Directions: Analyze the Information Provided in the Case Study to Identify Issues That

Directions: Analyze the information provided in the case study to identify issues that pertain to the different activity domains. Develop a list of gender-related questions for each domain that one should answer in order to better understand how gender relations will affect the project.

Table I: Gender Analysis Framework

DOMAIN

/

Project Objective:

Information/Issues on Gender / Missing Information on Gender (Questions/Concerns)
ACCESS TO ASSETS / Girls have slightly longer access to education than boys
Women’s access to financial resources is through parenthood—by having a child with a man, a women can leverage resources from him
Children from multiple partners provide multiple sources of financial support for women
Children’s, particular young men’s employment on banana plantations provides financial resources to households
Young men earn money by migrating to work on banana plantations on other islands during the harvest
Women sell agricultural products to stores and in markets / What are the different factors that motivate boys and girls to leave school?

KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS, AND PERCEPTIONS

/ Normative beliefs (social and religious) discourage pre-marital sex
Social norms also appear to sex without contraception
Positive value ascribed to parenting, both motherhood and fatherhood
Parenthood among youth is a sign of their transition from childhood to adulthood.
The media influences perceptions about gender roles, behavior, and gender-based power relationships / Do young men and young women have different or similar perceptions of the value of parenthood at a young age?
Are social norms about unprotected sex shared equally among young men and women? Among older women and men?
How are social norms about sexuality and parenthood communicated to children and youth? Who are influential transmitters of values and norms in the communities?
What are the different messages and beliefs transmitted to boys and girls?
Who are the key decision-makers in the media?

DOMAIN

/ Information/Issues on Gender / Missing Information on Gender (Questions/Concerns)

PRACTICES AND PARTICIPATION

/ Average age of sexual debut for girls is: 15
Average age of sexual debut for boys is: 14
Young men participate in sexual education activities through bi-monthly meetings of the National Banana Growers Association / Where and how are young women taught communication skills and methods for negotiating contraceptive and condom use? Who participates in these programs and who is excluded?
What percentage of young men are reached through the Banana Association? Are significant numbers of young men excluded?
What other activities are men and women involved in?
What are men’s and women’s roles in parenting?

SPACE AND TIME

/ Men are absent from the communities during the harvest when they migrate to banana plantations on other islands
Women realize the sale of agricultural products close to home by selling in local markets and to stores. / Where and how do men spend most of their time in the off-season?
Where and how do women spend their time during the day and at different times of the year?
When are young men and women available for project-related activities?
Are their any restrictions on men’s and women’s mobility or time that may affect their participation?


DOMAIN

/ Information/Issues on Gender / Missing Information on Gender (Questions/Concerns)

LEGAL RIGHTS AND STATUS

/ Status is associated with having children for both men and women
Men’s financial obligations to women are linked to children
Households are frequently headed by women / Are the financial obligations similar or dissimilar if young women are involved with older men and become pregnant, than they are when they are involved with younger men?
Are there legal procedures or protections (formal or informal) that guarantee financial support to women from men with whom they have had children?
Who makes decisions and controls resources in women-headed households? How does this differ from households that are headed by men or where headship is shared?
What legal status or protections do women who head households have? How does this differ from men who are household heads?

POWER

/ Sexual relations among youth are often coerced and forced
Intergenerational sex is not uncommon (older men seek out younger women as mistresses)
Violence against women exists and seems to be sanctioned by media images
There are power imbalances between men and women / Are sexual relations only coerced and forced for women or are young men also at risk?
What are the specific contexts in which power imbalances between men and women is manifest?

Directions: Take the information that you identified in Table 1 and try to analyze the implications of that information using the categories in Table 2.

