MenCare+ Brazil’s “Shameless” campaign (“Campanha Sem Vergonha,” in Portuguese), which engages students to question gender norms and to develop their own awareness campaigns around sexual and reproductive health and rights, was launched in nine public schools in Rio de Janeiro in 2013 and is being expanded to new schools this year. In partnership with Rio de Janeiro’s “Health and Prevention in Schools” program, the campaign is expected to reach more than 3,000 students by the end of 2014.
The young men and women who serve as campaign mobilizers in schools have already participated in workshops on gender and sexual and reproductive health, as well as on communication strategies for the dissemination of campaign messages and materials. Created by these students, the campaign includes manuals, posters, and short videos with scripts and interpretations, as well as a website, Facebook page, and campaign T-shirts.
This year, the “Shameless” campaign is incorporating Project F methodology (“F” stands for football, or soccer) into its activities, using sports as an entry point to promote gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights on and off the field. The campaign will encourage physical education teachers in participating schools to incorporate campaign themes and activities into their classes.
The “Shameless” campaign is part of the MenCare+ project, a three-year, four-country collaboration between Rutgers WPF and Equimundo.