A BehaviorBased Intervention That Prevents Sexual Assault: the Results of a MatchedPairs, ClusterRandomized Study in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Design The study’s design was a clusterrandomized, matchedpairs, parallel trial of a behaviorbased sexual assault prevention intervention in the informal settlements. Methods The participants were primary school girls aged 10–16. Classroombased interventions for girls and boys were delivered by instructors from the same settlements, at the same time, over six 2h sessions. The girls’ program had components of empowerment, gender relations, and selfdefense. The boys’program promotes healthy gender norms. The control arm of the study received a health and hygiene curriculum. The primary outcome was the rate of sexual assault in the prior 12 months at the cluster level (school level). Secondary outcomes included the generalized sel fefficacy scale, the distribution of number of times victims were sexually assaulted in the prior period, skills used, disclosure rates, and distribution of perpetrators. Difference indifferences estimates are reported with bootstrapped confidence intervals.