A systems approach to combating violence against women in Fiji 1
+ This project brief, created by Joe Wheeler, Stephanie Lukito, and Lillian Tong, is the result of a 16 week collaboration between the Transdisciplinary Design Program at Parsons the New School and the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination, ICAAD. ICAAD is a litigation and advocacy center focused on the eradication of structural discrimination globally and the promotion of human rights norms consistent with public international law.
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Context
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Mission
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Fiji faces one of the highest
We are hoping to address this
rates of violence against women
violence by strengthening local
in the world, outside of active
efforts for gender equality,
conflict zones, with over 64% of
raising international awareness,
women reporting abuse from an
and increasing donation beyond
intimate partner.
the traditional hierarchy of resource allocation.
Platform
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Impact
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By creating an online platform
By supporting local nonprofits
that pools existing resources,
and activists, we can help
GO FIJI GO can offer nonprofits
expedite the process of
and activists in Fiji a full range
changing Fiji’s cultural mindset
of invaluable services with
regarding gender and violence,
almost no start up cost for
empowering the women in Fiji
ICAAD.
who are already working to end gender discrimination.
Appendix
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Fiji, an island paradise?
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Context Despite their idyllic white sand beaches and glistening waters, the Pacific Islands have some of the highest rates of violence against women, outside of conflict zones, in the world. According to a two year survey from the Fijian Women’s Crisis Center,
64% of women in Fiji faced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner. Patriarchal beliefs have embedded gender discrimination so deeply into the social infrastructure of Fiji, that sexual and gender-based violence is merely accepted as the norm by both men and women in the community.
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Of the women that responded to Fiji Women Crisis Center’s national survey: 80% of respondents report witnessing violence against women 64% of women report abuse by their partners 44% of women report being hit while pregnant 30% of women report repeat abuse 13% of women report being raped
Statistics and graphics citation: Singh, Hansdeep, Jaspreet Singh and Marjory D. Fields. “Fiji: Violence against Women – Identifying and Combating Structural Discrimination that Furthers Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).” Contemporary Social Issues in East Asian Societies: Examining the Spectrum of Public and Private Spheres. IGI Global, 2014.
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A lot of laws have been passed but implementation is the challenge.
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In Fiji, recently, there have been a lot of amendments addressing gender discrimination, but the policy is not being followed through with on the ground. Legislative change is happening in Fiji and across the Pacific Island countries, but implementation is still a major problem. People are aware of the problem, and willing to acknowledge the violence that occurs, but most Fijians just don’t care about these issues. Despite the more progressive legislation Fiji has yet to see any significant reduction in violence against women.
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There are already many local organizations and activist in Fiji working on gender-based violence.
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Because violence against women is such a pervasive issue in Fiji, there are already a significant numbers of nonprofits and activists working to address violence against women from all angles including women’s health, community safety, LGBTQIA Rights, and education. Sadly, this results in an intense atmosphere of competition because the market is so flooded with organizations and the avenues for funding are so limited. Competition for funding is brutal, which becomes a major inhibitor to collaboration between organizations and limits willingness to share resources. In the traditional model for nonprofit funding organizations turn to embassies or the government for grant funding, which is too unpredictable to sustain long term growth and limits organizations to planning interventions that meet the agenda of their funders.
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Smaller NGOs and grassroots activists who are not awarded funding from government or embassies often function with little to no budget outside of what is personally invested. Activists working at the grassroots level do not get paid for their work even if they volunteer with NGOs full time, often relying on family and friends to cover cell phone bills, transportation, and internet. The community of activists in Fiji are in dire need of additional resources outside of the traditional framework so they can begin to offer more of the services they know will help the women in their community.
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Competition for funding is a major inhibitor to collaboration for local non-profits and activists.
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We see the current competition for resources, specifically funding, as one of the biggest problems facing women’s rights organizations in Fiji. The competitive environment not only build tension between organizations, it is detrimental to collaboration. In the push for social justice, solidarity is the key to progress. Having the community of advocates divided because of competition for resources only serves to prevent more impactful interventions regarding gender equality in Fiji.
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Rather than entering an already crowded space as an additional nonprofit attempting to independently address violence against women and further exacerbating the competitive environment, we hope to bolster existing services offered by on the ground nonprofits and activists working in this space. By expanding these groups’ professional networks and access to resources we can bolster existing services and, hopefully, reduce feelings of competition to encourage collaboration and sharing.
