Challenging Community Perceptions with Telenovelas
In Honduras, a telenovela sparks conversations on complex social issues
According to the Honduran Violence Observatory, in 2021, Honduras registered 234 cases of femicide, the worst rate per capita in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Honduran women cite gender-based violence as their reason for migrating at almost twice the rate of men, and they made up the majority of Honduran asylum seekers in the United States.
Steeped in a highly patriarchal society, raising gender-based violence privately, let alone publicly, has long been a no-no. Many Hondurans are frequently exposed to this type of violence in their relationships and in their community.
USAID’s Mission in Honduras partnered with Televicentro, the largest media conglomerate in the country, to air the telenovela “Vencer el Pasado,” or “Overcoming the Past.” The syndicated series, produced by Televisa in Mexico, follows four women from different age groups who try to overcome misfortunes. Realizing that what is posted on social media is never erased, they look for solutions to live in the present and focus on a positive future trying to overcome past obstacles.
Similar to U.S. soap operas, popular telenovelas have massive followings. But unlike soap operas that can run for years, telenovelas have self-contained story lines that typically span for a few months. The short timeframe means the plot lines happen at a faster pace with each episode trying to top the previous wild, shocking, and over-the-top ending.
“I remember watching telenovelas with my grandmother,” said Paola Rietti, director for Corporate Social Responsibility with Televicentro. “Every Honduran has watched a telenovela, it’s part of our culture. Through Telenovelas, we have learned about different social issues, and the episodes are conversation starters between family members and friends — did you watch the last episode? What’s going to happen to all the girls? We knew it could be a way to share anti-violence messages in a simple way to all of our audiences.”
Because of the complex social issues — gender violence and cyberbullying, for example — used as flash points in the episode plots, Televicentro and USAID/Honduras used each episode as a springboard for a broader public awareness campaign. The goal was to bring clear and hopeful messages to Honduran women and young people in partnership with the private sector and civil society organizations.
“Through the telenovelas and the public awareness campaign, we addressed a number of a very significant interrelated issues, gender-based violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, discrimination, and stigma against LGTBQ people, cyber bullying, and cyber stalking,” said Janina Jaruzelski, USAID Honduras mission director until this summer. “The issues were integrated into the plot and portrayed through relatable sympathetic characters who are experiencing this in their own lives.”
The Mission saw an opportunity to promote its work addressing gender-based violence.
That’s when three of the programs — Honduras Local Governance, Unidos por la Justicia (United for Justice) and USAID’s Central American Regional Initiative (CARI) — were invited to work with Televicentro and other local partners and experts to create the parallel a three-month public education campaign. The plan was to leverage the different communication streams owned and operated by Televicentro — which includes four broadcast channels, 12 radio stations, a digital newspaper, and more than 36 social media accounts. Each episode served as a catalyst for social commentary on the episode’s hot button topic.
“We realized that we were doing something good when the problem was set on the table,” said Anna Leverón, CARI’s Chief of Party. “People were talking about the campaign and all the episodes in the different communities, saying ‘yes I want to participate’ — and this was on top of the big increase in calls we were getting asking for help and support during the three months of the campaign.”
The media outreach was staggering. Forty-six public service announcements went out in rotation on four channels and 12 radio stations delivered by well recognized anchors, talk show hosts, TV personalities, and USAID expert partners. Twelve hour-long podcasts played simultaneously in youth radio stations and on Facebook Live. A series of one-hour investigative reports aired on one of the most popular and respected radio stations in Honduras with nation-wide coverage. Morning TV talk shows and the Televicentro digital newspaper also followed the telenovela with segments and articles.
There was even an after show that aired after the last episode of the telenovela.
“We invited a social media influencer, known for his comedy sketches, to appear on a podcast episode,” said Claudia Calderon, Development, Outreach and Communication Specialist with the USAID Mission in Honduras. “We expected a standard routine but, to our surprise, he talked about his own personal experience as a victim of abuse, discrimination, and online bullying. That opened the door for other young Hondurans to speak up, seek help, and be more vocal about stopping gender-based violence.”
In all, the campaign reached 86% of the target audience made up of approximately 3.9 million women. The campaign reached people from all walks of life, even in the next office. Paola had a colleague confide in her about an abusive situation after seeing one of the episodes.
“We are very happy with the success of this campaign and our alliance with USAID,” she said. “We foresee more projects working together, sending important messages through our media platforms to help our country’s development.”
About the Author
Rick Bielke is Communication Specialist on detail to USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.
