Impact Examples: Girls' and Women's Empowerment

Domin Nakloke (Unlocking Love)

Domin Nakloke (Unlocking Love) is an entertainment-education film series in Timor-Leste that explores issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, gender equality, and healthy relationships. Centred around the trials and tribulations of a group of best friends, its intended audience is young people.

The first 3 episodes - titled Selfie, Shout It Out, and No Means No - were shown to viewer groups with 186 students (110 females and 76 males) aged from 16-20 years old. Baseline, endline, and follow-up data were collected in late 2017.

Selected findings:

• With regard to Shout It Out, viewers were asked if they witnessed gender-based violence (GBV) happening in their community what would they do in order to get help. Before viewing, 63% said they would help, and 56% of them could list a way could list a way to help. After viewing, 96% said they would help, and 91% could list a way they would help the victim.
• When viewers of Selfie were asked if they think it is good to use violence to control their romantic partner when in a relationship, before viewing, 33% said "yes"; after viewing, this percentage had decreased to just 3%.
• Those interviewed reported having shared information with their friends from the films, including 41% of males reporting that they had reminded other males to not sexually harass others, and 59% of males reporting that they reminded others to not use violence against their romantic partner.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the HERhealth Model for Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Knowledge and Access of Female Garment Factory Workers in Bangladesh

This 2017 evaluation of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)'s HERhealth model, conducted by the Evidence Project/Population Council, offers evidence and recommendations for effective programming to improve the health of women workers in garment factories in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The intervention is 18 months long and delivered via Peer Health Educators (PHEs) through a series of workplace trainings. The report presents findings from: a pre- and post-intervention quantitative study of female factory workers from 10 factories; a qualitative study with factory managers, service providers, and implementing partners; and self-administered retention assessments of PHEs from 6 factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj districts of Bangladesh.

Sample findings:

• Among the workers at intervention factories, there was a steep and highly significant increase in the use of sanitary pads between baseline and endline (from 23% to 72%).
• The STI awareness of workers from intervention factories increased from baseline (28%) to endline (75%), an increase (47 percentage points) that was found to be highly significant (p-value <0.001).
• Workers in intervention factories reported a change in knowledge regarding at least 4 antenatal care (ANC) visits during pregnancy (from 48% to 66%), while workers in control factories reported a decrease in knowledge for this indicator (from 46% to 43%).
• Between baseline and endline, use of any FP methods or any modern FP methods increased only among the workers in intervention factories (from 65% to 72%, for any FP method, and from 56% to 61%, for any modern FP method). A significant decrease among workers from control factories in use of any FP method (from 70% to 67%) and any modern FP method (from 61% to 55%) suggests that the positive outcomes observed at intervention factories may be attributable to the HERhealth intervention.

Intervening to Reduce Violence against Women and Girls: Lessons from the Do Kadam Programme in Bihar for Programme Implementation and Evaluation

India's Do Kadam Barabari Ki Ore (Two Steps Towards Equality) programme was an effort to address a perceived dearth of evidence on what works and what does not work to change notions of masculinity and femininity, reverse norms at community level that condone marital violence, and reduce women's experience of intimate partner violence. In brief, the activities included: providing gender transformative life skills education and sports coaching to boys and young men; empowering women and addressing violence against women through self-help groups (SHGs); modifying behaviours and notions of masculinity through a programme led by locally elected representatives; and screening and referring women experiencing marital violence by frontline community and health workers.

A 2017 evaluation found:

• By the end of the programmes, 72% of boys in intervention clubs compared to 60% of those in the control clubs said that a man has no right to beat his wife if she goes out without telling her husband, and 60% of SHG members in the intervention arm believed that a man has no right to exercise control over what his wife does, compared to 44% of those in the control arm.
• 40% of boys in the intervention clubs compared to 27% of those in control clubs reported they had intervened to stop an incident of violence. While only 18% and 7% of women who had experienced physical and/or sexual violence had sought help from family and friends or a formal source of help, respectively, prior to the intervention, these percentages increased by endline to 50% and 23% among those who had disclosed their experience to a frontline worker (FLW).

