This 6-page case study, published in 2005 as part of the Health Communication Partnership (HCP)'s Partners in Action series, profiles Movimiento Manuela Ramos (MMR), an organisation advocating for gender equity for Peru's women. Initiated in 1978 by a core group of 7 women involved in politics and organised labour, MMR's mission is to "contribute to human development and consolidate democracy by bringing about gender equity through the empowerment of women". MMR works in the areas of economic, health, sexual, and political rights.

The case study examines MMR's evolution over the past 26 years, exploring how MMR has reached Peruvian women by mobilising Peru's rural, economically poor, and migrant communities; involving men in reproductive health issues; and promoting gender equity. When it initiated the ReproSalud project (with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development - USAID) in 1995, MMR grew from a 40-person operation to an organisation with 250 full-time staff. As part of this project, MMR worked in 91 districts in 8 regions with teams that spoke both Quechua and Aymara. "The project reached 250,000 women and 120,000 men over the last decade. And its training program led to 200,000 new trainers." This case study looks at how MMR managed this rapid growth and also how it faced the broader challenge of promoting reproductive health and women's rights in a rural setting.

Participation, communication, and alliance-building have been central to this process, as illustrated by the following examples and excerpts:

Participation and interpersonal communication:

• At its inception, MMR conducted an assessment of living conditions for women living in economically poor settlements to better understand their interests and concerns. Based on this process, and with the support of the Dutch Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO), MMR held a number of participatory assessments, including 3 workshops with migrant women, to determine where it would focus its efforts. "Through a participatory process, MMR listened to these women and helped motivate them to be agents for their own change".
• MMR chose Health Promoters and Legal Advisors from the women who participated in these workshops. The Health Promoters developed health education and promotional activities for women. They also worked with local organisations and the community on preventive health and women's rights issues. In addition to providing advice in cases of domestic or sexual violence, the Legal Advisors promoted women's and children's rights through informative talks and sensitisation
  campaigns.
• "Implementing ReproSalud...required the participation of the women the project hoped to reach. At that time, rural women considered reproductive and sexual health extremely private issues and were embarrassed to discuss them openly. MMR overcame this barrier by helping women realize the commonality of their reproductive health issues. MMR convinced them that open discussion could help define solutions that could be used to make necessary changes in the health care delivery system. MMR also had to deal with men's objections to ReproSalud. Men did not approve of some of the project's issues and they doubted the women's ability to meet the project's demands. But once men saw the women in their lives taking control and implementing the project, they decided to help out too and began working in the capacity workshops."

Mass media for information, interaction, and entertainment:

• Radio - "Pásame la Voz" [Let me Know] was designed to allow women to express their thoughts and become familiar with their neighbours' thinking, while "Prohibido Escuchar" [Forbidden to Listen] invited youth to express their concerns and ask questions about taboo issues. As part of ReproSalud, MMR introduced 3 radio serials: "Evelyn, una mujer como tu" [Evelyn, a woman just like you], which covered issues related to pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery; "Manuela te quiero" [I love you Manuela], which provided information about sexuality and the body; and "Las Micaelas de hoy" [Today's Micaelas], which covered contraception. "All three were based on community surveys and data collected related to the topics, which made them more credible, and gave them a cross-cultural perspective."
• Television - MMR helped promote a female candidate to the Republic's Congress in 2000 by producing "Palabra de Mujer" [Woman's Word]. When the election ended, MMR renamed the programme "Barra de Mujeres" [Women's Forum], with the goal of helping shape opinions on women's rights and establishing a platform to denounce attempts to curtail women's rights.

Partnership:

• "By collaborating with other women's groups, MMR was able to change laws and public policies to strengthen women's rights in Peru." ReproSalud, in particular, worked with women's organisations to develop their capacity and provide the resources necessary to implement the programme's strategy.
• MMR keeps community leaders informed about its activities and/or coordinates activities with them.
• MMR works with the Peruvian National Police, Judicial Branch, and the National
  Academy of Magistracy to make sure gender is covered in human rights training.

"This case study demonstrates the value of including health communication to help sustain quality reproductive health services despite major policy changes both in Peru and internationally."

Click here to access a related peer-reviewed summary on the Health e Communication website, and to participate in peer review.