Results support the efficacy of group CPT to increase dimensions of social capital among survivors of sexual violence in a low-income conflict-affected context.

BackgroundViolence against adolescent girls in humanitarian settings is of urgent concern given their additional vulnerabilities to violence and unique health and well-being needs that have largely been overlooked by the humanitarian community. In order to understand what works to prevent violence against adolescent girls, a multi-component curriculum-based safe spaces program (Creating Opportunities through Mentorship, Parental involvement and Safe Spaces – COMPASS) will be implemented and evaluated. The objectives of this multi-country study are to understand the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of COMPASS programming to prevent violence against adolescent girls in diverse humanitarian settings.Methods/designTwo wait-listed cluster-randomized controlled trials are being implemented in conflict-affected communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (N = 886 girls aged 10–14 years) and in refugee camps in western Ethiopia (N = 919 girls aged 13–19 years). The intervention consists of structured facilitated sessions delivered in safe spaces by young female mentors, caregiver discussion groups, capacity-building activities with service providers, and community engagement. In Ethiopia, the research centers on the overall impact of COMPASS compared to a wait-list group. In DRC, the research objective is to understand the incremental effectiveness of the caregiver component in addition to the other COMPASS activities as compared to a wait-list group. The primary outcome is change in sexual violence. Secondary outcomes include decreased physical and emotional abuse, reduced early marriage, improved gender norms, and positive interpersonal relationships, among others. Qualitative methodologies seek to understand girls’ perceptions of safety within their communities, key challenges they face, and to identify potential pathways of change.DiscussionThese trials will add much needed evidence for the humanitarian community to meet the unique needs of adolescent girls and to promote their safety and well-being, as well as contributing to how multi-component empowerment programming for adolescent girls could be adapted across humanitarian settings.Trial registrationClinical Trials NCT02384642 (Registered: 2/24/15) & NCT02506543 (Registered: 7/19/15).

BackgroundAudio-Computer Assisted Self- Interview (ACASI) is a method of data collection in which participants listen to pre-recorded questions through headphones and respond to questions by selecting their answers on a touch screen or keypad, and is seen as advantageous for gathering data on sensitive topics such as experiences of violence. This paper seeks to explore the feasibility and acceptability of using ACASI with adolescent girls and to document the implementation of such an approach in two humanitarian settings: conflict-affected communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and refugee camps along the Sudan-Ethiopia border.MethodsThis paper evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of implementing ACASI, based on the experiences of using this tool in baseline data collections for COMPASS (Creating Opportunities through Mentorship, Parental involvement, and Safe Spaces) impact evaluations in DRC (N = 868) and Ethiopia (N = 919) among adolescent girls. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were generated to examine associations between understanding of the survey and selected demographics in both countries.ResultsOverall, nearly 90 % of girls in the DRC felt that the questions were easy to understand as compared to approximately 75 % in Ethiopia. Level of education, but not age, was associated with understanding of the survey in both countries.ConclusionsFinancial and time investment to ready ACASI was substantial in order to properly contextualize the approach to these specific humanitarian settings, including piloting of images, language assessments, and checking both written translations and corresponding verbal recordings. Despite challenges, we conclude that ACASI proved feasible and acceptable to participants and to data collection teams in two diverse humanitarian settings.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13031-016-0098-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background.Conflict-affected communities face poverty and mental health problems, with sexual violence survivors at high risk for both given their trauma history and potential for exclusion from economic opportunity. To address these problems, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of a group-based economic intervention, Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA), for female sexual violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Methods.In March 2011, 66 VSLA groups, with 301 study participants, were randomized to the VSLA program or a wait-control condition. Data were collected prior to randomization, at 2-months post-program in June 2012, and 8-months later for VSLA participants only. Outcome data included measures of economic and social functioning and mental health severity. VSLA program effect was derived by comparing intervention and control participants' mean changes from baseline to 2-month follow-up.Results.At follow-up, VSLA study women reported significantly greater per capita food consumption and significantly greater reductions in stigma experiences compared with controls. No other study outcomes were statistically different. At 8-month follow-up, VSLA participants reported a continued increase in per capita food consumption, an increase in economic hours worked in the prior 7 days, and an increase in access to social resources.Conclusions.While female sexual violence survivors with elevated mental symptoms were successfully integrated into a community-based economic program, the immediate program impact was only seen for food consumption and experience of stigma. Impacts on mental health severity were not realized, suggesting that targeted mental health interventions may be needed to improve psychological well-being.