Shaping Futures: Planning ahead for Girls' Empowerment and Employability

The Planning Ahead for Girls' Empowerment and Employability (PAGE) programme, funded by MacArthur Foundation, was designed to build empowerment and employability skills among adolescent girls (ages 15-17) from low-income communities in 4 government schools in New Delhi, India. The project's two main goals were to build girls' self-efficacy and build their ability to identify, and to plan and realise, their future personal and professional goals. First, the girls participated in a curriculum that focused on two components: Empowerment and Employability. Second, for engaging parents with the programme, organisers conducted bi-monthly community outreach sessions during the summer of 2015 with mothers, fathers, and other community members related to the girls who participated in the programme.

In late 2016, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and the Magic Bus India Foundation conducted an evaluation of the programme to better understand the programme's effect on girls. Seven purposively sampled government schools in New Delhi participated in the study, of which there were 4 intervention schools and 3 control schools.

Sample findings:

There was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of girls who sought information about their future goals in both intervention and control schools, but the increase was higher in the intervention schools. Using a difference in difference (DiD) approach, the researchers found a statistically significant difference between the two groups for the statements such as "I like to go to school because my peers accept me" or "I like to go to school because my teachers accept me." They also found a positive and significant effect of the intervention itself on interest in schooling (peer and teacher engagement) using a DiD multivariate analysis. There was an improvement in peer interactions for girls in intervention schools as compared to control schools. There was also a positive effect on girls' perception around schools as a learning environment through teacher interaction.

Pop Culture with a Purpose: Violence against Women in Bangladesh - Edutainment

By challenging existing gender norms, values, and attitudes that perpetuate the various forms of violence against women (VAW) and their underlying causes, the Pop Culture with a Purpose project in Bangladesh aspired to contribute to changes that allow women and girls to lead a violence-free life. The project combined interactive, modern communications tools, including televised docudramas and public service commercials, and traditional edutainment, such as pot songs (a popular traditional song) and street theatre, together with targeted and more intense school and community interventions in 10 select locations in the Khulna Division. In addition, organisers developed behavioural change communication (BCC) publications/materials and held capacity-building interventions. The various forms of media and culture were all based on the same message: Don't blame the girls; listen to girls, trust and stand by them.

An evaluation published in October 2016 found:

The study showed a positive and significant improvement in terms of knowledge-awareness and behaviour on sexual violence against adolescent girls in the household and community. For example, knowledge of the project beneficiaries of various types of sexual violence increased by 158.5% in intervention area, whereas the knowledge increased by only 52.4% in control area [see Figure 1]. More than 3,000 students (60% of whom were girls) and 3,000 parents reported changing their values and attitudes towards sexual violence against adolescents. The highest number (93%) of the respondents said they were highly influenced by the project's drama regarding increasing their knowledge, awareness, and behaviour on sexual violence against adolescent girls. The findings showed that other edutainment components used in this project - e.g., video show, mobile van show, pot song, etc. - had significant effect on improving knowledge and awareness on sexual violence. About 95% of the respondents said they would support a girl if she experienced any kind of sexual violence.

Towards Gender Equality: The GEMS Journey thus Far

The Gender Equality Movement in Schools (GEMS) is a school-based primary violence prevention programme for young Indian adolescents studying in grades 6-8. GEMS draws its approach and strategies from 4 conceptual pillars: starting young, engaging both girls and boys in the gender discourse, using a gender transformative approach, and using institutional settings for normative change. In Jharkhand, GEMS was implemented and evaluated in 80 schools across Ranchi and Khunti districts from 2014-2016.

The randomised trial involved 3,069 students (1,764 girls and 1,305 boys) from the 80 schools in Jharkhand - 40 schools where GEMS is being implemented, and 40 comparison schools. Data collection was carried out at a) baseline (July-August 2014); b) midline - after the first year of intervention (February-March 2015); and c) endline (January 2016). In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with a select cohort.

Findings confirm the value of school-based prevention approaches that begin in early adolescence, when ideas about gender and violence are still being formed. Select findings:

