The CHAIN for Change campaign

On October 11, 2021 - International Day of the Girl - CHAIN project partners ActionAid International Italia Onlus (Milan, Italy), Equipop (Paris, France), TERRE DES FEMMES (Berlin, Germany), Save a Girl, Save a Generation (Madrid, Spain) and the European End FGM Network (Brussels, Belgium) launched a European awareness campaign on female genital mutilation (FGM) and child and forced marriage (CFM). Although CFM can also affect young men and boys, these harmful practices mainly affect young women and girls, causing lasting damage to their quality of life.

Campaign videos

The CHAIN for Change campaign is aimed at affected communities and highlights the consequences of FGM and CFM. Based on the concept of local intervention chains at the heart of the CHAIN project, the videos aim to convince parents and affected communities to stop the generational cycle of violence by saying "no" to these two harmful practices.

• Traditions & a harmful practice is based on the difference between traditions, which should be celebrated, and FGM, which is a harmful practice that must be stopped. The characters come together to debunk the false justifications for the practice, and warn of its grave consequences. Click here to see the video.

• Another possible choice shows that CFM is practiced in the hope that the child will conform to what the community expects of him or her. Yet it only causes pain and resentment. A better future is possible if children are given the freedom to make their own choices. Click here to see the video.

Video production

The two animated videos, co-created with Atypical Studio & The InkLink and with the participation of members of the affected community (known as community trainers), aim to raise awareness in a non-judgmental and culturally sensitive way.

The videos are available with voiceover and subtitles in English and four European languages (German, Italian, French and Spanish), as well as six other community languages (Arabic, Bambara, Roma, Somali, Tigrinya, Urdu). The community voice-overs were produced in-house by the End FGM European Network with volunteer community members, to make the messages more accessible to all.

#JoinOurChain

This International Day of the Girl, #JoinOurChain against FGM and CFM by sharing the Chain for Change campaign!

Background

The CHAIN project is co-financed by the EU and coordinated by TERRE DES FEMMES, in partnership with ActionAid International Italia Onlus, the European End FGM network, Equipop, and Save a Girl, Save a Generation.

During the two-year project period (1.09.20–31.08.22), the CHAIN project aims to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) and child and forced marriage (CFM), two forms of gender-based violence, through capacity-building, community empowerment and awareness-raising, and by voicing community concerns and needs at the political level.

One of the main objectives of the project is the development and implementation of local intervention chains, bringing together local and national actors who are involved in responding to urgent cases of FGM and CFM. In order to protect women and girls at risk and support those involved at institutional level, these intervention chains aim to determine instructions for action in cases of threatened or already-occurring cases of FGM and/or CFM in Berlin, Madrid, Milan and Paris.

A second main objective of the CHAIN project focuses on capacity building for key professionals. The aim is to raise awareness among the professionals concerned of FGM and CFM, the link between the two practices, and how to respond to any potential cases. To achieve this, partner organizations in Italy, Germany, France and Spain have trained community trainers from the affected communities, who will then sensitize and engage in dialogue with community leaders from various diaspora communities (religious and traditional leaders, community elders) on both topics. In addition, community trainers provide further training to key professionals from public authorities, the health and social sectors across Europe, as well as formal and informal community organizations, in order to mobilize them as multipliers in the fight against FGM and CFM.

Finally, the CHAIN project aims to change attitudes towards FGM and CFM. To achieve this, End FGM EU, with the support of CHAIN partners and community trainers, and in collaboration with Atypical Studio and Inklink, has created the two videos for the Chain for Change campaign.