PC/Rwanda GAD

Sarah Doyle
ED2 - Bugesera District, Eastern Province

As many of you may have read in a previous post, GAD has been busy with a bunch of different projects. One of our initial projects was the “All PCV Gender and Development Survey” to gauge what local GAD issues PCVs see their community members face as well as what GAD related challenges PCVs face in their day-to-day lives. I thought I’d take the time in this blog to fill you in on what we found and what it means for the Gender and Development Committee.

GAD Survey Results

Education Summary

The majority of PCVs have 41-50% girls in their classes in both 0 level and A level.  As the grade level increases, many notice that there are more boys in the upper level classes and less girls.  Most also notice that in co-ed learning settings, the boys tend to speak more and participate in class while the girls remain more quiet.  Most chefs de classe are male.  The two greatest barriers to paying school fees are access to money/orphans who have to raise their money and daily/seasonal work.  For PCVs who work at boarding schools, 27.6% of PCVs notice that students pay 40,000-55,000 FRW for school fees annually.  For those who work at day schools, the majority of their students pay 3,000 to 5,000 FRW.  Most PCVs have after school programs that are led primarily by the teachers.  Most schools have girls volleyball, which includes 23.8% of PCV respondents, and boys football, which includes 28.6% of PCV respondents.  The majority of afterschool programs have shared materials, which 42.1% of PCV respondents found while there’s an even split of 26.3% of PCV respondents that say their schools have no funding or they’re uncertain of how after-school programs are funded.  For Education PCVs, we encourage them to incorporate GAD into their lessons and also to start GLOW (girls leading our world) clubs to encourage self-confidence and leadership amongst the girls. As for leadership in the classroom, many PCVs noted that there is a boy and girl chef de classe, but unfortunately the boy is given all the authority and responsibility. PCVs could encourage the girls to step up and take on some responsibility.

Health Summary

In health centers, 33.8% of PCV respondents believe that health centers provide an array of services which include: basic/community referral, malaria/tb screening, family planning/pre-natal care/baby weighing, ORS, other educational sessions, cooperate/work with NGOs, home visits  to HIV patients, malnutrition services, etc.  A slightly lower percentage of PCV respondents, 24.2% believed that the health centers mostly offered educational sessions for their community members.  44.8% of PCVs noted that the head of the health center is male but all the other workers there are female.  30.8% of PCVs also noted that the male staff tends to feel less empathy towards female patients than female staff.  This is a key difference observed between male and female staff.  The two biggest problems for community concerning health, according to the highest written percentages, 40% and 26.7%, are family planning/birthing practices and malnutrition, which is considered to be solely the woman’s responsibility.  If there are equal men and women coming to the health center, 80% of PCVs replied that they received general consults.  If there are only men receiving services at the health center, most are there for treatment of physical trauma. 

While if only women are receiving the services at the health center, 55.6% of PCVs believe that they come more often and receive a wide variety of services.  The two greatest barriers to community members accessing the health center are distance, which 34.8% of PCVs noticed, as well as 28.3% of respondents stating time of the year/daily schedule was the most problematic.  Inability to pay for Mutuelle de Sante (health insurance) is also often noted as a problem for many.

Economics Summary

For 39.6% of PCVS, their community members make money by farming where as a slightly lower percentage, 18.6% found that Rwandans mostly make money by teaching and as shopkeepers.  In each profession, PCVS found that some professions were more male dominated while others were female dominated.  Farming and co-ops tended to be female dominated while teaching, health center/school/church officials, and drivers where completely male dominated fields.  There was an even split between males and females for those who work in business or entrepreneurship.  36.8% of PCVs were also unsure whether there were more women than men in general in the work place.  The majority of respondents, 68.4%, did notice that as you move up the hierarchy in the work place, married women tend to get more respect than unmarried women.  Only 28.4% saw that marital status had little or no effect on the work place hierarchy. 

