Using Participatory Learning and Action in a Community-Based Intervention to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls in Mumbai's Informal Settlements.

For over 3 decades, participatory learning and action (PLA) techniques have been prominent in formative and evaluative studies in community-based development programs in the Global South. In this paper, we describe and discuss the use of PLA approaches at the beginning of a community-based program for prevention of violence against women and girls in Mumbai's urban informal settlements. We adapted six PLA techniques as part of a formative community mobilization and rapid needs assessment exercise, addressing perceptions of violence prevalence, sources of household conflict, experiences of safety and mobility, access to services, preferences for service and support, and visualization of an ideal community free from violence.