Impacts of the Indashyikirwa Program on Intimate Partner Violence in Syria

Impacts of the Indashyikirwa Program on Reducing and Preventing Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Syria

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 Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Decision Making; Empowerment; Intimate Partner Violence (IPV); Gender-Based Violence; Gender Role; Gender Equality; Well-being/Quality of Life
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Indashyikirwa program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Syrian Arab Republic
  • Al-Hasakah, Syrian Arab Republic
    • Syria Resilience Initiative

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Two levels of eligibility:

1. 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).

2. 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.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Indashikirwa program; The group will receive the Indashikirwa program, which includes: Couple curriculum training for both husbands and wives. These sessions focus on promoting joint decision-making and transforming gender norm to promote healthier and more equitable relationships.; Establishment of safe spaces to foster community support and facilitate dialogue around gender-based issues.	Behavioral: Indashyikirwa program; Indashyikirwa training curriculum is delivered to heterosexual married couples in Syrian communities in Al-Hasakah governorate. The curriculum includes between 21 and 22 sessions, delivered to groups of up to 30 couples. Each week, participants will attend one session, lasting at least 3 hours. Topics covered include: gender, power imbalance, triggers for GBV, conflict management, building healthy relationships, and coping mechanisms for managing GBV-related triggers. The curriculum is designed to address both the wife and her husband and includes interactive exercises, take-home assignments, and reflections. The sessions are delivered by trained facilitators.; Other Names: Couple Curriculum
No Intervention: Control group; This arm is the control group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in intimate partner violence incidence over time	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	2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention
Changes in acceptability of wife beating over time	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	2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in the level of conflict in intimate relationships over time	The frequencies of quarrels in the past 12 months, as reported separately by male and female participants	2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention
Changes in the level of marriage satisfaction among couples over time	The reported level of current satisfaction with the marital relationship, as reported separately by male and female participants	2 months, 12 months and 24 months post-intervention
Extent of relationship quality with the partner	Frequency of self-reported experience of trust, care, and respect with the partner, separately for female and male participants	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Level of women involvement in intra-household decision-making	Number of women reporting their ability to make household decisions alone or jointly with their husband, separately for male and female participants	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Extent of spousal support in women's business	Frequency of women's reporting husband's support for their business or economic activities	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Level of women's self-efficacy in economic activities	Frequency of women agreeing with statements on current self-efficacy and confidence in managing business tasks	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Extent of women's mobility and decision-making autonomy	Number of women requiring their husband's permission to access work or health services	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Extent of peer support to women	Number of peers offering direct support to women, as reported by female participants	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Assessing current level of positive well-being among couples	The self-reported level of well-being among women and men, as measured in the survey using the Pearlin Mastery Scale	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Changes in the extent of agreement to favorable gender norms over time	The level of agreement on acceptable gender norms in the home and society, as reported separately by male and female participants	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Changes in household earnings over time	Increase in self-reported household earnings over the past year	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Changes in household food security status over time	Assess household food security status using Food Consumption Score (FCS) and Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS). The higher the scores indicates a better food security status.	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention
Changes in household coping strategies over time	The extent to which households used coping strategies to manage a lack of money or other resources in the past 30 days, measured using the Reduced Coping Strategy Index (rCSI)	2 months, 12 months, and 24 months post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: International Security and Development Center gGmbH
• Collaborators: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth Development Office; Syria Resilience Initiative (SRI)
• Investigators: Study Chair: Tilman Brück, PhD, International Security and Development Center gGmbH

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 3, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 5, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 13, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 13, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Randomised controlled trial; Syria; Heterosexual couple; Gender transformative approach; Conflict settings; Couple curriculum
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-14-AlDaccache

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Due to the sensitive nature of the data collected and the vulnerable context of the participants, IPD will not be shared to ensure confidentiality and safety of participants. The study complies with ethical guidelines and prioritizes safeguarding participants' privacy over data-sharing considerations.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No