This document reviews the empirical evidence of what works in low- and middle-income countries to prevent violence against women by their husbands and other male partners. The purpose of the report is to help inform the future direction of DFID programming on violence against women with an eye towards maximising its impact and ensuring the best use of scarce resources. It primarily emphasises partner violence, which is only one of many forms of violence against women.
The review focuses on efforts to prevent partner violence, rather than evaluating services that are available for victims. In focusing on prevention rather than mitigation or response, the review concentrates on interventions designed to reduce the overall level of violence in the medium to long term. The review prioritises programmes that have been evaluated using rigorous scientific designs, emphasising formal impact evaluation. It concentrates on summarising: 1) evidence that establishes the link between key factors and risk of partner violence; and 2) the effectiveness of interventions to reduce partner violence by influencing these factors.
Key Findings:
- The evidence base that currently assesses the effectiveness of programmes is highly skewed toward high-income countries, especially the United States. The extent to which these findings are relevant to other economic and cultural settings is uncertain.
- Among strategies to shift norms, attitudes and beliefs related to gender, the two that have been most rigorously evaluated are: 1) small group, participatory workshops designed to challenge existing beliefs, build pro-social skills, promote reflection and debate, and encourage collective action; and 2) larger-scale “edutainment” or campaign efforts coupled with efforts to reinforce media messages through street theatre, discussion groups, cultivation of “change agents” and print materials. Both these strategies have demonstrated modest changes in reported attitudes and beliefs—and in some cases, reductions in reported rates of partner violence.
- While the link is well established, far less is known about the mechanisms through which early exposure to violence increases the risk of future perpetration. Research from high-income studies has demonstrated that early exposure to violence can leave emotional and development scars that predispose a child to later behavioural problems, including poor school performance, bullying, and anti-social behaviour in adolescence. Left unchecked, this developmental pathway is highly predictive of later engagement in partner violence.
- Various strategies have been effective in reducing the harmful consequences of drinking. The include brief counselling interventions implemented by health workers; self-help support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous; and reducing the general availability of alcohol by increasing taxation, passing and enforcing laws restricting sale and purchase, and regulating the density of outlets where alcohol can be obtained.
- Microfinance schemes can have either a positive or negative effect on a woman’s risk of partner violence, depending on other aspects of her situation. However, most currently available studies come from one country, Bangladesh, so the broader relevance to other settings is not clear. Similarly, evaluations of conditional cash transfers have focused almost exclusively on Mexico’s Oportunidades programme and shows mixed effects on partner violence.
- The effectiveness of legal reform as a mechanism to redefine the boundaries of acceptable behaviour is theoretically strong, but studies documenting its impact in this regard are largely absent. A wide range of innovative strategies are underway in developing countries that have yet to be evaluated, including experiments with restorative justice, protective orders, and non-formal approaches to public shaming and community sanctioning.
