Addressing School-related Gender-based Violence as Part of the Keeping Girls in School Initiative in Zambia

Safe-space Program in Secondary Schools to Address School-related Gender-based Violence in Zambia: a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of this mixed-methods study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based safe-space program delivered to secondary school students in Zambia. The quantitative component of the study uses a randomized controlled trial to measure changes in students' experience of school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), attitudes towards gender and SRGBV, socio-emotional well-being, and school climate, among other outcomes. Meanwhile, the qualitative component of the study aims to understand the prevailing norms around SRGBV in schools, the perception of the intervention and its impact, and the potential mechanisms through which the intervention generates its outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Gender-based Violence
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Empowerment Pilot

Detailed Description

This study will evaluate the impact of the Empowerment Pilot, a school-based safe-space program delivered to secondary school students in Zambia, implemented between May and November 2023. The main question it aims to answer is whether the Empowerment Pilot changes attitudes and norms around gender roles and school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV), increases socio-emotional well-being, improves school climate, and reduces SRGBV. We use a mixed-methods triangulation design and combined qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection and analysis to enhance the validity, depth, and relevance of our findings. Data will be collected from approximately 6,000 adolescent girls and boys and their teachers across three districts in Zambia.

The mixed-methods evaluation gives equal importance to the qualitative and quantitative components. However, this registration primarily describes the quantitative component of the study.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 6000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Frank Kakungu; Phone Number: 0967907362; Email: kakungu@zamstats.gov.zm

Study Locations

• Zambia
  • Lusaka, Zambia
    • Recruiting
    • secondary schools in Kasama, Mpongwe, and Zambezi districts

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria for Adolescent Participants:

• Students enrolled in grades 8 - 11 of secondary schools in the 2023 school year at the start of the intervention

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control group
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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Experience of any SRGBV, past two weeks	A binary variable of self-reported experience of any SRGBV in the past two weeks	two weeks prior to the endline survey
Experience of any SRGBV, past school term	A binary variable of self-reported experience of any SRGBV in the past school term	~4 months (Term 3 of School Year 2023)
Attitudes towards gender roles and SRGBV (adolescents)	A normalized index based on 16 items that measure attitudes towards gender roles, SRGBV, and support to victims	~4 months post-intervention
School climate	A composite score based on 16 statements about aspects of school climate and student-teacher interactions	~4 months post-intervention
Socio-emotional well-being	A normalized index based on 3 scales related to subjective well-being: perceived social support; perceived safety; and anxiety.	~4 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge of SRGBV	the fraction of correct responses to 12 questions that ask whether an act is considered violence	~4 months post-intervention
School absenteeism	number of days an adolescent missed in the last completed month	one month prior to the endline survey
School enrollment	A binary indicator for school enrollment status	~4 months post-intervention
General self-efficacy	a composite score of 10 items on the General self-efficacy scale.	~4 months post-intervention
Assertive communication	a composite score of 6 items on the Assertiveness Communication scale	~4 months post-intervention
Gender equitable injunctive norms	A composite score of injunctive norms for gender equality norms, GBV, Corporal punishment, and GBV reporting	~4 months post-intervention
Gender equitable descriptive norms	A composite score of descriptive norms for gender equality, GBV, Corporal punishment, and GBV reporting	~4 months post-intervention
Experience of sexual violence, past two weeks	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of sexual violence reported by the respondent	2 weeks prior to the endline survey
Experience of emotional violence, past two weeks	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of emotional violence reported by the respondent	2 weeks prior to the endline survey
Experience of physical violence, past two weeks	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of physical violence reported by the respondent	2 weeks prior to the endline survey
Experience of sexual violence, past school term	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of sexual violence reported by the respondent	~4 months (Term 3 of School Year 2023)
Experience of emotional violence, past school term	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of emotional violence reported by the respondent	~4 months (Term 3 of School Year 2023)
Experience of physical violence, past school term	composite scores based on the frequency of different types of physical violence reported by the respondent	~4 months (Term 3 of School Year 2023)
Attitudes towards gender roles and norms	a composite score based on 7 items with a likert-scale	~4 months post-intervention
Attitudes towards SRGBV	a composite score based on 7 items with a likert-scale	~4 months post-intervention
Attitudes towards reporting SRGBV	a composite score based on 2 items with a likert-scale	~4 months post-intervention
Bystander reporting	A binary indicator coded to 1 if adolescent reported any case of violence in the past school term (0/1)	~4 months post-intervention
Attitudes towards bystander intervention (vignettes)	A score based on 2 questions on attitudes towards bystander intervention in hypothetical situations	~4 months post-intervention
Descriptive norms around bystander intervention (vignettes)	A score based on 2 questions on descriptive norms	~4 months post-intervention
Injunctive norms around bystander intervention (vignettes)	A score based on 2 questions on injunctive norms	~4 months post-intervention
Aspiration - education attainment	a variable that indicates the level of formal education the respondent would like to complete	~4 months post-intervention
Aspiration for a career	a binary indicator coded to 1 if adolescent aspires for professional career	~4 months post-intervention
Perceived social support	mean score based on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support	~4 months post-intervention
Anxiety	a composite score based on GAD-7 anxiety scale (Spitzer et al., 1999)	~4 months post-intervention
Perceived safety at school	A composite score of 5 items about whether respondent feels safe at school	~4 months post-intervention
Aspired age of marriage	a binary indicator coded to 1 if adolescent aspires to marry after the age of 18	~4 months post-intervention
Agency	A composite score based on 20 items that measure different aspects of agency, including freedom of movement, voice, behavioral control and decision making, adapted from the Agency Scale from the Global Early Adolescent Study (Zimmerman et al., 2019)	~4 months post-intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Teachers' knowledge of SRGBV	the fraction of correct responses to 12 questions that ask whether an act is considered violence	~4 months post-intervention
Teachers' assessment of school climate	An index based on 17 items that measure to what extent the school climate is safe for both boys and girls	~4 months post-intervention
Attitudes towards gender roles and SRGBV (teachers)	A normalized index based on 16 items that measure attitudes towards gender roles, SRGBV, and support to victims	~4 months post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: World Bank
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Wei Chang, World Bank

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 8, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 19, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 3, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 9, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: p151451

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No