Gibbs, A., Jewkes, R., Willan, S., & Washington, L. (2018). Associations between poverty, mental health and substance use, gender power, and intimate partner violence amongst young (18-30) women and men in urban informal settlements in South Africa: A cross-sectional study and structural equation model. PLoS one, 13(10), e0204956.

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Hatcher, A. M., Gibbs, A., Jewkes, R., McBride, R., Peacock, D., & Christofides, N. (n.d.). Effect of Childhood Poverty and Trauma on Adult Depressive Symptoms Among Young Men in Peri-Urban South African Settlements. Journal of Adolescent Health.

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This study draws on three case countries – Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan – to address gaps in evidence and understanding on violence against women and girls (VAWG) during post-conflict transition. It highlights the potential for state-building and peacebuilding processes to address VAWG, and the effect this has in advancing sustainable peace.

This is the first time that a systematic approach has been taken to bridge the gap between VAWG and post-conflict state-building / peace-building policies and processes. The study was led by the George Washington Institute (GWI), CARE International UK and International Rescue Committee (IRC).

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This study draws on three case countries – Nepal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan – to address gaps in evidence and understanding on violence against women and girls (VAWG) during post-conflict transition. It highlights the potential for state-building and peacebuilding processes to address VAWG, and the effect this has in advancing sustainable peace.

This is the first time that a systematic approach has been taken to bridge the gap between VAWG and post-conflict state-building / peace-building policies and processes. The study was led by the George Washington Institute (GWI), CARE International UK and International Rescue Committee (IRC).

This policy brief includes an analytical framework, which is a practical tool that can be used by policy makers as a guide to designing fair, inclusive, and sustainable state-building and peace-building processes that include meaningful engagement with the issue of violence and women and girls.

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Alangea, D. O., Addo-Lartey, A. A., Sikweyiya, Y., Chirwa, E. D., Coker-Appiah, D., Jewkes, R., & Adanu, R. M. K. (2018). Prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence among women in four districts of the central region of Ghana: Baseline findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial. PloS one, 13(7), e0200874.

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Right to Play Pakistan designed and implemented a school-based programme that used sport and play to reduce peer violence and corporal punishment, improve mental health, and change social norms in support of gender equality and non-violence. The programme reached 8,000 children in 40 public schools, with an equal number of boys and girls benefitting. It was rigorously evaluated by Aga Khan University.

This Evidence Brief presents the findings from the end-line evaluation. These show significant reductions in both boys’ and girls’ perpetration and victimisation of peer violence, experience of corporal punishment both at home and in school, and witnessing of acts of domestic violence. Levels of depression and patriarchal gender attitudes have also improved. The positive results demonstrate the potential of investing in sports and play based learning in schools and communities to prevent violence.

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Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is widespread throughout Tajikistan, with half of all women experiencing violence at the hands of their husbands or in-laws. Young married women aged 18-24 are especially vulnerable. In response, International Alert and its partners, Action, Development and Prosperity (ATO), Cesvi, Farodis and Women of the Orient worked with the South African Medical Research Council to develop an innovative family-centred social and economic intervention tailored to the specific Tajik context with the aim of combatting VAWG. The approach sought to address the reality of young women marrying into strong extended families and facing violence from their husbands and/or in-laws.

This evidence brief reveals that the intervention successfully reduced the number of young women experiencing violence from both their husbands and in-laws by 50%. The mental health, livelihoods and food security of participating families also significantly improved. These findings support global evidence that gender transformative social change interventions combined with empowerment interventions can have a significant impact on reducing VAWG. Such approaches can also have positive impacts on people’s emotional wellbeing, family dynamics and economic security.

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Cardoso, L. F., Clark, C. J., Rivers, K., Ferguson, G., Shrestha, B., & Gupta, J. (2018). Menstrual restriction prevalence and association with intimate partner violence among Nepali women. BMJ Sex Reprod Health, bmjsrh-2017.

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The Indashyikirwa programme in Rwanda was implemented over four years (2014-2018) by CARE Rwanda International, Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, and Rwanda Women’s Network, in rural Rwanda. The programme aimed to reduce IPV, shift social norms and attitudes condoning violence, and provide more empowering responses to survivors.

This practice brief highlights lessons learned from the Indashyikirwa programme on working with couples to prevent IPV. These include the need to design a culturally appropriate curriculum with content that is relevant and appropriate for the target community, and recruit skilled male and female facilitators who over a prolonged period of time can build a rapport with and equip couples with the skills to build healthy, non-violent relationships.

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The Indashyikirwa programme in Rwanda was funded by the UK department for International Development, with the aim of preventing and reducing intimate partner violence. The programme was implemented over four years (2014-2018) by CARE Rwanda International, Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, and Rwanda Women’s Network, in Eastern, Western and Northern provinces of rural Rwanda. One of the components of the programme included the training and engagement of opinion leaders to help create an enabling environment for social change.

