Deepening our understanding of community-based participatory research: lessons from work around reproductive rights in Zimbabwe - Hope Chigudu

The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) is an organisation that promotes community participation in health, especially in the area of HIV and AIDS and reproductive health. During the course of its work, it realised that there was a lack of community-generated information on which to base its activities. CWGH therefore initiated community-based participatory action research on various topics related to reproductive rights. The research, which was conducted by young people in their communities, provided a platform for provocative discussion in the community and contributed to the promotion of a community-based agenda for transformation in gender relations. The reearch provided an opportunity for the communities to reclaim their political space, stimulated exchange of information and injected energy into the communities' lobbying initiatives.
From: Gender and Development Vol. 15 no. 2 (2007)