Breakthrough’s Bell Bajao! – Campaign against Domestic Violence

Who are we Breakthrough is global human rights organization. Based in India and the United States, Breakthrough addresses critical global issues including violence against women, sexuality and HIV/AIDS, and immigrant rights and racial justice. Our Vision A world where all individuals and communities live with dignity, equality and justice. Our Mission We empower individual and communities to stand for universal human rights by using multimedia tools that transform hearts and minds.

Individual PartnershipsShared learning Media & Culture Community Mobilization How we Breakthrough

Living a violence free life- Bell Bajao!

With the Bell Bajao! Campaign, Breakthrough implements its mission to mobilize communities to value and uphold human rights, and to transform individual attitudes and behaviors. Breakthrough has been conducting Bell Bajao! in India since 2008, and announced in late 2010 that the campaign would become global in scope starting in 2011.

Breakthrough has consistently approached men as thought leaders and featured men as partners who can call on other men and women to end violence. Breakthrough suggests that men can contribute equally in ending this menace of violence against women by changing their personal behavior and/or intervening to confront the abusive behavior of other men. Bell Bajao! is a cultural, organizing and media campaign strategy that calls on men and boys to join efforts to end violence against women.

Men & Boys - part of the solution Breakthrough’s Bell Bajao! (Ring the bell!) calls upon men and boys to take a stand against domestic violence. Breakthrough’s research revealed that the very few that did intervene in cases of domestic violence well over 50% were men Bell Bajao! represents men as positive and proactive

Spreading the word on Bell Bajao! Street theater engaging men & boys in Uttar Pradesh Bollywood star Boman Irani speaking to the media on Bell Bajao launch

Reaching out to men & boys Boman Irani as a part of our Bell Bajao ad Our award winning Bell Bajao ad with men and boys

In addition to developing media strategies to engage men as agents of change, Breakthrough trainers work with NGOs and CBOs as partners to effectively take the message to their local communities through Breakthrough’s Rights Advocate Program. The Bell Bajao! Campaign, as part of its community mobilization initiatives in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, employ multi-media vans to incorporate Breakthrough’s multi-media video messages. Video Van outreach primarily reaches mean and boys as they tend to overwhelmingly occupy public spaces in India.

How we ring the bell- Our Strategies

Mass Media TV Print Radio Mid Media Video van Pamphlets Melas Poster New Media Website Blog Twitter Facebook Mobile platform Community Mobilization Street theatre Puppet shows Cultural performance Our Tools

The campaign’s media component was its most prominent and visible feature. Television proved to be the most effective and far-reaching dissemination tool for the campaign, reaching more than 130 million viewers. The Bell Bajao! micro site engaged public audiences through the blog and social media tools. Dissemination via video vans reached over 7.5 million people and enabled the public to ask questions about domestic violence and women’s rights.

The media campaign was accompanied by strong community mobilization initiative in the states of Karnataka and UP, led by Breakthrough’s Rights Advocates Program. The mobilization initiative involved extensive leadership trainings, mass outreach, and face- to-face educational events. Over 75,000 people have been facilitated through Breakthrough’s programs Breakthrough also identifies potential partners and holds a set of networking meetings with each group to gauge its ability and interest in engaging with Bell Bajao!.

Our Impact

The evaluation of Bell Bajao! captures how a multi-media campaign, supported by in-depth community mobilization activities, can increase knowledge, change perceptions and attitudes, and mobilize action to reduce domestic violence. Knowledge on Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act 2005

Exposure to the Campaign:

Attitude of men MaleFemaleTotal Significance level Yes Baseline End line A husband can beat/slap his wife if she refuses to have sex with him Societal norms of viewing women as a property of men is changing, this change is greater among men as compared to women.

The attitudinal shift among men is tremendous about women taking legal action and speaking out about the violence they face.

Community taking action Who in the community took action against domestic violence – By gender (per cent of cases) Male sayFemale say MenWomen Community leaders MenWomen Community leaders Base line End Line In the areas where Bell Bajao campaign was taken, it has been found that men are coming forward to take action against DV.

The graph clarifies that in the post Bell Bajao Campaign situation, women are not accepting their humiliation and disgrace silently..