• There was a positive and significant shift in attitude with respect to gender and violence among students in intervention schools - The net increase in the mean score, adjusted for background characteristics, is significant for both girls [Adjusted DiD (difference-in-differences) =2.3; p<0.01] and boys [Adj DiD=3.8; p<0.01]. There is a significant increase in the proportion of students in the high equitable category in intervention schools over time (2% to 14%) than comparison schools (1% to 7%) and even higher reduction in proportion of students in low equitable category – 47% to 35% in intervention, while 49% to 44% in comparison schools.
• At baseline, 31% students from GEMS schools and 33% from comparison schools disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: It is fine for teachers to give physical punishment to students in certain situations. The proportion of such students increased to 56% at endline in intervention schools and 40% in non-GEMS schools.
• A higher proportion of students disapproved of peer-based violence in intervention schools (40% to 67%) than in comparison (40% to 50%), with net increase of 15% adjusted to background characteristics (p<0.01).
• GEMS was found to improve communication among peers (e.g., there is a net increase of 16% in proportion of girls and boys who reported sharing a desk in the classroom) and between students and teachers, increased comfort in interaction with the persons of other sexes, and enhanced agency to seek information and voice their opinion.
• Boys from GEMS schools reported increase in positive action in case of physical violence (tried to stop perpetrator or reported to a teacher or principal) [Adjusted DID=10.6%, p<0.01] and reduction in use of violence (hitting or using abusive language against the perpetrator) [Adjusted DID=-14.8%, p<0.01] to stop emotional violence than non-GEMS schools over time. On the other hand, there was a significant increase in the proportion of girls reporting positive action in case of emotional violence [Adj DID = 9.7%, p<0.01] and decline in negative action (enjoyed or joined the perpetrator) in case of sexual violence [Adj DID = -21.1%, p<0.01] in GEMS schools over time compared to non-GEMS schools.
• Significantly lower proportions of students from comparison schools reported perpetrating violence in last 3 months in school at endline as compared to intervention school. Proportion of such students declined from 49% to 35% in comparison schools, while the change was from 50% to 44% in intervention schools over time.

Delaying Child Marriage through Community-Based Skills-Development Programs for Girls: Results from a Randomized Controlled Study in Rural Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi Association for Life Skills, Income, and Knowledge for Adolescents (BALIKA) project is a randomised controlled trial to evaluate approaches to prevent child marriage and improve life opportunities for girls. More than 9,000 in- and out-of-school girls aged 12-18 in 72 communities in 3 districts of Bangladesh that are considered "hotspots" for early marriage (Khulna, Satkhira, and Narail) participated. Communities were assigned to 1 of 3 arms in which girls received either (i) education support through tutoring in math and English; (ii) training on gender rights and negotiation, critical thinking, and decision making; or (iii) livelihoods training in entrepreneurship, mobile phone servicing, photography, and basic first aid. All of the girls met weekly with locally selected young female mentors and peers in safe, girl-only locations, called BALIKA centres.

At baseline, 11,609 respondents were interviewed between March and August 2013. The endline survey, which began after programme implementation was completed and was conducted between August and November 2015, involved a total of 9,982 interviews.

In terms of BALIKA impact:

• Girls in BALIKA communities were nearly one-third less likely to be married as children than girls living in communities not reached by the BALIKA project (0.69-0.77 relative odds adjusted for age, religion and family wealth status). By the end of the study, girls who were not married at baseline were one-fourth less likely to be married (0.76–0.78 relative odds adjusted for age, religion, and family wealth status).
• In BALIKA communities where girls received educational support, girls were 31% less likely to be married as children at endline than girls in the control communities.
• In communities where girls received lifeskills training on gender rights and negotiation, critical thinking, and decision making, girls were 31% less likely to be married as children at endline than girls in the control communities.
• In communities where girls received livelihoods training in entrepreneurship, mobile phone servicing, photography, and basic first aid, girls were 23% less likely to be married as children at endline than girls in the control communities.
• Compared to girls outside BALIKA communities, the study found that girls participating in the project were: 18% more likely to be attending school; 20% more likely to have improved mathematical skills if they received education support and gender-rights awareness training; and one-third more likely to be earning an income if they received gender-rights awareness or livelihoods skills training.

Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Sexual and Gender-based Violence Prevention Project for In-school Girls in Swaziland

The Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) uses a "Safe Spaces" approach to build girls' social assets in order to mitigate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). The goal of the Girls' Empowerment Clubs Plus (GEC-Plus) project was to prevent SGBV and improve reporting such cases among in-school girls. The core elements of the approach are: a safe place for vulnerable girls, friendship structures, and mentors.

Sample findings from a December 2013 evaluation report:

• There were significant improvements in girls' social assets as a result of the interventions: There were significant increases between baseline and endline in the proportions of girls that reported that they were engaged in an income-generating activity (from 6% to 13%), had many friends in the neighbourhood (from 41% to 52%), had two or more close friends they could confide in (from 60% to 74%), or that they were taking part in extra curricula activities (from 68% to 100%).
• There were significant improvements in awareness about SGBV among girls as a result of the interventions: For example, the proportion of students who reported that girls in their institutions were teased or subjected to verbal sexual harassment significantly increased from 24% at baseline to 38% at endline.
• There were significant positive changes in the attitudes of students regarding sexual and gender-based violence: Students reported significant positive changes in 13 out of a total of 21 items used to measure attitudes towards SGBV.

