Maria Skoyles is CEO of the Dorcas Dress Project, a Christian UK based registered charity that supports people out of situations of poverty by sharing Jesus’ love, providing skills training, resources and pastoral care.

She is studying with CMS Pioneer Mission Training on the MA course in Theology, Ministry and Mission.

“My life has been a bit difficult, a bit like a hurricane, but this has given me more a feeling of self-worth. It gives me confidence in myself because it develops my creative side…

“My faith has helped me not to do anything crazy, to keep my balance… It helped me to hold on and not to give up.”

Carolina, Dorcas Dress Project trainee

Dorcas Dress Project has a project in Leicester, UK, as well as sewing hubs in Nigeria and Uganda, and soon in Tanzania and beyond.

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with CMS Pioneer Training – from a single module to a PhD – a place for those who are called to the edges

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The post Video: Change of a dress appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

It is estimated that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone the ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM), and current trends indicate that each year, approximately three million girls under the age of 15 are added to these statistics.

By Ann-Marie Wilson, a mission partner who founded the Anti-FGM charity 28 Too Many

Some facts: FGM is a traditional cultural practice involving the cutting or removal of the external female genitals. It results in pain and emotional and physical health problems, often life-long. Most FGM takes place in 28 African countries and in some communities in the Middle East and Asia. As a result of immigration and refugee movements, FGM can also be found in other countries including most European countries, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Since 2004 I have worked for eight overseas relief, rehabilitation or development agencies in 18 countries. In 2005, working in West Darfur with Medair, I met a girl who had had FGM at the age of five, who was then raped and orphaned at 10 during a military attack on her village, and gave birth to a child conceived from the rape. I cried out to God to ask who would look after girls like her. In response I heard him say, “You will.” That was all I needed!

I came home, told my church, closed my business and started to undertake research and training into what was needed in the FGM sector, so as not to duplicate existing work. I founded 28 Too Many in 2010. I realised that there was a lack of support and practical information for those trying to end FGM, so we provide the knowledge, tools, best practice models and support networks to enable anti-FGM campaigners and organisations working with communities to bring about sustainable change.

Over the past few decades, there has been enormous momentum within the international development community towards ending FGM. This has translated into a large number of laws, policies, campaigns and programmes at international, national and local levels, yet results remain mixed. While there is evidence that the most extreme types of FGM are slowly declining in prevalence, the overall rate of decline does not always reflect the huge amounts of money, time and energy invested.

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It is often felt by many FGM-practising communities that local priorities are ignored by visiting development “experts” and that their cultures and traditions are framed as problems to be solved. At the same time, for women and girls who are at risk or have experienced FGM and wish to end the practice, often the only perceived solution is to fight against their loved ones and risk losing their place in the community.

In contrast, 28 Too Many believes that the most effective approach to reducing FGM lies in culturally sensitive, community-based programmes encouraging changes to social norms.

What are social norms?

Social norms flow from our beliefs about what others do and about what others think we should do. There is an increasing consensus that FGM is often a social norm – the practice continues because “everyone does it”, or people believe that everyone does it. Individuals practise it because they have never questioned behaving otherwise, they receive social benefits from conforming to the norm or they fear social sanctions from others for deviating from the norm.

The culture of FGM-practising communities

The relevance of culture to FGM is always challenging in our work. We must be aware that in most FGM-practising contexts there are strong collectivist values which encourage conformity to social norms, including those that support FGM.

In many African societies, the role of elders is also key. They transmit knowledge to the younger generation, play a key leadership role and ensure the social cohesion and survival of their family and community. The presence and role of elders is particularly felt when people live in extended family settings with several generations living close together.

Another characteristic we must appreciate in FGM-practising societies is gender specificity in the activities of different family members. Here, the roles of men and women are generally quite distinct. Cultural norms dictate which activities males carry out and which ones are reserved for females. So, a key starting point for working with communities on FGM, and women’s and children’s health generally, is to understand how they are organised with respect to gendered roles.

How can we change social norms?

At 28 Too Many we recognise that many of the popular FGM-abandonment strategies have limited effectiveness unless they are accompanied by community-wide processes of dialogue and consensus-building.

While many strategies try to bring about changes in individual behaviour, this fails to take into account the influence of social structures and cultural values on people’s beliefs and actions, especially in contexts with collectivist values. Evidence shows that, rather than focusing on individual behaviour change, it is more effective for programmes to focus on promoting changes in social norms, which in turn will influence individual behaviour.

To successfully shift social norms and end FGM we first need to identify the characteristics of FGM: which practising communities to focus on, why they practise FGM, at what age girls are cut and what type of FGM is performed. We even need to consider what FGM is called in that community. (There are many different terms – we use the local term when working in a community and FGM when working internationally.)

We need to understand the decision-making processes (who decides that a girl will be cut, and when?) and the power dynamics. Recognising who exercises authority and power within a community, and whether or not that authority supports the desired change, is essential.

In our work on social norms and FGM we always try to identify the influencers and decision makers: these are most commonly the religious or traditional leaders, elders (such as grandmothers and chiefs) or parents. It is then essential to catalyse community dialogue and collaborative problem-solving with these decision-makers and influencers and support those stakeholders who have the most cultural authority to shape, and ultimately end, the practice of FGM in their community.