Family Relations

It appears that though the government is emphasizing the importance of good family relations and offering family planning services to anyone over the age of 15, the reality is that little improvement/access has been noted at the local level. Gender based violence and family planning continue to be a challenge for communities. Almost all PCVs noted that family planning was available, while a few lived in a sector supported by a religious organization that only provided natural family planning or did not have health facilities available. Though family planning is available, single women are not accessing it due to stigma and general embarrassment of sitting in the waiting room with mothers and married women. One PCV noted that in 2011, only 30% of the women receiving family planning services at Kitabi Health Center were unmarried women. Another PCV has had unmarried women come to his/her house at night saying that they want birth control off the books (NB: PCV is not providing it, but there is a demand). Whitney and Jacob were able to convince their HC to provide BC at general consults, so women didn’t need to wait in line or be embarrassed. The success of Whitney and Jacob could be a great venue change for other PCVs to encourage at their health centers so young women are not faced with embarrassment being their only reason for not accessing family planning support.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is definitely a problem that PCVs and their communities deal with. The majority of PCVs said it was a problem and about half of them have actually seen or heard instances of GBV. Though this is a big problem, it is almost never reported. One PCV noted that women don’t report it because the punishment for the husband is to pay a fine, which then takes away from the family’s funds, which affects everyone. Another PCV noted that the police only get involved when there is blood, which again is very rare. Though there are a few health centers and organizations involved with GBV projects and awareness, the vast majority of PCVs reported no public awareness committees or organizations at their site. A couple PCVs stated that they had done GBV training at their site, with Caitlyn Griffith willing to share more information. Since this appears to be such a problem at many sites, it might be good for GAD to put together a GBV training manual.

Sexual Harassment Experienced by PCVs

Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a big problem for PCVs. The majority of volunteers experience it a few times a month, while though not a significant number, others experience sexual harassment weekly and sometimes daily. Furthermore, nearly equal numbers have experienced both verbal and physical harassment, something that Peace Corps seems to be unaware of (probably due to the low reporting of such interactions to Peace Corps). PCVs try to handle this harassment in many different ways, with “distance” and “showing dislike” being the most common techniques used. A few also noted that they avoid interactions with men or make eye contact or appear too friendly in public.

                Though few people reported about how their community supported them, it is clear that there is a lack of support coming from the community (an omission is assumed to be a lack of community support). A PCV might have the chance to vent or talk to a few people they are close to, and sometimes a community member will speak out against harassment of a PCV, but many PCVs seem to handle it on their own or internalize it. This is further demonstrated by the fact that only fifty percent of those who experienced sexual harassment went to Peace Corps for support. One PCV said she did not report it because she was told that the only option PC offers to deal with such a problem is to change sites. Others said that they did go to PC, but only felt comfortable talking to specific staff members (Gloriosa and Dr. Laurent). Though not reported, many PCVs have stated how they feel only a few staff members are approachable, while the majority don’t understand the amount of harassment PCVs, especially females, receive on a regular basis.

                Though many people said they were unsure about what PC could do to better support them, an equal number said that there was a need for sexual harassment to be discussed further in training. There is a need for a clear delineation between appropriate and inappropriate behavior because often at site, people try to say it is their culture to touch a particular way or linger inappropriately. PCVs suggest that there be a discussion between PCTs and LCFs and PCVs to discuss appropriate behavior as well as coping mechanisms used by PCVs. Another also suggested (in the GAD project section) that Peace Corps should offer a sexual harassment and self-defense training. This PCV did one in the United States before starting her service and says that she is more aware of her surroundings and more comfortable standing her ground if she is ever put in an uncomfortable position. There was also the suggestion that headmasters and community leaders be made aware of what constitutes appropriate treatment of a volunteer and to make community members aware of it. Though harassment will probably be a part of a PCV’s service, there are things that can be done from the Peace Corps perspective to reduce its presence and help community members understand that “ihangane” is not an appropriate response.

Homosexuality and GBLT

Though many PCVs have not participated in a discussion about homosexuality, the majority has and has had to struggle with a very negative Rwandan opinion that refuses to recognize a person’s right to their own opinion/ideas. Many of them emphasized their attempt to share American culture and stories from home to show the presence of homosexuality and general respect of others, whether you agree with their choices or not. Though this is a difficult for PCVs to have with community members, many PCVs noted that Peace Corps often does not address it in trainings and there is no discussion about it amongst PCVs or staff. Others suggested that PCVs share their experiences and how they approached the discussion, as well as have PCTs participate in role plays to practice. In general, there’s a need for general awareness amongst Peace Corps staff and an exposure of PCTs and PCVs to the reality of how a possible homosexuality discussion could go and how it could be handled.

How we are using the results

As stated in the previous post about what GAD is working on, the survey results were key in future planning at our last GAD meeting. We decided to take the recommendations of many PCVs and put together a manual of lesson plans for adults. We have GAD members as well as other PCVs who offered to share their projects working on lesson plans which will hopefully be finished by our next meeting. We will also work closely with the Peer Support Network to find a way to support PCVs who experience sexual harassment or problems related to queer issues, so stay tuned as we iron out what that’ll look like. We will encourage future GAD committees to put out a GAD survey every few years to get current info about site-specific needs of PCVs which will help the committee to plan projects and support PCVs as best as we can.