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Our Mission We are working to support organizations in Fiji addressing sexual and gender-based violence on the ground by sharing resources and expanding professional networks.
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Traditional Model Currently, there is a strict hierarchy to distribution of resources, with larger nonprofits receiving most of the grant funding from the government and embassies. While some organizations, such as Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, distribute this funding to other smaller organizations, like the Fiji Young Women’s Forum, the smallest grassroots organizations, like Oceania Pride and Youth Champs, receive little to no funding from grants, government or larger nonprofits.
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Proposed Intervention We are proposing to breakdown the existing hierarchy by leveraging social physics. By expanding each organization’s professional network via viral media, smaller nonprofits in Fiji can crowdsource donations from a global network of peers and advocates, removing the hierarchy of grant-based funding and replacing it will direct micro-donations from around the world.
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To establish this new resource flow we have six primary criteria for our intervention:
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Funding
Resources
Services
Increase financial
Provide resources
Raise awareness
support for nonprofits
to help educate
amongst activists and
and activists in Fiji
activists on how
nonprofit workers
working to address
to more efficiently
of existing services
violence against
manage a nonprofit
that are available for
women.
organization.
nonprofits.
Networking
Storytelling
Exchange
Use the power of
Share personal stories
Provide incentives for
viral marketing to
from Fiji to show how
international players
exponentially expand
local activists are
to get involved in
the professional
working to address
addressing violence
network of activists
gender discrimination
against women in Fiji.
in Fiji.
in their country.
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These six criteria work together to address the two core facets of our mission:
Funding
Resources
Services
First, to strengthen local efforts addressing violence against women in Fiji.
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Networking
Storytelling
Exchange
And second, to draw international attention and resources to the issue of violence against women in Fiji.
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Service Diagram
We are, however, looking at “donations� beyond just financial support. While funding is always a primary concern, many of the nonprofits in Fiji could equally benefit from volunteered labor, educational resources, or mentorship from international NGOs. 24
With various streams of resources flowing to nonprofits in Fiji and shared networking to expand individual exposure, we can help existing organizations offer increasingly effective services to their communities.
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A new platform for engaging, interacting, and donating to support nonprofits in Fiji combating sexual and gender-based violence.
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Minimum Viable Product As ICAAD begins to get increasingly involved in this issue space, we wanted to provide a starting point that would begin to address the core deliverables we are hoping to provide with the GO FIJI GO platform in the quickest, and least expensive, way. Looking at some of the features we are hoping to offer— crowdfunding for activists, nonprofit management mentorship for grassroots organizations, and volunteering opportunities for those in Fiji and abroad—there are already existing platforms that offer these services. There is no benefit for ICAAD reinventing the wheel, and having our nonprofit partners in Fiji utilize existing platforms only serves to expedite the potential for donations due to pre-existing brand recognition. Utilizing ICAAD’s site, endVAW.info, we can host all content relevant to women’s rights groups in Fiji in one, horizontally integrated location rather than disconnected across a series of online platforms. This will not only provide visitors a central location where they can view all of the amazing work being done in Fiji regarding violence against women, but it also provides nonprofit workers and activists a one-stop-shop where they can learn about existing resources that are available to them.
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Donations We can encourage nonprofits and activists in Fiji to begin proposing projects on crowdfunding sites such as Razoo, Global Giving, Causes, and/or Start Something Good, which will immediately free them from the rigid hierarchy of the current, grant-based, funding schema.
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Resources Sites like the Nonprofit Hub can provide start-up and grassroots organizations valuable advice on managing, advertising, and fundraising for a nonprofit. While other larger NGOs like Center for Nonprofit Success and the Women’s Human Rights Education Institute offer more individualized guidance and mentorship for young nonprofits trying to get off the ground or increase their impact.
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Exchange Volunteer Match is a useful platform for nonprofits to post short-term or long-term volunteering opportunity so that anyone in Fiji or visiting Fiji can give back and participate in the fight to address gender inequality. The other useful feature of Volunteer Match is the addition of “online only� volunteer opportunity, so those who are not in Fiji can still donate their time and give back in a more hands on way.
