The 2nd and 3rd rounds were conducted from end of June 2019 to the 1st week of September 2019. The UNFPA CO also ensured that the enumerators had access to a counsellor 24X7 by contracting WIN (local women’s organization Women in Need) to dedicate 2 Sinhala and 1 Tamil counsellor during the time of the survey. This gave the enumerators more confidence to proceed as planned. Lakshman Senayake and NPPA Gender & WR conducted a refresher training and took the enumerators through the tip sheet for conducting interviews at the Vauvniya District Secretariat. Due to delay of the 2nd round, the UNFPA together with Senior Consultant Dr. According to the field plan, two teams were not assigned to do field work on 1st round. The Easter Attacks created much turmoil and ethnic tension within the country creating a challenge to DCS. The international experts were able to explain and further share experiences of surveys conducted in other countries. The training hall was alive with their voices and each person worked hard to grasp the subject matter. This further validated the questionnaire and alterations were made to make the questions more culturally sensitive, especially to capture the nuances in the local language. It was also an opportunity to debate about the particular words used in the survey. The training gave them the chance to understand and clarify the reasons for the questions and how they engage with the respondent to make them feel comfortable. This was not an easy process given the questions itself were those confronting their own beliefs and attitudes.
This required that they first confront their own prejudices and opinions and ensure they look at the survey from a professional perspective.
The training aimed to increase the sensitivity of the enumerators to violence against women and girls and how they can effectively collect the information needed: The Enumerators attending the training – both men and women – needed to learn the skills on how to interview the respondents with empathy but also be able to control their innate biases. The participants and Enumerators would face situations neither had faced previously. Since it was the first time they were conducting a dedicated survey that collects sensitive personal information of individuals, there was much discussion on the relevance and how they can approach respondents. The program was formulated to help them navigate through difficult circumstances and the questions itself. Henriette Jansen who conducted sensitization sessions for the officers of the State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-Schools & Primary Education, School Infrastructure & Education Services and the staff of DCS and laid the foundation to develop the protocol for the first-ever national survey on the issue” Given the special nature of this survey they had to plan the survey in a manner that would safeguard both the respondent and the enumerator. The planning and execution of the data collection was under guidance of the Sample Survey Division.
We needed to talk to them about instances of domestic abuse that they faced so we needed to be sensitive to their issues and challenges when speaking to them.” “What was special about this survey is that we worked with women over the age of 15 years for this research. Indu Bandara, then Director General of DCS. It took 2 years to plan and execute,” says Dr. “DCS and UNFPA put in place the relevant programmes in 2017 and launched the field visits in 2019.