Prof. Edwards travelled to Africa to learn more about the innovative sexual violence prevention work happening across the African continent and to discuss similarities and differences in violence prevention in South Africa and the U.S

Edwards, Katie M, Ph.D.

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryFaculty Travel Reports Global Education Center2016Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor of Psychology,COLA travels to South Africa and KenyaKatie M. Edwards Ph.D.University of New Hampshire, Durham, katie.edwards@unh.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/international_travelThis Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Global Education Center at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Faculty Travel Reports by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationEdwards, Katie M. Ph.D., "Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor of Psychology, COLA travels to South Africa and Kenya" (2016). FacultyTravel Reports. 110.https://scholars.unh.edu/international_travel/1103/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 1/6UNH GlobalKatie Edwards (l.) at Nairobi National Park  with Eva,  now one of the leaders in Ujamaa AfricaKatie EdwardsAssistant Professor of Psychology, COLA—South Africa and Kenya I had the privilege of traveling to Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya forseveral weeks in January and February to learn more about the innovative sexual violenceprevention work happening across the African continent. Not only were my travels intellectuallystimulating and professionally rewarding, they were also personally transformative.During the first part of my trip, I visited Dr.Rachel Jewkes, the Director of the South AfricanMedical Research Council (SAMRC) in Pretoria(South Africa) and Consortium Director of WhatWorks to Prevent Violence, Globale Programme.Dr. Jewkes is an internationally renownedresearcher in the field of gender transformativeprevention initiatives. I have read most of her150+ journal publications and the opportunityto meet her in person was a real honor. Wediscussed similarities and di erences in violence prevention in South Africa (and the Africancontinent more broadly) and the U.S., the importance of cultural adaptation of violence preventioninitiatives, and the importance of nuanced approaches to helping boys and men through evidence-informed programming reconstruct their masculinity and explore multiple ways of being a man(other than hegemonic masculinities that are so closely linked with perpetrating gender and powerbased violence). We also discussed the controversies in the field regarding empowerment-based3/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 2/6self-defense as a risk reduction tool for sexual violence among girls and women, and our agreementthat it is indeed not victim blaming (as data suggest) to o er women and girls proven strategies tothwart a sexual assault especially when we have yet to eradicate sexual violence from our world. NoMeans No Worldwide, which I will be in Nairobi next week to observe (and is the whole reason I amhere on this journey!), is part of the What Works to Prevent Violence Consortium that Dr. Jewkesdirects. I le  our visit with new insights, including an idea for enhancing an evaluation project thatwe are about to launch at UNH!Next, I went for a quick trip to Durban (South Africa) where I visited with Dr. Mags Beksinska, DeputyExecutive Director of the the MatCH (Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health Systems) Research Unita iliated with the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr. Beksinska and her team conduct a number ofresearch studies focused on improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women andgirls. Dr. Beksinska’s team is also leading an evaluation of a modified Stepping Stones curriculum,which is a gender transformative HIV/STI and violence prevention program used in over 40 countries.Given the intersection of partner and sexual violence with other negative health behaviors (e.g., riskysexual practices) and overlapping etiological pathways, it is important to think about preventioninitiatives that can concurrently target multiple health behaviors, something that I am trying to domore of in my own work in the U.S.A er visiting with renowned researchers in South Africa, I headed to Nairobi, Kenya were I had theopportunity to visit with Ujumaa-Africa, an NGO that seeks to prevent violence against women andchildren. I had the privilege of accompanying observing violence prevention programming— NoMeans No Kenya (NMNK) and Your Moment of Truth (YMT)—in primary and secondary schools invarious slums in Nairobi. Not only did I feel personally impacted by the programming, but I couldquickly see that both of the programs were truly state-of-the art and aligned with all of the bestpractices in prevention sciences (e.g., highly trained and engaging instructors, varied teachingmethods, culturally relevant). I was also struck by the high levels of student engagement in theclasses that I observed–my speculation is that this is a combination highly e ective instructors,topics of great personal relevance to the youth, and the hope that the skills learned in this programwill help youth be not only safe, but thrive and succeed.I also had the chance to speak with a number of instructors about their experiences teaching thecurricula to youth. What stood out to me most from these meetings is the extent to which theinstructors have been personally impacted by their experiences as instructors and their perceived3/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 3/6Your Moment of Truth (YMT) class being taught by acolleague, Peter Gawoimpact on the youth with whom they haveworked. The instructors, who all grew up in theslums in which they currently teach, told me,for example, that being an instructor hashelped them to be a better father and husband,gain assertiveness and confidence, and to feellike they finally had a purpose in life. Theinstructors also shared a number of examplesof the ways in which they felt like they had animpact on youth, such as being the first persona young survivor told about a sexual assault victimization experience to providing basic informationabout what the first menstrual cycle would be like to a young girl who did not have anyone at hometo talk to her this about.Across all of these experiences in Nairobi, I heard girls sharing stories of how they put their skills touse to thwart an attempted rape, boys speaking about redefining masculinity (the new Kenyan man)that encompasses compassion and vulnerability and love, and instructors