Addressing School-related Gender-based Violence as Part of the Keeping Girls in School Initiative in Zambia
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The goal of this trial is to assess the impact of the Empowerment Pilot, a school-based safe-space program delivered to secondary school students in Zambia. The main question it aims to answer is whether the Empowerment Pilot increases adolescent girls' knowledge of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), improves attitudes and norms around gender roles and SRGBV, increases socio-emotional skills, improves mental health, and enhances social support.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
Using a randomized controlled trial, with randomization at the school level, this study will evaluate the impact of the Empowerment Pilot on adolescent girls' knowledge of SRGBV; attitudes and norms around gender roles, corporal punishment, bullying, sexual violence, and response to SRGBV; socioemotional skills; mental health and social support. Data will be collected from approximately 3,000 adolescent girls and their teachers/peers/caregivers across three districts in Zambia. This study aims to contribute to the limited literature on what works to create awareness and change attitudes around SRGBV. It will also contribute to the growing literature on the effectiveness of safe space programs on adolescents' well-being.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Intervention group Empowerment Pilot |
Behavioral: Empowerment Pilot
The Empowerment Pilot is a school-based program aimed to raise awareness and change attitudes around SRGBV among students and teachers and promote gender equality. This intervention includes training provided by Teacher Mentors to other teachers in school, learning sessions delivered via safe spaces for student learners, and guidance for engaging parent-teacher committees.
|
| No Intervention: Control group
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Knowledge of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) [~10 months after intervention starts]
questions developed based on the Learners' Curriculum (part of the Empowerment Pilot Toolkit
- Attitudes around SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
Individual attitudes around gender roles, corporal punishment, bullying, sexual violence, and response to SRGBV
- Social support [~10 months after intervention starts]
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Support (Zimet GD, 1988)
- Mental health [~10 months after intervention starts]
Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (Spitzer et al., 2006)
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Aspirations [~10 months after intervention starts]
Questions on desired schooling levels and occupation preferences
- School climate [~10 months after intervention starts]
School Climate Module in the USAID's SRGBV Toolkit
- School enrollment [~10 months after intervention starts]
A binary indicator for school enrollment status determined at endline
- Experience of SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
self-reported experience of different types of violent events experienced in the past school term, including bullying, corporal punishment, and sexual violence, based on questions developed by USAID's SRGBV Toolkit. Respondents will also be asked about perceived changes in SRGBV.
- Self-efficacy [~10 months after intervention starts]
General Self-Efficacy Scale developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995)
- Self-esteem [~10 months after intervention starts]
Self-Esteem Scale developed by Rosenberg (1964)
- Locus of control [~10 months after intervention starts]
Abbreviated Locus of Control Scale originally developed by Rotter (1966)
- Assertive communication [~10 months after intervention starts]
A self-developed scale to measure assertiveness in communication
- Injunctive norms around SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
A self-developed scale to measure injunctive norms (i.e., perceptions of what is approved or disapproved by others) around gender roles, corporal punishment, bullying, sexual violence, and response to SRGBV
- Descriptive norms around SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
A self-developed scale to measure descriptive norms (i.e., perceptions about how people behave) around gender roles, corporal punishment, bullying, sexual violence, and response to SRGBV
- School attendance rate [~10 months after intervention starts]
Proportion of school days in attendance based on administrative data
Other Outcome Measures
- Teachers' knowledge of SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
questions developed based on the Learners' Curriculum (part of the Empowerment Pilot Toolkit
- Teachers' assessment of school climate [~10 months after intervention starts]
School Climate Module in the USAID's SRGBV Toolkit to measure to what extent the school climate is safe for both boys and girls
- Teachers' attitudes around gender equality in the school setting [~10 months after intervention starts]
A self-developed scale to measure individual attitudes around gender roles, corporal punishment, bullying, sexual violence, and response to SRGBV
- Teachers' attitudes around child rights [~10 months after intervention starts]
A self-developed scale to measure teachers' attitudes around child rights based on the intervention curriculum
- Teachers' disciplinary practices [~10 months after intervention starts]
self-reported occurrence and frequency of corporal punishment based on questions developed by USAID's SRGBV Toolkit
- Adolescent boys' attitudes around SRGBV [~10 months after intervention starts]
Questions developed by USAID's SRGBV Toolkit
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria for Adolescent Girl Participants:
-
Students enrolled in grades 8 - 11 of secondary schools in the 2023 school year at the start of the intervention
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Beneficiaries of the Keeping Girls in School program
Contacts and Locations
Locations
No locations specified.Sponsors and Collaborators
- World Bank
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Wei Chang, PhD, World Bank
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- p151451