USAID's Healthy Relationships for a Violence-Free Future Activity

Summary

The Healthy Relationships for a Violence-Free Future activity promotes healthy, non-violent relationships, particularly between intimate partners, adolescents and their parents, and among adolescents/youth. The activity brings together these different groups to forge dialogue and rebuild fractured relationships, working to change behaviors and attitudes, as well as the underlying gender norms and inequitable social structures that drive violence against boys, girls, and women. Through community-based groups, such as parents’ clubs and church/community youth groups, the Healthy Relationships for a Violence-Free Future activity encourages a safe space to promote reconciliation and build trust. Through a life skills curriculum, adolescents and youth learn to build healthy and equitable relationships and promote peace in their communities. Community health volunteers (through the Promotor Saúde Familia organization), and faith, local, and youth leaders promote behavior and social norms that prevent violence. Adolescents, youth, men, and women are encouraged to model peacebuilding and healthy, equitable and non-violent relationships. The activity targets 5,000 people in 16 suco (villages) in the Covalima municipality.

_{Activity Objectives}

• The Activity will partner with a local organization, PRADET (a psychosocial and referral service provider), who will lead activities with health workers and PSFs to promote dialogue on GBV prevention and strengthen their ability to support survivors of GBV.
• The Activity will also support communities’ informal and formal response and referral mechanisms to address barriers to survivor-centered response and support.
• The Activity will empower communities to demand their rights as citizens to improved health and GBV referral services, through a local level advocacy and social accountability approach, supporting Timor-Leste’s journey to self-reliance