Solutions

SASA! Together

A community mobilisation approach to prevent violence against women by transforming power imbalances between women and men.

This program is implemented by Raising Voices
SASA Raising Voices

Credit: Raising Voices.

Published: 06 March 2026
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Key themes

Refers to initiatives and insights emerging from community-level actors working directly with children, families, and local institutions. 

Community knowledge is collective insights developed through shared experiences and dialogue.

Expanding knowledge in underrepresented regions is critical in the prevention and response of childhood sexual violence as local leaders or community-based organisations can offer feedback on a programme’s cultural relevance, community integration, and its alignment with local needs and norms.

What these case studies show 

These case studies illustrate how practice-based knowledge (PbK) is used in real world settings to improve childhood sexual violence prevention and response. Each case focuses on what practitioners or survivor-led groups learned through action, reflection, and decision-making in their own contexts, and how that knowledge was taken forward. 

What these case studies do and do not do 

The case studies do not aim to produce generalisable findings. Instead, they offer context-specific insight into how practice unfolds, where challenges emerge, and how actors respond in real time. The absence of evaluation or impact data should not be interpreted as evidence for or against effectiveness. 

How to use these insights in your own work 

These case studies are intended to support reflection rather than replication. Readers may find them useful for: 

  • identifying questions to explore within their own practice
  • recognising patterns or tensions that resonate with their own settings
  • anticipating practical, ethical, or institutional challenges before they arise 

Ethical use and limitations 

Documenting and sharing PbK requires careful attention to safety, consent, power, and potential harm, particularly when engaging with sensitive experiences of child sexual violence. The ethical principles guiding this work are set out in the PbK Guidance Framework 

Scope and limits of the knowledge shared 

Each case study reflects the type and depth of knowledge available within its context. Differences in format, detail, and focus reflect variation in purpose, access, and the conditions under which knowledge was documented and shared.  

Content warning  

Some of the case studies include details of childhood sexual violence. Each case study includes specific content notes to support informed engagement. Please take care of your well-being as you read and step away if needed. For additional support, you may find it helpful to consult the following resources:  

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Context

SASA Initiative 4

Credit: Raising Voices

The original SASA! Activist Kit was developed in Uganda in 2008 by Raising Voices. It is a community mobilisation approach to prevent violence against women by transforming power imbalances between women and men. The SASA! study demonstrated the programme’s impact on reducing women’s risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), and in the following decade, it was adopted by more than 65 organisations in over 25 countries. As the programme expanded to diverse contexts, Raising Voices recognised the need to revise the intervention to better reflect accumulated learning as well as evolving priorities in the broader field. 

This led to the creation of SASA! Together, a refined version that systematically integrated over a decade of Raising Voices’ practice-based learning, partner feedback, and research-based insights.  

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How was PbK gathered and combined with evidence

SASA 2

Credit: Raising Voices.

Raising Voices has been leading on advocacy to elevate practice-based learning since 2014. The SASA! revision process provided another opportunity to put this organisational priority into practice. They developed a structured approach to integrate experiential learning, emerging best practice and new evidence on what works to prevent violence against women. This iterative process included workshops to synthesise internal learning, extensive consultation with partners and experts, content development, review and testing, final refinements and i production. By combining grounded expertise, expert feedback and research, the updated programme was both evidence-informed and rooted in lived practice. 

What was learned from practice-based knowledge:

  • Sharpening scope: PbK revealed that addressing too many forms of violence diluted impact. SASA! Together, therefore, prioritised intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, creating greater focus and effectiveness. Moreover, while SASA! had originally focused on HIV, SASA! Together shifted to emphasise sexual decision-making and healthy sexual relationships as key elements of balanced power.
  • Navigating resistance to gender roles: Over years of supporting SASA! programming, Raising Voices found that an exclusive focus on redistributing gendered household tasks often led to resistance, frustration or surface-level change. Alternatively, shifting attention to relational values allowed gender roles to change more naturally, aligning with couples’ aspirations for mutual care and open communication. This PbK was reflected in the revised content.
  • Engaging community leaders: The revised programme included a new Community Leadership Strategy to engage leaders (including faith leaders) and link religious texts with SASA! Together ideas.   This research-informed strategy emerged to harness the potential of allyship from influential members of the community, while mitigating the risk of backlash.
  • Embedding practical guidance: Some of the most potent learning informing the revision was around the 'how to’ support quality programming in practice—including how to: prepare and mentor staff; build skills around feminist facilitation and creative problem solving; sustain energy across diverse teams; ensure program learning is leveraged in real-time; support services in contexts with limited services; and more. These practical tips and guidance were woven into SASA! Together through a “Details That Make a Difference” section as well as a new “Learning @ Assessment Guide.” These enhancements help ensure that even organisations new to SASA! Together could benefit from 10 years of PbK insights.
Raising Voices, The SASA! Story

