African Operations Research (Business/Math crossover) | 03 April 2010
Gender-Based Violence Community Dialogue Sessions in Urban South Africa: An Effectiveness Study
N, o, l, w, a, n, d, l, e, N, g, c, o, y, a, ,, S, i, y, a, b, o, n, g, a, M, k, h, i, z, e, ,, M, a, n, g, o, s, u, t, h, u, X, u, l, u
Abstract
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant public health issue in urban South Africa, affecting both women and children disproportionately. Community dialogue sessions have been proposed as an intervention to reduce GBV incidents among perpetrators. A mixed-methods approach, including surveys and focus group discussions, was employed. Data were collected from a sample of 300 participants in three urban areas. Community dialogue sessions led to significant reductions (p<0.05) in reported incidents of GBV perpetration among male participants compared to baseline levels. The effectiveness of community dialogue sessions was confirmed, with a notable decrease in perpetrators' GBV-related behaviors post-intervention. Policy makers should consider implementing and funding more community dialogue sessions as part of comprehensive GBV prevention strategies. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.