Table 2: Gender Constraints and Opportunities for Project Planning

Key Gender Constraints/Opportunities / What is the identified gender-based constraint or opportunity? / (1) How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? / (2) How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? / Possible actions to address the constraints and opportunities to achieve more equitable outcomes
Access /

1. Constraint: Young women are dependent on men for financial support

1. Lack of access to employment for men, contributes to instability in men and women relationships

/ It is unlikely that women will use either contraception or condoms to protect themselves from pregnancy and HIV if their principal source of financial support comes from having children.
Men may view having children as the principal way of convincing women to be sexual partners, and therefore view contraception as a deterrent to sex.
 / Focusing only on promoting safe sex and negotiating skills around the use of contraception will not address women’s financial dependence on men. / Income generating activities for both men and women may have a positive impact on women achieving greater financial independence and men being able to form longer term and more stable relationships with women and children, and thereby achieve greater communication about contraception and condom use, as well as more equitable relationships between men and women
Knowledge, Beliefs, and Perceptions /

1. Opportunity: local beliefs discourage pre-marital sex

/ Greater community support for delaying sexual debut would discourage coerced and intergenerational sex, as young women are most at risk. Older women may be more capable of negotiating safe sex practices / Increased capacity of more mature women to negotiate safe sex practices will contribute to more equitable gender relations and health outcomes / Involve key transmitters of social values and norms (e.g., respected community leaders, grandparents, or church pastors) in youth activities. Provide opportunities for intergenerational dialogue.
Key Gender Constraints/Opportunities / What is the identified gender-based constraint or opportunity? / (1) How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? / (2) How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? / Possible actions to address the constraints and opportunities to achieve more equitable outcomes
Practices and Participation /

1. Opportunity: It may be possible to reach young adolescents (10-12) in through school.

1. Constraint: older adolescents are not in school and if they become parents at a young age, may not participate in organized groups.

/ Younger children may be more open to alternative norms, messages, and practices about gender relations and reproductive health
Groups organized explicitly for transmitting reproductive health information may not be synonymous with groups that most influence individuals gender roles, behaviors and identities and therefore my not lead to significant changes in health practices. /  Life planning skills and reproductive health Information transmitted to adolescents prior to being sexually active is more likely to influence their relationships with their peers, and give them the appropriate tools to delay sexual activity and negotiate safer sex practices.
Information transmitted through adhoc groups may not significantly impact gender relations or the adoption of different practices / Develop in-school reproductive health educational and life skills activities for young adolescents with a gender equity approach
Identify the appropriate groups for out of school young men and young women that influence social norms and behavior. Develop peer activities within these groups, as well as activities with other people who are models of more equitable gender norms and relationships in order to increase participants’ capacity to implement reproductive health practices.
Key Gender Constraints/Opportunities / What is the identified gender-based constraint or opportunity? / (1) How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? / (2) How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? / Possible actions to address the constraints and opportunities to achieve more equitable outcomes
Space and Time /

1. Constraint: Men are absent from community for long periods of time.

/ Men are likely to have multiple partners on multiple islands, putting both men and women at increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases. / Increased condom use by men with may contribute to decreased transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, but it may not increase women’s capacity to negotiate financial support or decision-making over other aspects of their lives. Current activities that are all realized in same-sex groups do not allow for practicing more equitable ways for men and women to interact / Develop opportunities for young men and young women to discuss and practice more equitable ways of talking to and interacting with each other.
Formal and Customary Legal Frameworks /

1. Constraint: inadequate information on the legal status and rights of men and women.

/ Include some information gathering activities on the legal issues with regard to rights over children, reproductive rights of men and women, and rights over resources, that may either constrain or facilitate achievement of results
Key Gender Constraints/Opportunities / What is the identified gender-based constraint or opportunity? / (1) How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? / (2) How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? / Possible actions to address the constraints and opportunities to achieve more equitable outcomes
Power /

1. Constraint: The media reinforces inequitable power relationships between men and women that contribute to negative reproductive health outcomes

/ Violence against women and coerced sex practices put young women and possibly young men at greater risk of HIV transmission. / Proposed results aim to address gender-based violence through educational activities in youth oriented groups but do not address mass media messages / Work with media outlets to develop youth oriented media that model more equitable gender relations. Develop effective PSAs and engaging dramatic productions to change attitudes about gender-based violence.