Impacts of the Indashyikirwa Program on Intimate Partner Violence in Syria

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

Interventions

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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

  collaborator OTHER

• Syria Resilience Initiative (SRI)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth Development Office

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• International Security and Development Center gGmbH

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Tilman Brück, PhD · International Security and Development Center gGmbH

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-11-03

Primary Completion

2027-10-30

Completion

2028-01-01

Countries

• Syria

Study Locations