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Phase 1 Building from our lean MVP, we can begin to create an independent platform with more robust functionality to connect local Fijian nonprofits to international resources. The platform is divided into four main sections: What’s Going On?, Take Action, Resources, and Our Members. It serves both local NGOs and International audiences, furthering collaborations and connections between these stakeholders. It will be hosted on a separate platform, gofijigo.com. Users will sign up and create a profile. To make things simple, the GO FIJI GO platform is synced to social media and crowdfunding sites so members will be able to benefit without much extra work.
Scenario Luva is a an activist working for Women’s Rights Movement. She wants to make visible what so many women fear to show as survivors of sexual violence in Fiji. She decides to make a series of audio interviews, to protect the identity of the women. She uploads the audio interviews on GO FIJI GO, where Jasmin, an LGBT activist and film maker finds it. They share each other’s work and discuss ideas to work on a short documentary together in the future.
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What’s Going On? This section is dedicated to local NGOs to share their stories. The goal is to diffuse local competitive tension between groups. We hope that by providing a common virtual space, Fijian nonprofits might be more willing to collaborate with each other in the future. This section also serves to communicate their stories, told in their own way, to an international audience. Content filtering An easy content filtering system allows users to find what they need.
Storytelling Local members can upload blogs, video blogs, photography, and audio to GO FIJI GO. 37
Take Action This section collects all of the actions that international supporters can take. Actions range from a simple one time donation, all the way to applying to become an online mentor.
Online Mentorship
One Time Donation
This is a key feature for partnering local
In exchange for small
Fijian nonprofits with international experts
donations, nonprofits can
working on similar issues to provide advice,
give back small perks such
exchange dialogue, expand network and
as a cooking e-book.
share resources. 38
Scenario Donate Skills Supporters who wish to volunteer
Speak Now! is an NGO based in Columbus, Ohio
remotely can do so by donating their
working with survivors of domestic violence.
skills and expertise. Possible needs
Having started as a grassroots organization, they
include graphic design, video editing,
empathize with working towards social change
data input, etc.
with a meager budget and decided to apply for the online mentorship program. Paired together with Oceania Pride, they agreed to meet on Skype for
Fund a Project
a total of four hours each month to discuss issues
Supporters can donate directly to
and challenges for the duration of the program.
specific projects in order to maximize
Speak Now! has gained new insights of the larger
trust and transparency through
issues pertaining to mindsets towards violence
crowdfunding platforms such as
against women. On the other hand, Oceania Pride
Razoo, Global Giving Causes, and Start
has gained a veteran’s perspective on ways to grow
Something Good.
their organization.
Volunteering This page will collect different opportunities for on site volunteering in Fiji. We hope to build a homestay program with local families into the volunteer programs to strengthen the exchange between international and local parties.
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Resources This section is a robust library of different kinds of resources that local nonprofits might find useful. It includes articles, books, videos, lectures, etc. for information, as well as online workshops from partners, and a listing of pro bono service offerings.
Nonprofit Resource
Online Workshops
This is a listing of articles and
Partner organizations can conduct
books that are of topical relevance.
online workshops to facilitate skill and knowledge sharing.
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Pro Bono Services A listing of companies and
Scenario
organizations who offer free services for nonprofits.
The Public Society is a design studio in New York that take on one Pro Bono social change project every year. Luva and Jasmin find The Public Society’s listing on GO FIJI GO and submitted an application for their short documentary idea.
Videos and Lectures To broaden the conversation, topical videos and lectures such as TED Talks will be collected on this page as a resource.
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Our Members This section is where you can find both international and local members of GO FIJI GO.
Expanding Networks Through creating profiles and interacting on a virtual space, participants will expand their local and international networks. Everything is synced and disseminated through social media to heighten impact at an exponential rate.
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User Journey NAME: Jiko AGE: 31 JOB: NGO Employee LOCATION: Suva, Fiji Jiko has been working as a community coordinator at Fiji Women’s Rights Center for the past 7 years.
Presenting the landscape of current initia
Jiko’s interactions on GO FIJI GO
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Creating an account and syncing it with its social
media to present previous and current projects.
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Uploading needs, such as online volunteers,
donations, skill sharing, and blogs to tell stories
about the issues in Fiji.
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Browsing available resources for more information.
NAME: Karen AGE: 57 JOB: CEO LOCATION: Chicago Karen is the founder of several successful business ventures and the CEO (and co-founder) of Aklin Investments.
atives.
