- PSI and implementing partner, Population Solutions for Health, implemented a national branded campaign dubbed #LoveShouldntHurt #RudoHarurove #UthandoKaluhlukumezi with funding from the Swedish Government through the Embassy of Sweden. The project ran for 3 years from January 2020 – December 2022, and aimed to prevent GBV, to change behaviors and attitudes to reduce violence among partners (Intimate Partner Violence), engage male peers to act as inherent change makers and increase the number of men and women who believe GBV should not be tolerated in their communities.
Beating partners and children is common in Zimbabwe, with a belief that physically hurting your partner is a way to show love. The foundation of the campaign was an HCD based insights-gathering process, which was done in 6 Districts in Zimbabwe targeting male perpetrators, champions, survivors and community influencers. Based on this exercise, the Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign was developed, to reframe the narrative in a simple manner and to demonstrate that love is shown through kindness, affection and positive communication.
The LSH campaign targets perpetrators and was developed using insights from human-centered design research. Key insights from the HCD immersions with perpetrators of violence showed that perpetrators view violence and physical punishment to express love and discipline. This campaign directly tackled the notion that discipline and physical violence equate to love, it reframes the narrative and in a simple way, redefines what love is and isn’t. The first phase of the campaign started flighting on local television, radio, digital and outdoor media in August 2021 and the second phase was launched in September 2022.
Over the period that the campaign has flighted, the term Love Shouldn’t Hurt has gained mileage, and is now synonymous with advocating against violence. Another key lesson learnt through the HCD was the desire that men have, to learn about GBV from influential people that they look up to, including musicians and other celebrities.
To that end, multiple celebrities and influencers were engaged to push the campaign message in their own sphere. They ranged from musicians and social media content creators to radio personalities, religious leaders, and soccer players. This became a major success driver for the campaign as high engagement was received from people interacting with the various campaign content by the influencers.
Given the immense contribution of these personalities to the development, growth, and monumental success of the LSH movement, an awards night themed “Love wins. Applauding the Love Shouldn’t Hurt Champions” will be held on the 24th of March to recognize, honor, and appreciate the celebrities.
Event Objectives
The event is aimed at:
- Recognize, honor, and award, the LSH celebrities for their immense contribution to the success of the LSH campaign.
- Creating a platform for stakeholders to engage with LSH celebrities.
- Create visibility for the LSH campaign to remain top of mind.
Stakeholders’ participation: In addition to the celebrities, other key stakeholders to attend the event include the Embassy of Sweden, PSI and PSH leadership, partners implementing various activities in the GBV space, socialites and young people’s representatives.
