Choices, Voices, Promises Program

Choices is a gender-focused curriculum for very young adolescents (VYAs) between the ages of 10-14 years that aims to create positive social and behavior change. The curriculum challenges girls’ and boys’ views on restrictive gender norms, promotes gender equity and encourages dialogue with peers and family members to improve gender attitudes more broadly. By intervening with children during early adolescence, a critical window of opportunity for formulating positive attitudes and behaviors as children transition into adulthood, Choices lays the foundation for gender-equitable attitudes over the life course. An external evaluation of Choices found that VYAs who participated in the program expressed significantly improved gender attitudes and behaviors compared to those who did not participate. Voices is a program for parents of VYAs and includes a set of six short testimonial videos featuring community members who have adopted gender-equitable behaviors. The videos prompt reflection and discussion about the actions families can take to improve gender equity in their own households. Promises is a community-wide intervention that aims to shift norms around gender equity, early marriage and violence. The approach includes the establishment of six large posters in the community to spark discussion around gender norms in a proactive way. As a new poster is unveiled each week, a small group of influential community members participates in a facilitated discussion of these norms and then discuss with their wider social networks.