Impact of Multimedia Communication Campaign “Diz NÃO à Violência Doméstica” (Say NO to Domestic Violence)

Nearly one-third of Mozambican women aged 15-49 who are married or live in marital union have ever experienced domestic violence, and close to one-quarter have experienced domestic violence within the past 12 months. Young women are particularly at risk for sexual violence - the percentage of young women who experience sexual violence increases from 9.3% among 15-19 year olds to 17.5% among 20-24 year olds and then lowers again to 11-12% among higher age groups.

Sexual violence is found to occur most often between the ages of 18-22. Creating awareness of sexual and domestic violence and ensuring that mechanisms to protect young women at risk or who experience violence are critical steps to reducing and mitigating domestic violence among this age group.

In 2008, N'weti, a Mozambican non-for-profit organisation that uses communication strategies and advocacy to promote health, launched a multimedia communication campaign entitled "Diz NÃO à Violência Doméstica" (Say NO to Domestic Violence). The campaign consisted of print materials, short films, documentaries, a radio phone-in programme, a radio drama, and radio advertisements. One of the objectives of the campaign was to enact social change for the reduction of domestic violence.(For more information, see Related Summary below)

In 2011/2012, Tulane University was commissioned to conduct an evaluation of N'weti's interventions, including the domestic violence campaign. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of exposure to the N'weti's interventions on experience of violence, knowledge of violence as a crime, community engagement, and perceived social norms among young women aged 15-24 years.