December 2020 ENGAGING MEN TO TRANSFORM GENDER ATTITUDES AND PREVENT INTIMATE-PARTNER VIOLENCE IN THE GENDER INNOVATION LAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO The Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) conducts impact evaluations of Authors: Kathryn Falb, Mazeda Hossain, Rocky Kabeya, Estelle Koussoubé, development interventions in Milli Lake, Chloé Lewis, Rachael S. Pierotti, Danielle Roth, and Julia Vaillant Sub-Saharan Africa, seeking to generate evidence on how to close gender gaps in KEY MESSAGES earnings, productivity, assets, • Over a third of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have and agency. The GIL team is experienced physical or sexual intimate-partner violence (IPV) in the past currently working on over 70 impact evaluations in more than year (2013-2014 DHS). In this context, the Africa Gender Innovation 25 countries with the aim of Lab (GIL) in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) building an evidence base with tested the effectiveness of the Engaging Men through Accountable lessons for the region. Practice (EMAP) program. The impact objective of GIL is • EMAP is a male-only discussion group intervention aimed to prevent IPV, increasing take-up of effective and to transform gender attitudes and couples’ power dynamics; all male policies by governments, development organizations, discussion groups are informed by and accountable to women’s groups and the private sector in the community. to address the underlying causes of gender inequality • The EMAP program significantly improved the quality of the couples’ in Africa, particularly in terms relationships, and led to changes in men’s behaviors that are often of women’s economic and associated with IPV, like reduced alcohol consumption. Further, the study social empowerment. The Lab found that the discussion groups led to improvements in men’s gender aims to do this by producing and delivering a new body equitable attitudes—reducing their support for violence against women, of evidence and developing a and increasing their support for a woman’s right to refuse to have sex. compelling narrative, geared • Despite these changes on the journey to IPV prevention, female partners towards policymakers, on what works and what does not work of male EMAP participants reported, on average, no change in the levels in promoting gender equality. of IPV that they experienced. http://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/africa-gender-innovation-lab • The in-depth qualitative study of the EMAP program intervention created for men and women from found continued support for men’s position of conflict affected communities, which aims to reduce dominance in the household. The qualitative work violence against women and girls by addressing its found that though men did change their day-to- root causes. EMAP includes a 16-week men-only day practices, like participation in housework, discussion group developed by the IRC designed to they maintained control of any changes in their engage men in transformative individual behavior household—indicating a lack of willingness to change guided by the input and realities of the women relinquish authority. in their communities. Through the discussion series, • Increasing the intensity of the intervention or the program develops a cohort of male allies who layering of interventions to address contextual practice and promote gender equity, and do not utilize factors—such as economic stress, community- violence. Male participants in the program develop level norms about gender and IPV, or conflict- the skills to rethink their belief systems and spark management skills—could be critical elements individual behavioral change to prevent IPV. Specific to add to an IPV-prevention program to realize topics ranged from the underpinnings of masculinity, to change in IPV. causes and consequences of violence against women and girls, and opportunities for positive role modeling. WHY ENGAGE MEN TO PREVENT IPV? The empowered cohort can then help to transform gender relations in the community. Many factors can contribute to higher prevalence of violence against women in conflict-affected settings, To explore the impact of this model on the prevalence including normalization of violence, economic instability, of IPV, GIL and the IRC worked with 1,300 men and increased psychological distress within families. and 1,200 women across 28 communities using a Across the DRC, its prevalence is widespread; evidence matched-pair cluster randomized design. The 28 has indicated that violence against women and girls villages were divided into pairs that were matched occurs early, and can remain present over the course of based on sociodemographic characteristics. Within their lives. In addition to the critical need for women to each pair of villages, one site was randomized to either be free from violence in their daily lives, IPV has further the treatment or control group. In addition, extensive negative impacts: it can be a barrier to economic and qualitative research captured baseline gender social empowerment. attitudes through in-depth interviews in all treatment Engaging men to improve gender attitudes, beliefs, communities and examined processes of change using and behaviors, especially through sustained and highly a variety of qualitative and ethnographic research intensive approaches can be a promising strategy methods throughout program implementation in six to prevent violence, as male partners are the key communities. perpetrators of IPV