CARE’s Community Workshop Series: End of Project review of the Highlands Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal Health Project, Papua New Guinea

This internal end of project review evaluates the effectiveness of the Community Workshop Series and found evidence of contributing to positive changes in community and individual gender roles, norms and sexual reproductive and maternal health related attitudes and behaviours. The review also makes recommendations for adapting the Community Workshop Series to better incorporate family and sexual violence and to be taken to scale.

The Community Workshop Series is a process of helping communities critically think about long-held social norms and attitudes. The Community Workshop Series was used in small communities in the very remote highlands of Papua New Guinea where health indicators are some of the worst in the world. Participants from the community attended three workshops across one year that helped them explore how traditional customs and gender norms can negatively affect sexual, reproductive and maternal health by, for example, preventing use of family planning or care for women during pregnancy and birth. They learned key leadership, communication and organisation skills to help them change the identified harmful attitudes and behaviours of their communities for the better.