Impacts of the Indashyikirwa Program on Reducing and Preventing Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Syria
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Active, not recruiting
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 1,200
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Changes in intimate partner violence incidence over time
Study Overview
Brief Summary
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Indashyikirwa program in enhancing women's empowerment and reducing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in conflict-affected communities in Northeast Syria.
The intervention group will participate in the Indashyikirwa ("Agents of Change") program, which includes a comprehensive couples' training module and access to safe spaces. The control group will not receive the Indashyikirwa program. Both intervention and control groups are beneficieries of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) support and Vocational Training (VT) to promote economic empowerment.
The study employs a cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design. Out of 30 pre-identified villages, 15 villages were randomly assigned to receive the Indashyikirwa program and 15 villages will not receive the Indashyikirwa program. The villages were located within the same sub-districts to ensure a balanced geographic distribution of the intervention.
Based on a power analysis with 80% power, at least 16 married couples from eligible SME and VT beneficiaries will be voluntarily enrolled in each village to receive the Indashyikirwa intervention. Similarly, 16 eligible SME and VT married couples from control villages will be enrolled using the same voluntary participation principle. To account for potential attrition, 20 couples per village will be initially enrolled, ensuring a robust sample size for analysis. This approach results in a total sample size of 600 couples (or 1,200 individual participants).
The primary objective of this study is to assess the impact of Indashyikirwa program on key outcomes, including the reduction in IPV, transformation of gender norms, enhancement of women's empowerment, improvements in intra-household dynamics, economic benefits to the household.
Data collection will involve structured surveys administered separately to both husbands and wives. Surveys will be conducted at four time points: baseline, 2 months post-intervention, 12 months post-intervention, and 24 months post-intervention.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Two levels of eligibility:
- •At the village level:
- •Villages must be receiving the SME and VT programs by the implementing partners.
- •Villages must have at least 16 eligible couples (married women and their husbands).
- •At the individual level:
- •Women must be aged 18 or older.
- •Women must be currently married and residing in the same household as their husbands.
- •Women must be participants in the vocational training (VT) program and eligible for SME grants.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Villages or individuals not meeting the inclusion criteria.
- •Women who are unmarried, divorced, or widowed.
- •Women who do not reside with their husbands in the same household.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Changes in intimate partner violence incidence over time
Time Frame: 2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention
Frequency of women experience or man perpetration of economic, physical, and emotional IPV as assessed by the standardized Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in the past 12 months
Changes in acceptability of wife beating over time
Time Frame: 2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention
Number of justifications for wife beating as assessed by the standardized Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in the past 12 months, as reported by female participants
Secondary Outcomes
- Changes in the level of conflict in intimate relationships over time(2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention)
- Changes in the level of marriage satisfaction among couples over time(2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention)
- Extent of relationship quality with the partner(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Level of women involvement in intra-household decision-making(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Extent of spousal support in women's business(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Level of women's self-efficacy in economic activities(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Extent of women's mobility and decision-making autonomy(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Extent of peer support to women(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Assessing current level of positive well-being among couples(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
- Changes in the extent of agreement to favorable gender norms over time(2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention)
Investigators
Ghassan Baliki
Research program director
International Security and Development Center gGmbH