Listening for Development and Social Change : Local Practitioners on Women’s Economic Empowerment for Women with Experiences of Gender-Based Violence in Jordan

Sammanfattning

This research has explored the question of how ‘listening’ happens and impacts initiatives for women’s economic empowerment (WEE) to improve the well-being of women with experiences of gender-based violence (GBV) in Jordan, with the purpose of understanding how ‘listening’ can be utilised within development and social change to achieve the greatest possible impact. This was explored through two months of fieldwork in Jordan where a focus group and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven local practitioners who work with initiatives for WEE and meet women with experiences of GBV. With inspiration from action research, these methods served not only a purpose for data collection but as practices of listening that may influence further action. The notion of ‘Aspects of Listening’ provided a lens for the analysis of how listening can happen and impact development and social change. The findings indicate that the impact of ‘listening’ on initiatives for WEE leads to the improvement of the well-being of women with experiences of GBV. This is demonstrated in women having the power to improve their lives, providing and caring for their families, earning an income, participating in the labor market, financial decision-making, earning self-confidence and respect, a decrease in physical violence, and the capability of leaving abusive partners. Listening takes place in creating safe spaces for learning processes and reflection where the actors take action together. During these processes, all actors involved need to be open to changing one’s perspectives and actions. In conclusion, sitting together and listening to each other is essential to create development and social change. Key words: communication, dialogue, aspects of listening, local knowledge, focus group, action research, thematic analysis, fieldwork, funding, trust, empathy, power, reflection, learning, action.