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I’ve worked for both secular and faith-based humanitarian organisations in post-disaster and post-conflict response since 2010 and I am now a mission partner.

By Fiona Kelling, CMS mission partner in Jordan

In these roles, I’ve come across suspicion and sometimes antagonism from various sides: people working in mission who think NGOs are wasteful and bureaucratic, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) who think faith-based organisations are only out to convert people, local faith communities who feel unrecognised or excluded from the humanitarian system.

These assumptions and experiences are symptomatic of a gap in understanding between humanitarian organisations and faith-based communities.

While often engaged in similar types of work, mission has a complicated history in humanitarian response and development.

The historical legacy of colonial missionaries has left many humanitarians sceptical about the activities of faith-motivated groups. This is especially true in relation to their knowledge of, and adherence to, the Red Cross Code of Conduct. This was established in the 1990s to set ethical principles by which organisations involved in humanitarian work should abide.

In addition, the past decade has seen an increase in the professionalisation of humanitarian response, advocating that good intentions are not enough and creating standards relating to engagement with communities in need.

However, this has often isolated faith groups who have long been involved in responding to crises and human need on a more personal but ad hoc basis.

Nonetheless, local faith communities are increasingly recognised by the humanitarian system as valuable partners due to their knowledge of and long-term links in their society. Faith communities are often first responders and are frequently sought out by residents, not only to provide physical help, but also emotional and spiritual support in times of crisis.

Although motivated by their faith to respond to people in need, many local groups do not have a good understanding of established humanitarian response frameworks and can therefore be overlooked. While proselytism (which is coercive) may not be prevalent, there is a wide range of motivations and practices when it comes to evangelism.

A lack of dialogue around differences in approach has led to misunderstandings and can cause tensions when local partnerships are established. Mission partners working with or embedded in local institutions may have the potential to be a bridge that can increase effective engagement.

Recognise mutual benefits

Local faith communities have certain strengths: knowledge of the community and culture, established trust and an ongoing presence long after INGOs have come and gone. While most of the world identifies with a particular faith, faith literacy is generally low in humanitarian organisations. Local faith groups therefore have relatability and understanding that most humanitarian organisations lack.

But humanitarian organisations also come with strengths. Few faith-based groups or institutions could provide the same range or scale of support. Much effort has also been made in INGOs to establish systems to ensure quality control, avoid dependency, ensure accountability and to try to transfer learning from past projects.

These strengths can complement each other: as INGOs use their access to resources to serve populations, and their knowledge and experience to build the capacity of local institutions, so local faith communities can provide access to vulnerable groups and the pastoral care that most humanitarian organisations can’t.

Learn the language

As a mission partner, learning the language and culture of our host country and community is vitally important. Similarly, every profession also has its insider speak, and the humanitarian system is well-known for its generous servings of alphabet soup.

While not becoming fluent in the various acronyms, it is useful to have a basic understanding of the established frameworks and in particular the coordination system in your country, as all aid is tracked to try to avoid duplication and overlaps.

Seek out information on how to coordinate, be willing to share information on what assistance you are providing and be open to contributing to the creation or updating of relevant context specific standards.

Recognise elements of concern

The key concern humanitarians have with mixing religion and aid is highlighted in the Red Cross Code of Conduct, which was set up in order to ensure dignity, non-exploitation and the building of local capacities.

The Code of Conduct states that aid should be provided on the basis of need alone, without adverse distinction of any kind and without any expectation of doing anything to receive the aid. It also asserts that aid is not used to further a particular political or religious standpoint. Rightly or wrongly, assumptions may be made that faith groups give assistance in order to proselytise, or that they may be prioritising their own faith community members over others.

Some churches may see the distribution of assistance as a good starting point for relationship. Although not intended as such, even an invitation to church may be misunderstood as a stipulation to continue receiving assistance.

However, the Code of Conduct does not prevent different viewpoints from being shared, only that assistance is not made dependent on adherence to them or provided with this ulterior motive. Notwithstanding recipients’ own agency and choices, be aware that some actions may be misinterpreted and make clear that that there are no strings attached to the assistance being provided.

Challenge assumptions

While some INGOs may think they are immune to proselytism, secular doctrines can sometimes be as strong as religious ones. These doctrines are often more foreign to highly religious communities and less readily identified by their proponents as such.

Critics of faith groups often cite the Code of Conduct, but can be blind to the evangelism of secular doctrines and political viewpoints embedded in their own organisations, or that sometimes come as conditions of funding.

Any situation, religious or otherwise, where the giver assumes they know best about what the recipient requires without attention to their wishes undermines human dignity. Be ready to challenge wrong assumptions and call out double standards.

Be challenged

There is a valid question around tactics and power dynamics when sharing a certain worldview while giving aid.

Recipients of aid are often in a vulnerable position, and while faith communities may often be better placed to meet people on a human level, even when there are no conditions attached the giving of aid can be perceived to be conditional or unintentionally put pressure on vulnerable groups.

NGOs and faith communities alike need to critically reflect on their own imposed values and practices. The good news Jesus proclaimed was one of action that healed the sick, sheltered the widow and gave food to the hungry. In crisis situations, the biblical mandate to relieve suffering is the sharing of the gospel itself.

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