Oxfam GB’s Global Performance Framework is part of the organisation’s effort to better understand and communicate its effectiveness, as well as enhance learning across the organisation. Under this Framework, a small number of completed or mature projects are selected at random each year for an evaluation of their impact, known as an ‘Effectiveness Review’. One key focus is on the extent to which they have promoted change in relation to relevant Oxfam GB global outcome indicators.
During the 2014/15 financial year, one of the projects randomly selected for an Effectiveness Review was the project ‘Women's Access to Justice in the MENA region’. The project was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) with a budget of US$1.3 million, and was implemented in three countries: Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Phase I of the project started in May 2011 and finished with no-cost extension in July 2014. Phase II of the project is scheduled to operate from December 2014 to December 2017.
The focus of this Effectiveness Review is on the Lebanon project component only. The project worked at four levels of intervention: individual, community, institutional, and policy. The key activities conducted at each level can be summarised as follows:
Individual level
- The organisation of awareness-raising sessions (ARS) through the training of 50 women from six different NGOs, 13 of whom became paralegals and started offering ARSs.
- The provision of free consultation to women who decided to bring their case to court. This service has been promoted during the awareness-raising sessions and through the media (TV, radio, and social media).
Community level
- The provision of awareness-raising sessions to community leaders who were viewed as potential actors for change. These community leaders included: members of political parties, religious leaders, and municipal employers.
- The establishment of a men’s forum with 10 men who were trained and engaged in raising awareness.
Institutional level The project worked with the Beirut Bar Association and religious court, in order to raise awareness around women’s right among lawyers and judges. This intervention aimed to create a better environment that women could more easily have access to.
The activities for this project started in May 2011, but work with community leaders and court officials was intensified from January 2013 onwards. They originally started in El Metn and then spread to all Mount Lebanon region.