Karen’s interactions on GO FIJI GO 1
Browsing profiles of different organizations in Fiji
to learn more about what local nonprofits are
working on and how she can get involved.
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Serving as an online mentor to give advice to
nonprofits in Fiji.
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Making monthly donations to financially support
grassroots activists. 45
Timeline Lean MVP
Phase 1
Time Frame: Now!
Time Frame: 1 Year
Build the leanest base possible for bolstering local
Provide a virtual space for Fijian nonprofits to share
effort and harnessing international support towards
ideas. Foster a mindset of collaborative effort through
addressing violence against women in Fiji.
membership. Expand on outlets for international support.
Financial Support
Expand Network
Provide Incentives
Share Expertise
Share Stories Share Resources 46
Phase 2
Phase 3
Time Frame: 2 Years
Time Frame: 3+ Years
Expand to offline spaces in Fiji. Build on Phase 1 for
Expand platform reach to include opportunities in
more robust local and international support. Introduce
education and women in the community.
outside partnerships to provide benefits for volunteer efforts and international exchange programs.
Organize a scholarship fund for young women that users can donate to via GO FIJI GO Organize local meet ups and internship
Organize student groups at local universities
opportunities for Fijian women
to foster youth leadership
Introduce International Exchange program
Launch virtual tours led by women in the
between nonprofits, perks, and link crowdfunding
community
platforms to help cover volunteer expenses
Launch Online Classrooms and Online Conferences
Launch Women’s Forum
Launch Grant Aggregator 47
Features List Lean MVP
Phase 1
1 Micro Donations
1 Monthly Donations
A way of donating small amounts at a time
2 Crowdfunding
Using platforms such as Razoo, Global Giving,
Start Something Good, and Causes to fund local
projects in Fiji
3 Volunteering Opportunities
A database of opportunities for work with
nonprofits/activists in Fiji that must be done
2 Storytelling
Sharing authentic stories, told by Fijian women,
through blogs, video blogs, audio uploads, and
photography
3 Integrated Membership
Invited members create profiles that are synced
with their social media accounts
on-site
4 Livestream Workshops
4 Online Mentorship
Specific online lectures given by international
experts for GO FIJI GO members
An international nonprofit/activist is matched
with a local nonprofit/activist over an agreed
5 Pro Bono Skill Share
period of time
A database that collects a listing of organizations
5 Nonprofit Resource
offering pro bono services
A database that collects information in the form
6 Donate Skills
of articles, books, videos, lectures, etc. on violence
A database of opportunities for work with
against women
nonprofits/activists in Fiji that can be accomplished
online
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A way of donating on a monthly basis
Phase 2
Phase 3
1 Women’s Forum
1 Scholarship Program
A way of donating on a monthly basis
A way of donating to an educational fund
2 Local Meet-ups
2 Student Groups
A listing of events created by Fijians for Fijians
Encourage youth participation by starting a
to support a more collaborative mindset
student group that can host meet-up and share
3 Internship Opportunities
resources on college campuses
A listing of Fijian nonprofit internship positions
3 Virtual Tour
available for women in the community
4 International Exchange Program
An opportunity for an activist or nonprofit worker
to switch places for work or a fellowship
Local women leading video tours of their
communities
5 Fundraiser
International activists can crowdfund their
volunteer trip to Fiji
6 Perks
Benefits that donors receive for donating
7 Online Classrooms and Conferences
Online lectures are given on regular basis
(or grouped together as a series for a conference)
by experts around the world
8 Grant Aggregator
A database of relevant grants available online 49
By supporting local nonprofits and activists, we can help expedite the process of changing Fiji’s cultural mindset regarding gender and violence, empowering the women in Fiji who are already working to end gender discrimination. 50
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Theory of Change
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Modular Scaling
While the GO FIJI GO platform was designed to address the needs of women’s rights groups in Fiji, the platform could easily be expanded to other countries around the Pacific Islands.
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As ICAAD expands their operations around the region, they can invite new members to join the professional network and increase visibility. The content will be specific to each area, while the structure of content delivery remains valuable to any nonprofits. 55
Final Thoughts While sexual and gender-based violence in Fiji is a pressing social issue, sadly the solution is not a quick fix. To change the existing attitudes towards violence against women is to reshape the entire cultural mindset regarding gender. Not only is this a long and difficult task, it is one that must come from internal sources. We believe that lasting cultural change cannot and should not be imposed from an outside party. By partnering with local women’s rights organizations, raising international awareness, motivating increased dialogues about gender equality and supporting the existing action against sexual and gender-based violence, we can empower those who are already working towards gender equality and expedite the process of ending violence against women in Fiji.
