Looking back and forwardValues, norms, beliefs in the traditional and modern world

of the Angolan Children

Edina Culolo-KozmaUNICEF – Angola

July 2012

Some key facts and figures ANGOLA

• 10 years of peace• Oil, diamond – reconstruction,

economic boom• One of the most unequal

countries in the world (Gini coefficient of 0.55)

• 7.5 million - living on less than 1.75 USD/day with no access to basic social services

• Almost 1.000.000 are orphans and 28% lives with other than biological parents

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• Need for searching the origin and causes of the problems in the family;

• Since the 90s a new practice - looked at children as the main responsible

• The most vulnerable family member – an orphan or disabled child who is living within the extended family (kinship or community care)

• Abandonment, expulsion from home, torture by traditional healers for purification

• Serious implications on the development of the child and raises several serious protection related concerns

THE BEHAVIOUR & THE PRACTICE of the Bakongo communities

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Abandonment and torture of the child

Dual world exist

Chara relationship

Kinship care CORE VALUE

Poverty

Laws against torture and violence

Witchcraft is a Valid justification for abandoning

an orphan child

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CONCEPTUAL NETWORK OF BELIEFS, VALUES, PRACTICES a dynamic environment (Schema)

• Search for the origin and causes of the problems in the family

• Taking the child to the traditional healer• Abandonment/expulsion of children accused Empirical

expectations

• Families as well as the local community leaders think that everyone should identify who is the responsible for the difficulties and take them to the traditional healer or expulse them from home

Normative expectations

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SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS - EMPIRICAL AND NORMATIVE

ANALYZE MOTIVATION - CONDITIONAL PREFERENCE

• ……. because they think the Bakongo community expects them to do so and not necessarily because they are convinced that this would be the solution of their problems

• …… avoid making confirmations nor admit that their actions and behaviors are influenced by their belief (or not) in witchcraft,

• And Questioning the existence of dual world would be unprecedented, unacceptable and would seriously question the position and legitimacy of that person (family) in a certain community has a serious (determinant) impact on the preferences and behaviors of the members of the community. Social sanctions---- very likely pluralistic ignorance ---

NEED TO HAVE AN ATTITUDE TYPE OF STUDY

IS THIS A SOCIAL NORM? A CUSTOM? A DESCRIPTIVE NORM

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Elements from a child rights perspective…

Girls and boys have a right to

• Be free from violence and abuse• Live in a family environment• Adequate care if separated from

family• Not to be a victim of

discrimination and stigma• Get help for reintegration into

the society • Fully develop physically and

emotionally

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Elements from a child rights perspective…

Duty bearers – Supply side

• Legally binding and domesticated international norms

• Weak capacity of human resources in most of the public sector

• Non-existing structures and services at community level

• Limited budgets for social systems• Heavily bureacratized systems of

justice• Poverty

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High level political commitments and emerging legal norms

• 2007 - 11 commitments (is this a pledge of the community or the politicians)

• 2007 – Creation of National Council• 2008 – Drafting of a national strategy for prevention and response to

violence against children• 2011 – New Constitution adopts Best interest principle and prohibition of

harmful practices as well as torture• Penal Code prohibits violence against children, including torture

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Norms….

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Legal norms

Is there personal recognition and

admiration for the law?

Probition of violence, abuse

Moral norms

What are the important personal normative belief?

Kinship care

Social norms

What are the expectations and

motivations?

Witchcraft

• Instead of criticizing a core beliefs, promote a positive value – “think better of each other” (Corpovionarios)

• Promotion of positive content/ culture-friendly messages – build on positive traditions like kinship care and trigger a community reflection on how does new incoming habits/norms influence the existing core personal beliefs

• Use of culturally adapted communication strategies , such us traditional songs, metafores etc, as best ways for argumentation and trust

WHAT APPROACH TO TAKE? (Tostan, KMG)

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What has been done so far? – MAIN ELEMENTS and OPPORTUNITIES

1. Research and analysis from a human rights perspective

– Human rights perspective– International norms– Availability of services to respond– Root causes - poverty

Opportunities for broader scope:a. Analyze origin and motivation, factual

beliefs and empirical expectations,b. Build programming on postive values,

and trigger community reflection12

What has been done so far? – Main elements and opportunities?

2. Identification and training of community child protection networks as main core groups for addressing violence and support to cases of violence Opportunities for broader scope:a. network analysisb. define actions for the entire

reference network

3. Advocate for criminalization and stronger sanctions

Opportunities for broader scope:

a. Introduce harmonization of norms

b. Consider ratchet model when advocating for new legislation

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What has been done so far? – Main elements and opportunities?

