Supporting the gender-based violence response in South Sudan
Sector(s):
Service(s):
The Change
200+
South Sudanese humanitarian practitioners trained
3
Implemented in 3 countries
32
community members engaged
How we developed a low- to no-literacy GBV visual pocket guide
CARE is an international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and social injustice in the world, with a specific focus on the empowerment of women and girls.
The Challenge
Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent forms of violence in South Sudan, and it is especially heightened during times of conflict and crisis. A study conducted by What Works found that about one in three women and girls have experienced severe violence, including rape and assault. And more than half of women have endured intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
This violence has destructive implications for communities, leading to increased rates of homicide, suicide, lifelong disability, mental illness, poverty, and social exclusion.
For over 20 years, CARE has been dedicated to supporting survivors of GBV and addressing the root causes of the issue, reaching over 12.5 million people with information and resources.
In South Sudan, humanitarian teams were given a dedicated training resource—a text-based pocket guide—to safely and appropriately respond to GBV disclosures. However, since many local frontline workers had lower levels of literacy, the text-based guide was causing barriers to their response to the crisis and hindering effective support for GBV survivors.
CARE needed to find a way to make the GBV response training materials accessible for humanitarian workers of all literacy levels.
The Solution
A low- to no-literacy visual pocket guide
CARE partnered with Be the Change Group and Women Vision, a local women’s rights organization in South Sudan, to convert the existing GBV pocket guide into a low- to no-literacy visual format. Designed for local community responders lacking formal GBV training, this tool equips them with intuitive response techniques.
The visual pocket guide features culturally accurate and appropriate illustrations and scenarios that draw on extensive research and were validated through in-country community consultations.
We also developed train-the-trainer manuals to empower over 200 local frontline workers to teach the adapted guide, cascading learned skills to community members, and strengthening grassroots response capability.
Discovery and Strategy
Background research
Be the Change Group’s Research + Community Engagement team conducted a comprehensive literature review to analyze the prevalence of GBV in South Sudan and best practices for creating accessible training materials. They shared insights of their findings along with background on the culture and politics of the region, to ensure everyone had a shared and contextualized understanding of the project’s goals.
Strategy
The original GBV pocket guide that we were tasked with adapting contained complex, text-based information that was challenging to understand for low- to no-literacy adult learners, as it was written at a Grade 12+ level. The guide needed to be simplified enough to meet a Grade 5 reading level, while preserving the information, context, and messages to be communicated.
Design direction
Translating the pocket guide from a primarily text-based resource to a visual one required rethinking its overall structure and flow of information to best meet the needs of our end-users. We decided on a narrative, storytelling approach told through illustrations and short, concise copy that came together in a comic book design.
Visual approach
The illustrations in the GBV visual pocket guide needed to accurately reflect the culture and lived experiences of communities in South Sudan, and the guidance on responding to GBV disclosures had to be consistent with the original GBV pocket guide.
From people’s hand gestures and body language, to their hairstyles, clothing, and surroundings—our designers provided well-researched, detailed descriptions of the people and places to be depicted.
In-country validation
Once the first draft of the low-literacy GBV Visual Pocket Guide was created, members of the Be the Change Group team travelled to South Sudan to facilitate a three-day validation workshop with local community members, non-traditional humanitarian responders, and the regional CARE team.
The interactive experience, involving feedback and data collection, allowed us to review the cultural relevance and clarity of the new guide, and refine it in an iterative process to ensure a functional and impactful final product.
Learn more about our validation workshop in South Sudan
Setting a precedent for accessible training tools
In developing the visual GBV pocket guide, Be the Change Group created a methodology to help organizations like CARE replicate it in other scenarios. Our model details how to translate complex text-based information into visual content suitable for low-literacy audiences.
With proven applications in Honduras and Mali, the innovation behind the GBV visual pocket guide continues to support diverse communities by making critical training universally accessible.
CARE’s efforts, combined with Be the Change Group’s expertise, have laid the groundwork for bridging gaps in literacy and cultural sensitivity to create sustainable and impactful GBV response strategies worldwide.
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