SASA! Faith Materials

This set of materials has been produced for the SASA! Faith initiative which supports leaders, members, and allies of a religion to come together to prevent violence against women and HIV. The initiative involves a process of community mobilisation - an approach and corresponding activities that seeks to engage the whole community in living the faith-based values of justice, peace, and dignity. SASA! Faith takes the structure, process and content of the original SASA! An Activist Kit for Preventing Violence against Women and HIV (see Related Summary below) and adapts it for use in Christian and Muslim communities.

The mobilisation process involves a SASA! Faith Team that overseas implementation, and the SASA! Faith Network (consisting of community activists, community action groups, and community collaborators) who bring SASA! Faith to all levels of the community through awareness raising activities, discussions, and meetings. By engaging people from every circle of influence, SASA! seeks to change community norms around violence against women. Specifically, SASA! Faith is designed to achieve the following:

• Raise awareness about violence against women, its connection to HIV, and how they both hurt everyone.
• Strengthen support for women experiencing violence and for men committed to nonviolence.
• Engage everyone in practical actions that demonstrate their commitment to greater justice, peace, and dignity in relationships.
• Do all this in a way that ensures that many small actions lead to long-term change.

The materials to support this initiative consist of:

• SASA! Faith: A Guide for Faith Communities to Prevent Violence Against Women and HIV - this guide provides the key materials and guidance communities will need for every step of the SASA! Faith process.
• SASA! Faith: A Training Manual to Prepare Everyone Involved in SASA! Faith - complements the guide, and provides training for the SASA! Faith Team and Network for each phase of implementation. It includes easy, step-by-step instructions to conduct informative training sessions for those engaged in the SASA! Faith process.
• Assessment tools
• A brochure and info sheets
• Community conversation guides
• Power posters
• Community posters
• SASA! Faith supplementary materials which include a card games, leadership leaflets, and expanded information on Community Action Groups for each phase.