against women in heterosexual Adult men over the age of 18 were eligible to participate relationships. in the program. Participants were also required to have lived in the community for at least six months with plans HERE’S WHAT WE DID to continue living there for an additional six months, to In collaboration with the IRC, GIL evaluated the impact have the ability to actively participate in the group, and of the Engaging Men through Accountable Practice to commit to refraining from violence for the duration of (EMAP) program, a 10-month primary prevention the program. HERE’S WHAT WE FOUND at least in some of the sessions, in a carefully designed Intent to treat results show that the frequency of women’s intervention could potentially promote accountability and reports of IPV (i.e. physical, sexual and emotional more meaningfully transform gender power dynamics violence, and economic abuse) remained stagnant within households. Complementing EMAP’s individual across both treatment arms. However, EMAP led to behavior-change focus with work that targets community positive impacts on other outcomes: an improvement leaders—to support deep engagement with social norms in men’s gender attitudes, a reduction in their support change at the community level—could help to engender for violence against women, and an increase in support transformative change. Further research on the impact for a woman’s right to refuse to have sex. And further, of IPV prevention interventions should systematically EMAP led to more gender-equitable behavioral changes, incorporate measurement of indirect effects on other including greater participation of men in housework. members of the community, to further understand Men and women shared more information about community level dynamics and capture potential negative their income with their spouses, and intra-household or positive spillovers, including longer term follow up. cooperation improved. Women reported that the quality In addition, it is possible that while men’s intention to of their relationship improved. commit violence was reduced – as men’s self-reported One potential explanation for the stagnant levels of IPV outcomes indicates – greater investment in male is that expectations of male dominance in the household participants capacity to identify and address potential did not undergo a shift. The study showed that though harmful behaviors is needed to avoid perpetration of men did change their day-to-day practices, like a greater violence within the households. The EMAP program participation in housework, they maintained control did not include activities on conflict management which of any changes in their household. Participating men could help realize these changes. Further consideration demonstrated greater willingness to promote a more of the broader context of the program may also be equal division of labor than to establish a relationship necessary in order to generate IPV reduction. Addressing based on the equal sharing of authority. Including women, economic stress of households, including the economic GRAPH 1: WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF PHYSICAL OR SEXUAL IPV (PAST 12 MONTHS) 50% 48.5% 47.7% 48.5% 49% 40% Percentage 30% 20% 10% 0% Pre-EMAP Post-EMAP EMAP Control Note: No statistically significant differences between treatment and control in women’s experience of IPV at follow-up. GRAPH 2: CHANGES IN MEN’S GENDER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS 50% 40% 35.0% 33.6% 35.5% Percentage 30% 26.3% 20.4% 20% 13.2% 15.0% 13.0% 10% 0% Pre-EMAP Post-EMAP Pre-EMAP Post-EMAP Believes in any justification Believes in ability of woman to of wife beating refuse sex for all reasons 100% 83.35 80% Percentage 59.70 61.12 60% 40% 28.10 20% NA* NA NA NA 0% Pre-EMAP Post-EMAP Pre-EMAP Post-EMAP Number of minutes per day men Number of minutes per day spent on domestic tasks men spent on childcare EMAP Control * Not administered at baseline Note: Highly statistically significant differences between treatment and control in men’s gender equitable attitudes and behaviors at follow-up. empowerment of women may be a meaningful programmatic addition. In eastern DRC, an economic empowerment intervention found strong trends towards reduction of IPV 18 months post-intervention. Despite the stagnant levels of IPV, the changes in men’s attitudes and behaviors suggest that in the long term, there is the possibility of improvements in well-being that could break the cycle of violence. Preliminary analyses also suggest that the EMAP program may be effective in reducing violence for some subgroups of men. An upcoming note will elaborate on these results. In North and South Kivu, gender inequality is deeply entrenched, and EMAP may be one important component of reducing men’s use of IPV and transforming gender relations over the long term. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Markus Goldstein mgoldstein@worldbank.org Amy Copley acopley@worldbank.org Photo credit: Vincent Tremeau, World Bank 1818 H St NW Washington, DC 20433 USA This work has been funded in part by the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), which is a multi-donor trust fund www.worldbank.org/africa/gil administered by the World Bank to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through experimentation and knowledge creation to help governments and the private sector focus policy and programs on scalable solutions with sustainable outcomes. The UFGE is supported with generous contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.