What does it take to prevent violence against women and HIV?
This is the driving question behind the SASA! study. This study, a unique collaboration between Raising Voices, CEDOVIP, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Makerere University is investigating the impact of the SASA! approach in communities in Kampala.
The SASA! study is a pair-matched cluster randomized controlled trial being conducted in eight communities in Kampala. It is one of the few cluster randomized trials globally to assess the community wide impact of a violence prevention intervention.
The study assesses the community-level impact of SASA! on the following primary outcomes:
- Attitudes towards the acceptability of violence against women and the acceptability of a woman refusing sex (among male and female community members).
- Past year experience of physical intimate partner violence and sexual intimate partner violence (among females).
- Community responses to women experiencing violence (among women reporting past year physical/sexual partner violence).
- Past year concurrency of sexual partners (among males).
In addition to the trial, the SASA! study includes:
Extensive qualitative research to explore the nature and dynamics of social change and the diffusion of ideas.
A costing study to assess the cost effectiveness of SASA!.
What does it mean?
The multi-disciplinary research approach enables us to address questions of intervention impact and mechanisms of action, as well as its feasibility and transferability to other contexts.
Results
The results are encouraging and hold important lessons for moving forward in the prevention of violence against women and HIV. Results launches are taking place now in Kampala and around the region.
August and September’s events included a:
- Launch with our Local Advisory Committee and Board Members to share results with the groups who supported and helped lead the process.
- Launch with the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development Officials and Members of Parliament to share results and discuss implications for policy and programming for the Government of Uganda.
- Launch with Gender Donors in Kampala. This was a joint event held with Irish Aid at the Irish Mission to share results with funders and discuss implications for future funding of VAW prevention.
- Public Launch in Kampala with academics, policy makers, civil society, police, health care officials, UN agencies, funders and researchers. Over 80 community members joined us to share results, discuss implications for Ugandan government, civil society and research.
- Public Launch in Nairobi with more than 40 academics, Government of Kenya Officials, civil society, UN agencies, and donors. Anne Gathumbi, Board Chairperson at Raising Voices and Director of Learning, Evaluation and Achievement Program at the Open Society Institute opened the event. Saida Ali, Executive Director of the Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) also did a presentation on how SASA! is being implemented in Kenya.
- Community Activist Launch for Community Activists in both Makindye and Rubaga to share results, get feedback, and celebrate!
We look forward to sharing more about the compelling results with you. Watch this space!