In the second district, awareness of the Domestic Violence Act rose from an average of 3% to 8%

• Who level (the rules and who shapes them): 

  • It was unclear if significant changes took place in the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of among community leaders and opinion shapers specifically as there was no in-depth study of their opinions

• Why level (the mindset): Emergent data from the opinions given by respondents:

  • Changed attitudes: 

    • A marked decrease (9%) in respondents who felt that women should remain silent when experiencing domestic violence. 

    • An increase (90%) in respondents who felt that women should take legal action.

    • A decrease in respondents suggesting that women just live with it or commit suicide. 

    • Interviewees commonly shared that “one should make efforts to stop domestic violence”. 

  • Changed knowledge and attitudes: 

    • Interviewees most commonly shared what they learned from the television ads was that “one can stop domestic violence without saying anything to the aggressor.”

    • Before the campaign, research found narrow understanding of domestic violence, primarily associating it with dowry-related harassment, while other forms like emotional, economic, and sexual abuse were less recognized. After the campaign, research found that a significantly higher proportion of respondents reported understanding that emotional abuse, threats, economic deprivation and sexual abuse are also forms of domestic violence. 

    • After the campaign, a significantly lower proportion of respondents identified domestic violence as dowry-related harassment.

2. Changes in Relationships and Deep Loops Giving the System Its Equilibrium

• Pre-campaign research suggested that:

  • Social norms perpetuated a harmful loop of silence and inaction towards domestic violence. 

  • A significant proportion of the population believed that domestic violence was a private matter, leading to widespread non-intervention.

• Post-campaign evaluation found:

  • A positive change in opinions: in the district reached by  media and education networks, respondents said they were more likely to report  domestic violence (47%), especially amongst female respondents (69%).

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3. Changes in Target Stakeholders and Navigation to reach and activate them

• Time: The evaluation found that at least two to three years of sustained effort is needed for community mobilization. It is possible to build knowledge and skills more quickly, but behavior and attitudinal change requires time. 

• Navigation: 

  • The campaign needed to keep innovating to maintain excitement - such as through video vans, which were popular with youth. This added to the existing output through media, schools, television, radio and print ads. 

  • The campaign learned to do outreach via schools rather than just media, to have the most sustained impact on shifted knowledge and attitudes.

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4. Changes during and following challenges and opportunities

• Raw Data: Challenges included financial constraints during the 2009 economic downturn, language diversity across India requiring translations, and community skepticism towards Breakthrough as an external organization.

• Insights: These challenges provided insights into the need for adaptable, resource-efficient strategies. For example, the difficulty in securing free airtime led to a greater emphasis on grassroots mobilization and digital engagement.

• Hypotheses: The campaign hypothesized that despite financial and logistical challenges, sustained community engagement, coupled with strategic media placement, could still drive significant change.

• Opportunities: These challenges also created opportunities for innovation like a greater focus on digital platforms to reach a wider audience during the economic downturn. Breakthrough adapted by intensifying efforts in community-driven events, video van tours, and integrating messages into popular culture, ensuring continuous engagement despite limited resources.

 

Read more: https://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/bell_bajao_case_study_english.pdf 

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