discussing the impact oftheir work, including the personal transformations that it has engendered. I also heard stories ofhardship, loss, and trauma—losing loved ones to HIV/AIDS and other preventable illnesses, nothaving enough money for food or clean water, experiencing ongoing rape perpetrated by a father orstep-father, tra icking drugs in order to feel a sense of belongingness and/or make money topurchase goods for basic life necessities, and historic and systemic discrimination based on class,gender, and tribal background.Yet, despite this, the people I met, and especially the children, found joy in the simplest of things,such as playing contently alone with a stick in the mud or splashing with other children in acontaminated river for hours on end. The people I met were also incredibly resourceful and creative.I was also struck by the eagerness and determination with which youth were engaged in the classesthat I observed, and the goals and hopes that youth had for their futures. I imagine that this hope isin part due not only to the NMNK and YMT classes, but the instructors of the NMNK and YMT classestoo. Recall that the classes are all taught by adults, primarily young adults, who grew up in the slumsin which they are teaching. These are all individuals who even in the face of extreme hardships,losses, and/or traumas, have overcome and epitomize the resilience and compassion of the human3/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 4/6spirit. They have devoted their lives to mentoring, guiding, teaching, and serving youth in theircommunities, and the passion, personal connection, and sheer excellence they bring to their work ispalpable. The conversations that I had with the instructors and time I spent observing them in theclassroom were by far the most impactful and meaningful part of my entire journey. I am so verygrateful to these individuals, for their impact that they had on me and the impact that they arehaving on the thousands of youth they reach.Reflecting on my travels, I am struck, not so much about how much and what I learned aboutgender- and power-based violence, but more so about the personal and emotional impact thisprocess has had on me. Over the past few weeks, I have been more mindful and present in my day today experiences than I have been for some time. I found joy in simple things, like a drink of cold,clean water; a warm shower to clean away the sweat and dust of the day; the silence and rest I wasable to find at night, even in the endless noise of Nairobi; the way the wind felt on my face riding onthe back of a motor bike through the slums; and the excitement I found in riding the loud, flashy,hot, crowded, and bumpy matatus for hours at a time.Above all else, I am most appreciative to the people that I met in Nairobi. I am humbled by thegratitude and generosity that others showed me including, such as children hugging me and gentlyshaking my hands to greet me as I arrived to their slum or school; my host family cooking medelicious meals, folding my blankets a er a night’s rest, and talking with me for hours at a timeabout our cultures, backgrounds, and traditions; and agency sta  who took me everywhere andcarried my bag for hours on end to ensure my personal safety and the safety of my things (e.g., cellphone, laptop; things that most people I met would only dream to have).Across all of these interactions, there was amutual desire to connect and to learn from oneanother and understand our similarities anddi erences. There was also laughter, especiallyas we navigated language barriers or whenlearning about a novel cultural practice ortradition that was perceived by the “other” asquite the idiosyncrasy. Despite our manydi erences, there was something quite simpleand human about the way in which we3/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 5/6Prof. Edwards (r.) wearing a Kenyan necklace, a gi  from Maureen (l.), a member of Ujamaa Aficaconnected, and although thousands of milesapart, our devotion to preventing gender- andpower- based violence are the ties that willforever bind us.I keep thinking back to conversations I had with NMNK and YMT instructors. In every conversationthat I had, someone uttered some variation of “the person that I was when I started here is not theperson that I am today.” The instructors were referring to the profound personal impact that theirwork as NMNK and YMT instructors had on their personal lives. Although I was impacted in a verydi erent way, I also am not the same person that I was when I embarked on my journey to theAfrican continent. I am returning not only with more knowledge of and a deep appreciation for thework of Ujamaa-Africa, but with a sense of humility, gratitude, present-mindedness, calmness, andpurpose that I did not have prior to my journey. I look forward to returning to Nairobi one day and inthe meantime doing whatever I can from the U.S. to support the critically important and impactfulwork of Ujamaa-Africa.Back to Faculty Travel Report Index >> (/global/faculty-travel-reports)EDUCATION ABROAD / GLOBAL INITIATIVES  Nesmith Hall G25 131 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824  603.862.2398  study.abroad@unh.edu (mailto:study.abroad@unh.edu)  (https://twitter.com/UNHAbroad)      (https://www.instagram.com/unhabroad/)    (https://www.snapchat.com/add/unhabroad)       (https://www.facebook.com/UNHAbroad/)     (http://www.youtube.com/UNHCIE223)       (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3405325)       (https://www.pinterest.com/unhcie/)OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS & SCHOLARS  Conant Hall 3rd floor 10 Library Way, Durham, NH 038243/19/2018 Katie Edwards | UNH Globalhttps://www.unh.edu/global/katie-edwards 6/6  603.862.1288  oiss@unh.edu (mailto:oiss@unh.edu)  (https://www.facebook.com/UNHOISS)     (https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=7499513&trk=anet_ug_hm)CONTACT/EMERGENCY (/GLOBAL/CONTACT-CIE)  FAQS (/GLOBAL/FAQS)  DONATE (HTTPS://SECURELB.IMODULES.COM/S/1518/GIVING/FORM.ASPX?SID=1518&GID=2&PGID=1026&CID=2015&DIDS=111.73)  UNH.EDU (HTTP://UNH.EDU)Copyright © 2018  •  TTY Users: 7-1-1 or 800-735-2964 (Relay NH) USNH Privacy Policies (http://www.usnh.edu/legal/privacy.shtml)  •  USNH Terms of Use (http://www.usnh.edu/legal/tou.shtml)  •  ADAAcknowledgement (http://www.unh.edu/about/ada.html)

Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor of Psychology, COLA travels to South Africa and Kenya

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Katie Edwards, Assistant Professor of Psychology, COLA travels to South Africa and Kenya

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