Overview

In partnership with the Premier League together with UK and Kenyan partners, funded by FCDO, we are delivering an innovative pilot programme using football to tackle issues of violence against women and girls in Kenya.

...We have now noticed boys no longer bully the girls, and there is a sense of respect for the girls.  As for the girls, they have become more aware of their rights and are more empowered[...]

Building on the highly successful Premier Skills initiative, the programme works with young people in Mount Elgon and Kisumu to address some of the behaviours and attitudes that give rise to high levels of violence against women and girls. 

Over the three year funding period, the programme is adapting the community engagement models used by Premier League clubs in the UK to deliver community football sessions for young people in these two regions of Kenya with a curriculum focused on the prevention of violence against women and girls.  

Coaches from the community, both men and women, have been trained by expert Premier Skills coaches to deliver participative, inclusive and engaging community football activities for young people.  The coaches have also been trained to address questions of gender, violence and conflict during the football sessions using a contextualised curriculum on violence against women and girls developed specifically for the programme.

Impact

Some of the achievements of the programme so far include:

• Over 100 coaches trained - 47 per cent of active coaches are women

• 2,400 young people engaged to date – 45 per cent of current participants are girls

• More than 2,000 community members engaged through awareness raising events

• Over 120 representatives of local government and civil society organisations engaged in workshops and meetings to address and respond to violence against women and girls

• Gender equitable attitudes among participants increased from 41 per cent at baseline (47 per cent for girls and 34 per cent for boys) to 75 per cent (79 per cent among girls and 72 per cent among boys) at the end of the curriculum 

• Anecdotal evidence of positive behaviour change among young people and coaches 

• New working group on violence against women and girls established in Mount Elgon 

• Commitment to a VAWG recovery centre by Bungoma county government

The advocacy component of the programme will also include a multi-media campaign, the engagement of high profile champions to reinforce the programme's messages, and a series of capacity building and coordination workshops for key duty bearers and service providers in the two regions of Kenya where the programme is being delivered.

External links

Share this