This practice brief highlights lessons learned from – and assesses the value of – engaging opinion leaders as part of a comprehensive intimate partner violence prevention programme. In order for effective engagement to take place, there is a need to carefully map which key opinion leaders can and should be targeted, and maintain regular dialogue and communication. It is also important to engage them not just as opinion leaders, but also as people in relationships themselves.

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The Indashyikirwa programme in Rwanda was funded by the UK department for International Development, with the aim of preventing and reducing intimate partner violence. It was implemented over four years (2014-2018) by CARE Rwanda International, Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, and Rwanda Women’s Network, in rural Rwanda. One of the components of the programme included training couples as community activists (CAs), with the view to diffusing the benefits of the programme to a larger audience.

This practice belief highlights the impact of training of 840 couples as CAs, which include them feeling better equipped to respond to IPV, greater community awareness of IPV and greater community support for women’s empowerment and more gender equitable division of household labour. Recommendations consist of training more couples as CAs, adapting the community activism component to the specific country and context in which it is being applied, and ensuring proper linkage between the community activism component and other parts of the Indashyikirwa programme, e.g. engagement with opinion leaders.

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The Indashyikirwa programme in Rwanda was funded by the UK department for International Development and implemented over four years (2014-2018) by CARE Rwanda International, Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, and Rwanda Women’s Network, in Eastern, Western and Northern provinces of rural Rwanda. The programme aimed to reduce IPV, shift social norms and attitudes condoning violence, and provide more empowering responses to survivors. One of the components of the programme involved the establishment of women’s safe spaces, where women and men could disclose and discuss IPV, and be referred or accompanied to health, justice and social services.

This evidence brief reveals that the creation of safe spaces helped facilitate the disclosure of IPV, enhanced knowledge and awareness of more gender equitable norms, offered opportunities for collective solidarity and livelihoods skills training, and improved the quality of and linkages to formal services.

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The What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Global Programme has conducted research to better understand the experiences, causes, and consequences of violence in the lives of women and girls with disabilities, 80% of whom live in low and middle-income countries.

Findings show that in low and middle-income countries, women with disabilities are more likely to experience both intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence than women without disabilities. The risk of both IPV and non-partner sexual violence increases with the severity of disability. Women with disabilities also experience high levels of stigma and discrimination, compounding their risk of IPV and reducing their ability to seek help. These findings highlight how vital it is to ensure the meaningful inclusion of women disabilities in VAWG policy and programming.

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In Ghana, violence against women and girls is widespread. Recent estimates indicate that 28% of women report at least one form of violence in the past year and 45% report experiencing violence at some point in their lifetime. COMBAT (Community Based Action Teams) is a rural response strategy that aims to (i) reduce the incidence of VAWG in rural communities in Ghana, (ii) protect women’s rights via state and community structures; and, (iii) raise public awareness about the causes and consequences of VAWG. This evidence suggests that community-led evidence-based interventions supported by local actors (e.g. traditional and religious leaders) are uniquely placed to support prevention of, and response to, VAWG in this context.

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In Afghanistan, more than 50% of married women report experiencing emotional, physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner. Violence against women is associated with intergenerational effects such that the experience and perpetration of intimate partner violence is linked to individual childhood abuse. Furthermore, evidence suggests that children’s exposure to various forms of violence, such as family violence in the home and corporal punishment at school, are strongly linked to children’s perpetration of violence against their peers, suggesting that children learn and reproduce violent norms and practices from adults. In order to prevent violence against children and lay the foundations for a more peaceful society, Help the Children Afghanistan (HTAC) implemented a school-based peace education and community social norms change intervention reaching 2000 boys and 1500 girls.

This evidence brief presents the findings from an evaluation of the programme. The evaluation demonstrated that conducting peace education with children in schools, coupled with activities aimed at changing community social norms, can lead to a reduction in various forms of violence, including children’s peer violence, corporal punishment of children both at school and at home, and domestic violence against women at the household level.

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Bhattacharjee, P., Campbell, L., Thalinja, R., Nair, S., Doddamane, M., Ramanaik, S., ... & Beattie, T. S. (2018). Understanding the Relationship Between Female Sex Workers and Their Intimate Partners: Lessons and Initial Findings From Participatory Research in North Karnataka, South India. Health education & behavior, 1090198118763934.

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Gibbs, A., Dunkle, K., Washington, L., Willan, S., Shai, N., & Jewkes, R. (2018). Childhood traumas as a risk factor for HIV-risk behaviours amongst young women and men living in urban informal settlements in South Africa: A cross-sectional study. PloS one, 13(4), e0195369.

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Gibbs, A., Corboz, J., & Jewkes, R. (2018). Factors associated with recent intimate partner violence experience amongst currently married women in Afghanistan and health impacts of IPV: a cross sectional study. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 593.

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