From Access to Inclusion: Educating Clients

This report addresses the use of 2 strategies - mass media campaigns and one-to-one outreach by financial institutions - to provide financial education to low-income women in order to promote increased usage of financial products. It provides case studies of 3 communication projects:

1. in the Dominican Republic, Women's World Banking worked with Banco ADOPEM to develop and pilot an 18-episode soap opera, Contracorriente, which combined education and entertainment to encourage women to open a savings account and to save regularly.
2. Women's World Banking partnered with an existing social soap opera, Mucho Corazon, in Chiapas, Mexico, to develop and integrate financial education messages and storylines about the principles of savings in 7 episodes during a 10-week period.
3. Women's World Banking partnered with the producers of Makutano Junction, a weekly television drama set in a typical Kenyan village, to develop a storyline that featured a fictitious bank branch whose manager launched a campaign to get more women to save - Nawiri Dada, meaning "Sisters Achieve" in Swahili.

In addition, in India, Women's World Banking developed and piloted a process involving the provision of short, frequent financial education messages when clients are open to receiving them, rather than trying to fit classroom training into their busy lives. It centred on SEWA's doorstep banking services run by saathis: trusted women from the community who act as credit and savings collection officers and are a source for clients' account details. In the field, the saathis' new mobile devices, which had a visual follow-up calendar and a customer identification system were used to show financial education videos to customers during home visits and to graphically illustrate how customers' accounts were growing.

 A 2013 evaluation showed:

• Watching Contracorriente 5 times or more had a positive impact on viewers' financial management as measured by: reducing personal or household expenditures; having a household budget or regularly putting money aside; and scoring higher on a household financial management index. Those who identified with a character or theme in the show had an especially strong increase in financial management. Throughout the duration of the project, from September 2011 to September 2012, there was a 37% growth in active savings accounts, from 73,049 to 99,814. The average account balance also grew by 29%, from DOP 871 to 1,124 (or about US$21 to 28). Twenty-seven percent of the active account holders and 13% of the inactive account holders who participated in the training showed a 10% or more increase in their account balances in the 3 months following training. This was in comparison to the control groups in which only 3% of inactive clients and 8% of the active clients drove a comparable increase in the same period.
• 83% of Makutano Junction viewers said they had received financial information from TV in the last 3 months; and 63% of viewers, compared with 40% of those who hadn't seen the show, said that TV provided the most useful information on the topic. Impact study results revealed that viewers were more likely than non-viewers to know basic account information that had been presented on the show. Furthermore, among viewers of the show, approximately 138,000 low-income women opened accounts during the campaign. There was no change in account ownership among non-viewers. Makutano Junction was a leading driver for women who opened an account as a result of the Nawiri Dada campaign: 38% cited it as primary reason, while 62% said it was the secondary reason. Non-viewers were almost twice as likely as viewers to have withdrawn from a savings account 3 or 4 times in the last 3 months (38% vs. 20%); this corresponds to storylines that discussed the value of using a bank account to save toward a goal.
• At the end of the pilot involving saathis in India, 47% of customers who went through the training increased their savings by 10% or more, vs. 15% of customers in the control group. Of those whose accounts had been deactivated, 71% who went through the training began saving again with SEWA Bank, compared with 7% in the control group.

Improving the Lives of Married Adolescent Girls in Amhara, Ethiopia: A Summary of the Evidence

Ethiopia's Towards Economic and Sexual Reproductive Health Outcomes for Adolescent Girls (TESFA) project focused on empowering married girls with reproductive health and financial knowledge and skills. Community members, including village elders, religious leaders, and health workers, were recruited as a part of Social Action and Analyses groups (gatekeeper) and, through a peer-based education system, "undertook critical dialogue and reflection on the factors that contribute to early and forced marriage."

To test the impact of offering sexual reproductive health (SRH) and economic empowerment, or EE (financial skills and livelihood training) separately or together, the participating girls were divided into 4 groups. One group received EE information and guidance, a second received training in issues related to their SRH, and a third received programming that combined the two. A comparison group received a delayed version of the combined curriculum.

