‘Humanity and Equality to Accelerate Rights through Therapeutic-theatre (HEART)’ project
Project budget: SEK 1,200,000
Project duration: January 2021-December 2023
Supported by: Diakonia
Background: The Project implementation area is vastly inhabited by a large number of climate refugees. The number of floating populations is increasing every day. Their living condition is poor; their culture is semi-urban, socioeconomic condition is low. These conditions have generated stereotypical thinking of the community ultimately affecting their human rights, creating gender violations and keeping the community out of socioeconomic justice. Raising voices keeps girls and women in insecurity. That security keeps women at a distance to claim their rights.
The fact of violence against adolescents, youths and women is common in the project community. The phenomenon of human rights violation has an important psychosocial aspect which is one of the main root causes of mental imbalance in adolescents. Adolescents, youths and women are the most exposed victims of these situations.
Problem Focus: Lack of psycho-social assistance to address gender-based violence and gender stereotypes among adolescents, youths, women and men.
Strategy for change
Organising Empowering and Capacity Building Mobilizing
Project Approach
Problem Solution Focus: solution focused on 3 intervention or thematic areas Human Rights, Gender Equality & Socioeconomic Justice.
Advocacy Network: Overall project implementation and advocacy campaign will depend on three advocacy network: women network named “NJK- Chittagong City”, mental health based network named “MHAA” and newly formed “Adolescent and Youth Forum”.
Instead of Healing : Therapeutic theatre tools will be used in the project for changing attitude, confidence building as well as to change traditional thinking of mind on mental health and gender equity aspect instead of healing.
Who are doing it?
Gender Equality based works, key participants are from last projects communities’ 200 KM member (Adolescents girls and boys) & 50 Youth Moncho with persons with intersex and 150 school going students with teachers and SMC members.
Human rights based key activities are mostly centered in 6 schools and 3 communities. It is addressing Mantel Health care as it is the immediate need for victims to get in to one again.
Project also works to develop their IT knowledge and understanding in accessing to Job Market.
The project also intervene to develop a group of Psychosocial Care Giving Experts consisted of Student & Teachers who function as a diversified advocacy team on human rights, socioeconomic justice and gender equality issues.
Area of focus and actors:
The main focus area of the project is on Adolescents, Youths and Women. The project is working with adolescents (age from 11-18) youths (19 to 35) who are grouped respectively as Koishor Moncho and Youth Moncho. Members of Adolescent and Youth Moncho are boys and girls who were members of previous Koishor Moncho and skilled with therapeutic theatre, advocacy interventions and raising awareness actions on child marriage, dowry, domestic violence, stocking, sexual harassments, climate justice along with other human rights issues.
Therapeutic theatre unit, are formed with advanced peer educator who are former members of Koishor Moncho, they are assisting to enhance the skill of community and institution based adolescents and youths. They are also supporting to manage psycho-social problems.
Student Forum, These boys and girls study in general at City Corporation Schools. These schools are hosting the students of these communities and costs less than private and more than government schools.
Adolescents and Youth Forum is formed with leading adolescents and youths from their respective groups and leading the Advocacy initiatives.
Another project focus is with psycho-social related actors. The actors here is Mental Health Advocacy Association (MHAA) consisted of activists and survivors of psycho-social calamity working for advocacy in policy level to secure enabling policy environment for recognized system and allocation as a part of citizen rights.
Important focus of the project is on women issues. It is being addressed by Nari Jogajog Kendra (NJK), it is an associations formed with working women including home-makers.
Location of the Action: Ward number 9, 10 & 13 of Chittagong City Corporation, Bangladesh
Stake holders
Among the 450,000 people of these two wards, UTSA intends to work with around 3,000 people comprised of adolescents, youth, women, men and persons of gender diversity. People with disability also get special support through the project. Stakeholders are consisted of the followings:
Adolescents and Youths
Technical specialists: Theatre therapists, psychotherapist, counselors
Government: Government Officials (Education, social welfare, women and children and youth department,) and Local government Mayor and Ward Councilors, law enforcement authority
Institutions: School, college and university teachers, Journalists, religious leaders, Civil Society and NGOs
People: Community and Psychosocial and gender violence victims and survivors
Goal: Eliminate discriminatory culture and Influence to change the traditional attitudes with harmful practices regarding women and girls through creating awareness of gender equality.
Objective of the Project:
1. Increasing positive aspects of the duty bearers in schools, colleges and community in favour of gender equality.
2. In a society, in which women and men will get equal opportunity, rights and responsibility in all spheres of life.
3. Play an important role towards the youth in combating climate change the youth will be an active part of the social economic and climate justice movement through the youth lead.
Intervention Methodology
To implement the project, UTSA is using the following methods:
- Capacity Building
- Raising Awareness
- Mobilization
- Policy Advocacy
Expected results
Result 1: A positive environment achieved towards implementation of human rights considering
psychosocial rights and gender-based violation as root cause.
Result 2: A positive attitude and circumstance exists favouring gender equality at duty bearer level and
a positive attitude is present at schools, colleges & community
Result 3: Ensured access of young, GBV, and MH Victims in employment.
Result 4: Ensured increased capacity of organization and staff to deal with project issues efficiently.