GBV Prevention, Mitigation, and Response in Colombia

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Mental Health Issue
Refugee Self-reliance
Empowerment
Gender Based Violence Knowledge and Perceived Risk
Decision Making

Interventions: Behavioral: Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens

Registration Number: NCT06312592

Lead Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine

Brief Summary: As of August 2021, Colombia hosts the vast majority of Venezuelan refugees and migrants (UNHCR, 2022). For vulnerable refugees and migrants in Colombia, and especially for women, gender-based violence (GBV) is present during transit and continues in their new homes where xenophobia, lack of accessible and adequate services, lack of safe economic opportunities, and lack of information on access to services, further increase risk. Lack of livelihood opportunities also affect vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women, with barriers to employment including lack of information; precarious working conditions with lower payments and longer working days with increasing risks of labor exploitation; xenophobia and discrimination; limited access to formal labor markets; lack of access to financial services, among others. To address these issues, the investigators are conducting a pilot randomized-controlled trial (RCT) of HIAS' Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens (ESGL), a methodology that targets GBV survivors and women at-risk to help them develop business ideas, access needed support for the prevention of and response to GBV, exploitation and trafficking, and improve participants' overall self-reliance. The pilot RCT will be conducted within three cities in Colombia; approximately 80 eligible participants will be enrolled in each city and randomized to a treatment or control arm. Survey questionnaires will be administered to participants at baseline, eight months following baseline (endline), and 3-4 months after endline. Outcomes of interest include household self-reliance, mental health, empowerment, decision-making, and GBV risk and knowledge.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: Female

Target Recruitment: 253

Inclusion Criteria

Woman
At least 18 years of age
At risk of gender based violence (GBV) or ever experienced GBV
Have a migratory permit (for migrants/refugees)
Colombian or Venezuelan, living in Colombia for at least six months
Hold an entrepreneur profile registered with HIAS (the implementing partner).

Exclusion Criteria

Man or does not self identify as a woman
Less than 18 years old
Not at risk of GBV and never experienced GBV
Does not have a migratory permit
Not Colombian or Venezuelan
Living in Colombia for less than six months
No entrepreneur profile registered with HIAS (the implementing partner).

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention group	Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens	Receives the Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens intervention. Participants receive a general training with six modules focused on business modeling and female empowerment for the participants. It is targeted for women who are forcibly displaced people, including refugees, and who are survivors or at risk of Sexual or Gender Based Violence. Each women entrepreneur, participates in individual mentoring sessions to build their business plan after the training and receives $800 start-up capital for their business plan. For at least a year, entrepreneurs will have a follow-up to promote their business scale up, including how to formalize their business in the market, how to define new strategies, and how to answer to the market's evolving requirements. Additionally, the participants receive an extensive training in gender aspects that have been identified as relevant to promote women's empowerment. The intervention also includes mental health content.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Self-reliance Index From Baseline to Endline	Past three months	The Self-Reliance Index (SRI) is a measure of refugee self-reliance, created by the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative. The final score is calculated using 12 domains of self-reliance, including the health-related domains of healthcare access and health status. SRI scores may assume a value from 1 to 5, with 5 indicating greater self-reliance.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) Score From Baseline to Endline	Past two weeks	The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure of depression. The score may assume a value from 0 to 27, with higher scores signaling greater depressive symptomology.
Change in Brief Scale of Resilient Strategies From Baseline to Endline	Last three months	The BriefScale of Resilient Strategies is a 4-item measure of resilience. The score may assume a value from 4 to 20, with higher scores signaling greater resilience.