Though ICAAD is new to Fiji, with GO FIJI GO they have a low cost way to enter this issue space as welcomed allies, rather than outsiders or competitors. By increasing resource flow, sharing knowledge, starting conversations and building community, GO FIJI GO can begin to breakdown the competitive atmosphere that divides women’s rights groups in Fiji. Over time, these efforts will facilitate the cultural change that is needed to put an end to sexual and gender-based violence in the Pacific Islands.
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Vinaka! (Thank you!)
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Appendix
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Field Research Our Strategy ICAAD and Parsons team members were able to travel to Suva, Fiji in May to meet with local nonprofits, government officials, religious organizations and grassroots activists. During our 10 days in Fiji, we had over 25 meeting and recorded 15 video interviews with local women’s rights activists.
Our methodologies Interviews, Partnership Meetings
What we learned We came back from Fiji not only with a number of personal connections to nonprofits, and a knowledge of the landscape of organizations working on violence against women, but a large amount of data on rates of violence against women in Fiji, connectivity issues, mobility issues between rural and urban communities and information about government program, religious institutions and the education system. The most surprising trend we encountered was tensions between groups and a lack of collaboration due to competition for funding.
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First Workshop Our Strategy Since most participants are not familiar with the issues around “violence against women” and can be easily overwhelmed by the issue, we used the analogous system of “student loans” to start rapid ideation. In the end, we asked the participants to reframe their analogous interventions to the context of gender-based discrimination in Fiji.
Our methodologies Analogous Systems, Ideation, Storyboard
What we learned Frameworks with specific instructions are essential for guiding participants; Telling participants “only 2 minutes are left” is not an effective way to control time. Instead, it would be helpful to design transitions to move participants towards different activities.
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Second Workshop Our Strategy In order to come up with interventions to address the issue of “violence against women in Fiji�, we planned the second workshop to generate various needs of women in the community.
Our methodologies Personas, Opportunity Mind Map, Concept Sorting.
What we learned Through the workshop, most of the insights suggest that creating a community and trust for survivors in Fiji is essential to meet their needs.
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Third Workshop Our Strategy Combining insights we got from our workshops and the early field research, we found that local nonprofits in Fiji were already building communities. However, because of limited resources, local nonprofits see each other as competitors and refuse to collaborate with each other. We decided to run our third workshop on how to enhance the connection between international nonprofits and local nonprofits. In the workshop, we divided participants into two groups. One group of people ideated on what kind of package we can offer to donors; the other group came up with concepts around how international nonprofits can reach local nonprofits in Fiji.
Our methodologies Personas, Image Sorting, User Journey Mapping, Concept Evaluation, Ten Types of Innovation.
What we learned It is important to show transparency and accountability for our platform in order to gain trust for potential donors. If we adopt tourism as the rewards to international donors, we need to consider the potential threat to the cultural identity of Fiji.
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Fourth Workshop Our Strategy Our fourth workshop is focused on generating features that can expand women’s rights groups’ network of resources while encouraging donations of time, money and knowledge to bolster existing services and foster a community of activism around women’s issues in Fiji.
Our methodologies Personas, Role Playing, Ideation, Solution Evaluation.
What we learned Many of the features from the workshop are related to capacity building and knowledge sharing.
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Minimum Viable Product Our Strategy Acknowledging the reality of ICAAD’s limited resources in beginning their work in Fiji, we sought to develop a concept for an intervention that would have maximum impact with the minimum possible cost to ICAAD. To fulfill this goal, our MVP (minimum viable product) is constructed using a series of existing resources maximizing on what is already available instead of attempting to invent an entirely new and independent platform for donation.
Our methodologies Lean Methodology, Rapid Prototyping, Agile, 10 types of Innovation: Network
What we learned ICAAD was pleased with the idea, and while the concept has yet to be implemented we see this starting point as both feasible and economical. Remaining lean was one of the most important and valuable insights we could offer a small and relatively young nonprofit, such as ICAAD.
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