4. Relevant network identificationEstablishment strategic partnerships and first dialogue with non-traditional actors (traditional leaders, healers etc)

Opportunities for broader scope:

a. Improve Network analysis (look at the relationships between people)

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What has been done so far? – Main elements and opportunities?

5. Communication and advocacy through inceased foreign Media attention - BBC, Reuters, AFP etc.

“The conviction in Britain of three Angolans for the abuse of a girl they accused of being a witch has turned the spotlight on customs in Angola”

Opportunities :a. Closely work with

Communication to ensure that messages will be coming from a trusted source, will be transparent, culturally adequate

b. Establish the communication strategy around the “argumentation, genuine deliberations, community reflections, commitment”

c. Limit external pressure as possible

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What opportunities? – Essential add-ins

1. Additional Research from social norm perspective:

a) the Reasons and Motivations why people engage in these activities • What do bakongo people believe about their own actions?• What do they value in their own community?• Which variables have causal relevance? (are they

abandoning/taking to the healer the child because they all do so or because they think that the community would exclude them if they would act differently?)

b) Identify the entire reference network and implement a network analysis

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What opportunities? – Essential add-ins

2. Engage in a Community led process for changing empirical expectations and ensure coordinated and sustained abandonment

a. Promote internal (community) discussion and dialogue on possible inconsistency between traditional values, emerging new legal norms and current practices – how can we realize them by alternative means?

b. Introduce new empirical expections ( other families….)c. Very limited involvement of external actors (only facilitation)d. Relevant reference network and core groups selection, empowerment,

Network analysis – trust-respect network and information networke. Diffusion from core group to community, community to community –

common knowledge –coordinated norm shift, public declaration – collective pledge

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What opportunities? – Essential add-ins

e. Communications strategy

• Identify trusted sources, trusted messengers, • Work through culturally adequate communication strategies, use of

metaphors, traditional role plays, build on “Chara” relationship• reach to common knowledge and coordinated actions, sharing good

examples, positive deviance, postiitve dynamic messages…• Collective deliberations (Community discussion, community decision,

community commitment)

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• Full enjoyment of all rights for all children - abandonment of harmful practices/norms

• Positive impact / sustainable change on the health, development and protection of girls and boys through integrated analysis of bottlenecks

• Better understanding of “the soft component” of child protection and its interconnection with elements of child protection systems

More appropriate programme design/monitoring and evaluation

Desired outcome

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“SOCIAL NORMS” IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, but a “much needed len” that needs to be added to UNICEF’s existing programmatic approaches

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Social norms

Child Protection systems

Communication

Mainstreaming SOCIAL NORMS perspective ….

1. Development programming - SOCIAL POLICY

a) Analyze “Citizenship culture“ as programming model that joins HRBA, RBA e social norms perspective • Based on measurment framework (target problems)• Creative intervention (modeling and documenting aiming to

results and experiences change empirical expectations• high visibilty - c4d is integrated into programming.., --crucial for

cooridnation of beliefs• Concrete goals• Permanenet evaluation, measurment, feedback• Encourage institutional strengthening – trust

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Mainstreaming SOCIAL NORMS perspective ….

1. Development programming - SOCIAL POLICY

b) learn from the citizenship culture “not only stregthen the formal, legally enforced systems of sactions, but also the capacity of citizens to self regulate (via moral norms) and regulate each other (via social norms)

c) harmonization of formal and informal / traditional systems, establishment of shared rules, common values, so to ensure voluntary compliance , self –enforcment, peaceful solution of conflicts

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SOCIAL NORMS IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM

IF THERE IS A SOCIAL NORM PERSPECTIVE….than our work on…

1. Improvment of legislative framework…

- might include an analysis of legal obedience vs legal disobedience…. - Look at the motivations of people in a certain community why they obey

the law?- goes beyond international comparative analysis of legal norms,

domestications of interntioanl norms, - Bring closer social norm to legal norms- Analyize the change in incentive -reward effect on behavior from a cost

and benefit perspective , how does that changes expectations23

SOCIAL NORMS IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM

2. Strengthening Capacities - human resources- include an analysis of motivation

3. Coordination-networking - network analysis, network theory helps us to see if models could be

replicated- identify opinion leaders, natural leaders, when strengthening community

based strucutres or linking diferent networks the establishment of ties is crucial for advocacy purposes

- Connect networks to maxime interventions- etc

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