The Alliance for the Protection of Children Project is a 3-year initiative supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to strengthen the protection of children exposed to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence in Haiti. The project is implemented by American Institutes for Research (AIR) in partnership with the Lumos Foundation, which focuses on mitigating abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence in residential care institutions. The project aims to support strategic objectives of USAID and the Government of Haiti to strengthen child protection efforts, aligning with the National Child Protection Strategy and existing laws governing the protection of children in Haiti.
The project has four distinct phases: research, design of pilot interventions, implementation of pilot interventions, and evaluation and learning for scale-up. The first phase involves research, including a cultural models approach to investigate the problem of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence against children. This approach involves exploring the underlying patterns of thinking that guide Haitians’ understanding, reasoning, and decision-making around issues related to violence against children. The goal of this research is to create a foundational understanding of cultural models that can inform the design of effective communications and outreach campaigns to increase protection of vulnerable children.
The cultural models research was conducted through 41 in-depth interviews with individuals from diverse backgrounds across nine localities in four departments in Haiti. The interviews were conducted by UEH graduate anthropology students who underwent capacity building workshops to learn about cultural model theory and develop data collection protocols. The protocols were reviewed and approved by AIR’s Institutional Review Board and Haiti’s Comité National de Bioéthique to ensure the protection of human subjects. The interviews were conducted with individuals who were not experts or key informants on the topics, ensuring a diverse range of perspectives.
The cultural models findings presented in this report are based on the interviews conducted as part of the study. The report maps the cultural models as they relate to seven orienting questions, including assumptions about childhood, families, and violence. Each cultural model is explained and illustrated with representative excerpts from interviews. The report concludes with notes on how this data can be used for improving communication and outreach in general.
The cultural models approach has been found to be valuable for designing effective campaigns that change knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on a variety of issues, including work in Haiti on HIV and health care. This approach involves systematically mapping the cultural understandings of the audience to inform the design of behavior change communications (BCC) interventions. The report provides a foundational understanding of cultural models that can inform the design of BCC interventions to increase protection of vulnerable children in Haiti.
The project’s focus on leveraging local assets and strengthening child protection efforts in Haiti is critical to addressing the complex issues of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence against children. By working in partnership with government agencies, ministries, and community-based organizations, the project aims to create a rigorous evidence base for designing effective interventions that reduce violence against children, mitigate trafficking and forced labor, and protect vulnerable children. The project’s approach to cultural models research provides a unique lens for understanding the underlying patterns of thinking that guide Haitians’ understanding, reasoning, and decision-making around issues related to violence against children.