Table 1 HERrespect theory of change
Outcomes | Workers become more willing and equipped to engage in respectful dialogue with managers/colleagues at work and intimate partners | Greater gender awareness and sense of empowerment | Less acceptance and normalization of the use of violence | Workers have better coping mechanisms to work stress | Greater awareness on protection mechanism and support for abused women inside and outside the workplace | ||
Outputs | Workers are better able to communicate their needs at home and at work (i.e. asking for leave, explaining their needs, saying no in respectful ways) | Workers are more aware of how gender shapes their roles and responsibilities, and also how men can become more involved in care responsibilities. | Workers are more aware of how power affects their relationships and interactions with managers and their husbands | Workers can identify both joyful and harmful relationships, as well as ways to ameliorate them | Workers understand the sources of stress at work (collectively) and develop ways to deal with stress | Workers are aware of where to seek help inside and outside the factory | Workers aware of their rights and the responsibilities of the factory and the government |
Exercises needed | Active listening;Â body language;Â attack, avoid, manipulate;Â I statements;Â saying no in respectful ways; assertive responses | Men and women: ideal and reality | Power over;Â statues of power | Joys and challenges;Â ways to get hurt;Â consequences of violence | Managing stress at work | Support systems for abused women;Â providing support as Change Makers | Factory policies and local laws |
Inputs | Critical reflection on different ways of communicating (physical and verbal) through interactive activities | Understanding the impact of gender expectations (on both women and men) in their day-to-day lives | Reflecting on how power affects our relationships, how we communicate, how we make decisions | Sharing of experiences of violence at home, at work, in the communities, and its consequences | Sharing and mapping of the different points of stress at work | Explaining to workers the types of services (medical, legal, counseling, shelter) for abused women | Explaining to workers the factory policies and local laws |
Responses | Develop assertive communication skills | Build an understanding of gender and how it impacts our roles and responsibilities | Build understanding of power and how it interplays in different relationships | Reaffirm that violence is never justified, no one deserves violence and everyone deserves respect in relationships | Acknowledge the stress facing female workers | Inform female workers of service providers and support within the factory | Inform female workers of factory policies and local laws |
Barriers | Poor communication skills in speaking to managers/colleagues and intimate partners | Gender inequity plays out in the factory through male management dominance over female workers; at home, dominance of husbands over their wives | There is a general acceptance of the use of violence in relationships | Female workers are under constant stress and do not have proper coping mechanisms | Female workers have knowledge gaps - they are unaware of support services and their rights at work and outside of work | ||
Problem | Female workers are susceptible to violence both at work and at home. In the RMG setting, the use of violence is normalized, for instance, the use of name-calling and shouting. Female workers are at risk of sexual harassment. In Bangladesh, 73% of married women shared that they have experienced some form of violence by their partners in their lifetime. | ||||||