Published in 2013, the evaluation noted the following impacts:

• By the end of the programme, 36% more girls in the EE and SRH arms and over 40% of girls in the combined group were engaged in work for pay, than at the beginning of TESFA. There was a roughly 27% increase in the comparison group. the number of girls who stated that they saved some of their earnings was much greater in the TESFA groups, with 28% in the EE group, 23% in the combined group, 20% in the SRH group, and only 3% in the comparison group reporting saving any earnings.
• Girls who participated in the TESFA project demonstrated increased knowledge around topics such as maternal health and family planning. The greatest increase in use of contraceptives was found to be in the SRH and combined groups; in the SRH arm, 78% of the girls were using family planning by the end of the project, an increase of 27%. There was a 15% increase in the combined groups, and while the EE and comparison groups had less change, there was some increased family planning in these groups as well.

Filles Eveillés ("Girls Awakened"): A Pilot Program for Migrant Adolescent Girls in Domestic Service in Urban Burkina Faso

By providing migrant adolescent domestic workers in urban Burkina Faso with a safe space, access to peers, and a female mentor, Filles Eveillées ("Girls Awakened") seeks to increase their opportunities and reduce their vulnerabilities.

 An evaluation of the Population Council's 2011-2012 (first cohort) of the intervention shows early success in engaging the intended population. For example:

• Positive changes were observed in awareness of steps to be taken to improve one's health; at baseline, only 10% knew that a girl could perform a breast self-exam, compared with 54% at endline. The post-test showed that almost all girls agreed that they could better manage their health after participating in Filles Eveillées. Filles Eveillées also explores attitudes concerning health-seeking behaviour. When asked why some girls their age visit health centres, only 12% of baseline respondents knew that health centres can provide health information, but this increased to 50% at endline.
• Awareness of at least one place in the community that provided family planning methods increased from 67% at baseline to 91% at endline. Knowledge of where to go within the community in the event of rape or harassment was less than one-fifth at baseline and improved to almost one-half at endline.
• Girls' savings behaviours improved from baseline to endline, and, at endline, girls were more likely to report saving for emergencies and problems than at baseline. The percentage of girls saving in a bank or through a tontine (an investment plan for raising capital) increased from baseline to endline. Likewise, girls' reported improvement in savings goals from baseline to endline. Girls' reported ability to talk with employers about money also improved from baseline to endline (49% to 78%).

Impact of Multimedia Communication Campaign "Diz NÃO à Violência Doméstic" (Say NO to Domestic Violence)

In 2008, N'weti, a Mozambican non-for-profit organisation that uses communication strategies and advocacy to promote health, launched a multimedia communication campaign entitled "Diz NÃO à Violência Doméstica" (Say NO to Domestic Violence). The campaign consisted of print materials, short films, documentaries, a radio phone-in programme, a radio drama, and radio advertisements. One of the objectives of the campaign was to enact social change for the reduction of domestic violence. In 2011/2012, Tulane University was commissioned to conduct an evaluation of N'weti's interventions, including the domestic violence campaign.

Evaluation findings:

Exposure was associated with knowledge of sexual violence as a crime, with respondents disagreeing with norms stating that it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife (% disagree is 82.8% vs 61.7%) and that sexual violence is a crime (59.0% vs 40.4%). After controlling for other factors, exposure to the programme was associated with both outcomes measuring community involvement - exposed youth were more likely to agree that leaders in their community speak out against domestic violence (23.4% vs 11.1%) - and observations that people in their community are coming together to speak out about domestic violence (21.4% vs 11.1%).

Evaluating the Impact of Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent (ELA)

BRAC's Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescent (ELA) programme, carried out in Uganda, involves microfinance/livelihoods aspects such as clubs, training, microfinance, and parental/community elder meetings. The evaluation design included 50 villages that received: a baseline survey; the establishment of adolescent development clubs (ADCs); a first follow-up survey; an offering of a microfinance programm; and asecond follow-up survey. The second group of 50 villages received the same activities except for the microfinance component. Another 50 villages were surveyed as control villages, receiving the 3 surveys only.

