Intimate Partner Violence, Domestic Violence, Family Relations
Conditions
Brief summary
The objective of the study is to evaluate the impact of Engaging Men in Accountable Practice (EMAP) on the prevention of violence against women and girls in North and South Kivu (DRC). The study is conducted jointly by the World Bank's Africa Gender Innovation Lab and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). EMAP is a program developed and implemented by the IRC to engage men to reflect on how to reduce and prevent intimate partner violence through 16 weekly group discussion sessions. The study is a cluster randomized control trial in which two groups of 25 self-selected men in 15 communities receive the EMAP intervention while in 15 other communities, 50 self-selected men receive an alternative intervention. Key outcomes examined include: (i) Experience of past year physical, sexual and psychological violence reported by women whose partners are EMAP participants; (ii) Participant's gender attitudes and behaviors, conflict and hostility management skills; (iii) Power sharing and communication within the couple.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALEngaging Men through Accountable Practice
Engaging Men through Accountable Practice aims to engage men as agents of change through structured, weekly discussions with committed groups of men. It aims to address entrenched views of gender roles and identify positive models of masculinity. The approach follows a structured series of discussions designed to explore existing understandings of masculinity and create more positive models of what it means to be a 'good' man, promoting self-reflection and pushing men to analyze and change their own power and privilege. This methodology begins with a series of discussions with women to inform men's dialogue groups, and includes continuous feedback loops with women throughout the process so that the work with men is grounded in, and accountable to, women's views and objectives.
Control communities will receive an alternative intervention focused on a non-gender topic of 16 weekly sessions for men only.
Sponsors
International Rescue Committee
World Bank
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
20 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Age 20 or older but preferably at least 25; * Resident of their village, having lived in the community for a minimum of six months with plans to continue living there for at least the coming six months; * Ability to participate actively in group work and reflection activities; * Commitment to attend meetings, sessions and other activities regularly without incentives; * Commitment to non-violence toward women and girls for the duration of the EMAP intervention;
Exclusion criteria
* Involved in the IRC-led adolescent girl intervention (COMPASS).
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in baseline prevalence of intimate-partner violence | Baseline, 12 months follow-up | Change in the % of women who self-report experience of violence by their male partner. The women interviewed are the partners of the male study participants. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in acceptability of intimate partner violence | Baseline, 12 months follow-up | Change in the % of women (partners of participants) and men (participants) who report that violence is acceptable in at least one of the situations listed in the survey. |
| Change in intention to commit violence | Baseline, 12 months follow-up | Change in the % of male participants who report that they are likely to become violent in a list of situations. Scale used: Proximal Antecedents to Violent Episodes. |
Countries
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Outcome results
None listed