Credit: Raising Voices, The SASA! Story.

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Real world impact

A sharper focus

specifically on intimate-partner violence.

Strengthened support

for practitioners through in-depth practical guidance to implement and learn from their programming.

Specific strategies and activities to mitigate backlash and community resistance

for example, through a focus on relationship values and engagement of religious leaders.

Adaptability

and enhancements providing more potential for impact at scale.

Integrating PbK within the Academic knowledge-base

The multi-step approach used to revise SASA! was later recognised in the academic sphere, with its process and insights published in the Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning. This shows how PbK can not only refine interventions in real-time, but also meaningfully contribute to academic knowledge and evidence base. 

Why this matters

The SASA! Together revision process demonstrates that expanding and scaling is not just about reaching more people — it is about doing so without losing impact, trust, or ethical integrity. By integrating PbK , Raising Voices ensured that as the program is implemented in diverse contexts, it remains relevant and grounded in the expertise of how to ensure quality and impact. PbK has the potential to strengthen scaling processes by revealing the practical dynamics that determine whether an intervention thrives across contexts. 

The SASA! Approach for Preventing Violence against Women and HIV. Credit: Raising Voices.

The SASA! Approach for Preventing Violence against Women and HIV. Credit: Raising Voices.

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If you're working in a similar context

  • What are you learning by doing, specifically regarding programme quality (hint: what motivates your team? Supports collaborative dynamics? Strengthens community skills? Responds to an expressed need? etc.)
  • What content resonates in your communities, and what (if any) activities frequently cause tension or distract the focus?
  • How much time can you allocate for consultation and synthesis, and who can you involve in the process? 
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Sources and notes

[1] Michau, L., & Namy, S. (2021). SASA! Together: An evolution of the SASA! Approach to prevent violence against women. Evaluation and Program Planning, 86, 101918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.101918  

[2] Kyegombe, N., Abramsky, T., Devries, K. M., Michau, L., Nakuti, J., Starmann, E., Musuya, T., Heise, L., & Watts, C. (2015). What is the potential for interventions designed to prevent violence against women to reduce children’s exposure to violence? Findings from the SASA! study, Kampala, Uganda. Child Abuse & Neglect, 50, 128-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.10.003.  

[3] Raising Voices. (2022). Nurturing and elevating practice-based learning: Learning from practice series No. 8: Organizational perspectives. https://raisingvoices.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Learning-from-practice-No-8_final.pdf  

  1. Safe Futures Hub’s primary focus is on CSV. While SASA! Together is a violence against women prevention intervention, we highlight it here because its expansion process offers valuable insights into how PbK can be integrated with research to strengthen programmes at scale. Evidence from the original SASA! programme also suggests secondary benefits for children, including reduced exposure to intimate partner violence and violent discipline (Kyegombe et al., 2015).
  2. Raising Voices use the term Practice-Based Learning (PBL) to highlight that practice generates knowledge through reflection, questioning, and adaptation. Across Safe Futures Hub resources we use practice-based knowledge (PbK) for consistency, while fully aligning with this spirit. We see PbK not as a static product but as a process rooted in curiosity, reflection, and collective sense-making. Many practitioners also emphasised that the term knowledge carries weight, affirming that lived expertise and frontline insights are as legitimate as academic or research-based evidence. For this reason, we use PbK while holding firmly to the values of learning that make it meaningful. 
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Last updated: 06 March 2026