July 2012 data indicate:

• In the intervention villages, the percentage of girls who have savings increased 18.5% compared to 5.6% in the control village. Impact on health knowledge is reported as increases in: 46.9% in HIV knowledge, 16.6% in sexually transmitted infection (STI) knowledge, 19.1% in 'always use condom'; and 8.1% in other contraception. Decreases include: 13.7% had sex unwillingly, 3.4% have children, .9% currently pregnant, 1.3% contracted STI.
• The programme shows increases in poultry rearing, food processing, and small trade, among other microenterprise, as well as increases in financial knowledge and literacy, entrepreneurship ability, bank savings, income, microfinance loan, and loan from a parent.
• Comparing the 3 groups: the group with microfinance access showed a 67% rate of 'always use a condom' in the follow-up survey; the participant group without microfinance training showed a 54% increase; and the control group showed a 38% increase. Of the same 3 groups, after the establishment of clubs for the first 2 groups and the microfinance programme for group 1: in group 1, 44% more girls were engaged in income earning; in group 2, 15% more; and 14% more from the control group were engaged in income earning.

Impact Evaluation of the Campaign Violence against Women: A Disaster that We Men Can Avoid

Puntos de Encuentro's campaign "A Disaster that We Men Can Avoid" had a goal of raising consciousness among men and promoting changes in attitudes in order for men to accept responsibility for avoiding violence in Nicaragua.

An evaluation published in January 2012 found, for example:

• Among all men interviewed, men who had learned about the campaign agreed 15% more often that men can avoid violence (84% vs. 69%).
• 85% of the men who heard about the campaign agreed that violence against women does have a negative impact on community development, while only 70% of men who hadn't seen the campaign felt the same. After the campaign, the number of men who agreed that "violence against women is as big a disaster as Hurricane Mitch" had increased by 10% to a total of 91% of those interviewed agreeing that violence directly affects families and causes material and physical damage including death.

Violence against Women - Puntos de Encuentro

This evidence shows the impact of an entertainment-education strategy for changing attitudes and knowledge regarding violence against women through the Nicaraguan feminist organisation Puntos de Encuentro's initiative Somos Diferentes, Somos Iguales (SDSI) and, more specifically, through the TV show "Sexto Sentido". Three quantitative surveys were carried out in 3 cities - Estelí, Juigalpa, and Leó - during the period the SDSI strategy was implemented: 2002-2005.

Sample findings:

• Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated 33% greater probability of knowing a centre that provides attention for cases of domestic violence. Twenty-three percent of those respondents who know a centre that provides attention for cases of violence attribute this knowledge to SDSI exposure.
• 29% of those respondents who in the last 6 months have been to a centre that attends to cases of domestic violence attributed visits to SDSI exposure.
• Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated 62% greater probability of having talked with someone in the last 6 months about domestic violence, HIV, homosexuality, or the rights of young people. (Specifically on domestic violence: 53%). Twenty-one percent of those respondents who had talked to someone about one of these topics in the last 6 months attribute those conversations to SDSI exposure.
• Participants with greater exposure to SDSI demonstrated higher values in the power and control index (i.e., the person's sense of equal power in their couple relationships) than respondents with less exposure, despite an overall reduction in the population (p = 0.025).

African Transformation

The African Transformation (AT) project aims to promote gender equity, participatory development, and community action by bringing women and men together in a participatory workshop-style setting to explore and discuss how various aspects of gender impacts their well-being. During community-based workshops, participants view audio and video profiles of women, men, and couples from Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia who are considered role models who have overcome gender barriers and challenges in their own lives.

The evaluation survey took place in Uganda between June and July of 2006. The study population consisted of 116 women and 109 men who had participated in at least 3 AT sessions and the same number of both women and men who were enrolled in AT, but had not yet participated.

Sample findings:

• Participants were more likely to have started a new business (49.1% compared to 28.7%), worked to improve the community (82.8% compared to 71.3%), or taken part in efforts to eliminate harmful traditional practices (34.5% compared to 19.1%).
• Participants, male as well as female, expressed a significantly more equitable view of men's and women's roles than was true of non-participants. Both male and female participants were significantly more likely to say they could take action to reduce violence against women and that they could perform tasks not traditionally associated with their own gender. AT participants who took part in 5 or more sessions were significantly more likely to score higher on the gender-equity scale. One particularly illustrative question on the scale asks respondents if they agree or disagree with the statement: "There are times when a woman deserves a beating". Nearly 90% of men and 85% of women who attended 5 or more sessions disagreed, as compared to only 70% of male and 65% of female non-participants.
• Female participants were more likely to talk to other women about negotiating techniques (75% compared to 61.9%).