Impacts of the Indashyikirwa Program on Intimate Partner Violence in Syria

NCT ID: NCT06735417

Last Updated: 2024-12-16

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 1200 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-11-03
• Study Completion Date: 2028-01-01

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.

Conditions

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV); Well-being/Quality of Life; Decision Making; Gender-Based Violence; Gender Equality; Gender Role; Empowerment

Keywords

Syria; Heterosexual couple; Gender transformative approach; Conflict settings; Randomised controlled trial; Couple curriculum

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Indashikirwa program

The group will receive the Indashikirwa program, which includes:

1. 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.

2. Establishment of safe spaces to foster community support and facilitate dialogue around gender-based issues.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Indashyikirwa program

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

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.

Control group

This arm is the control group

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Couple Curriculum

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

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.

• Women who are unmarried, divorced, or widowed.
• Women who do not reside with their husbands in the same household.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Syria Resilience Initiative (SRI)

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth Development Office

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

International Security and Development Center gGmbH

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ghassan Baliki

Research program director

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Tilman Brück, PhD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

International Security and Development Center gGmbH

Locations

Syria Resilience Initiative

Al Ḩasakah, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria

Countries

Syria

Other Identifiers

2024-14-AlDaccache

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id