Communication and Education

Advocates must craft a message that resonates with the public and with the target audience of the advocacy effort. The message should be general, clear, and appeal to a wide audience. A well-defined message should engage those at the center and around the periphery of the particular topic. For example, a message stating that “women and girls deserve to be free from violence” will engage those working on any of the forms of violence against women and girls or in the context of sex trafficking “girls are not for sale” or “girls should be celebrated not sold.” (See: Girls Educational & Monitoring Services) The message should be based on fact, but should not be overly technical.

Throughout the advocacy process, advocates should ensure that:

The message reaches the public;
The message reaches the target audience (i.e. policy makers, NGO, government officials);
Necessary training and skills are obtained; and
Political alliances are formed.

(See: Women’s Human Rights Step by Step, Women, Law & Development International and Human Rights Watch, 121, 1997)

Advocates should communicate the message using media strategies appropriate for the particular advocacy effort. A media strategy should be developed early in the overall planning for the advocacy effort. The media strategy should rely upon public opinion data if possible, analyze past press coverage, and continually review the effectiveness of the message. (See: Women’s Human Rights Step by Step, Women, Law & Development International and Human Rights Watch, 126-127, 1997)

Both traditional and new media can be effective depending upon the audience targeted with the advocacy message. Traditional media outlets and tactics such as radio, press releases, briefings, letters to the editor and opinion pieces should be utilized. New and emerging technologies for the dissemination of information such as the internet, social networking sites and blogs should also be used. A balance between these types of communication should be struck depending upon the particular local context. (See: Tips for Effective Media Strategy to Promote Advocacy Activities, Legislative Advocacy Resource Guide: Promoting Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Global Rights, 17, 2005)

PROMISING PRACTICE: Like other advocacy activities, communication should be based on research. In the United States, The Opportunity Agenda has undertaken extensive public opinion research to determine how Americans from different backgrounds view human rights issues and messages. Using surveys and focus groups, the organization has developed research-based messages promoting specific human rights issues that are designed to resonate with particular audiences. The research and resulting strategies have been compiled in Talking Human Rights in the United States: A Communications Toolkit. The research conducted by The Opportunity Agenda allows for messages to be broken out based on age, income, and other factors. This helps advocates determine which messages to bring to a given audience, and makes it more likely that a human rights advocacy topic will resonate with a particular group. The Opportunity Agenda identifies three key questions that should be asked when crafting human rights messages: (1) what is the value at stake, why should the audience care? (2) what is the problem? using statistics and stories to demonstrate, (3) what is the solution? offering a positive way the problem can be addressed, and (4) what can the audience do? Offering specific and concrete ways that the audience can take action.

Example: The United Nations Secretary General launched the UNiTE Campaign to End Violence Against Women in 2008. The campaign identified five goals, which are clearly articulated, and have been communicated using a variety of media. The campaign is utilizing Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to disseminate information; but is also working with governments, civil society, women’s organizations and the private sector to share good practices. (See: United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women, 2008)

Next Topic Mobilization and action; Self assessment and Measuring progress