IntroductionGirl child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) persists in South Asia, with long-term consequences for girls. CARE’s Tipping Point Initiative (TPI) addresses the causes of CEFM by challenging repressive gender norms and inequalities. The TPI engages different participant groups on programmatic topics and supports community dialogue to build girls’ agency, shift inequitable power relations, and change community norms sustaining CEFM.Methods/analysisThe Nepal TPI impact evaluation has an integrated, mixed-methods design. The quantitative evaluation is a three-arm, cluster randomised controlled trial (control; Tipping Point Programme (TPP); TPP+ with emphasised social norms change). Fifty-four clusters of ~200 households were selected from two districts (27:27) with probability proportional to size and randomised. A household census ascertained eligible study participants, including unmarried girls and boys 12–16 years (1242:1242) and women and men 25+ years (270:270). Baseline participation was 1134 girls, 1154 boys, 270 women and 270 men. Questionnaires covered agency; social networks/norms; and discrimination/violence. Thirty in-depth interviews, 8 key-informant interviews and 32 focus group discussions were held across eight TPP/TPP+ clusters. Guides covered gender roles/aspirations; marriage decisions; girls’ safety/mobility; collective action; perceived shifts in child marriage; and norms about girls. Monitoring involves qualitative interviews, focus groups and session/event observations over two visits. Qualitative analyses follow a modified grounded theory approach. Quantitative analyses apply intention to treat, regression-based difference-in-difference strategies to assess impacts on primary (married, marriage hazard) and secondary outcomes, targeted endline tracing and regression-based methods to address potential selection bias.Ethics/disseminationThe Nepal Social Welfare Council approved CARE Nepal to operate in the study districts. Emory (IRB00109419) and the Nepal Health Research Council (161–2019) approved the study. We follow UNICEF and CARE guidelines for ethical research involving children and gender-based violence. Study materials are here or available on request. We will share findings through clinicaltrials.gov, CARE reports/briefs and publications.Trial registration numberNCT04015856.
Child Marriage (CM) is one of the major developmental concerns in Bangladesh, reporting one of the highest rates of CM (59%) globally. To date, interventions to address CM in Bangladesh have failed to seriously engage with social norms that are important contributors to CM. This paper describes the evaluation design of the Tipping Point Initiative that aims to reduce CM through social norm change and increasing adolescent girls’ agency to voice their rights. The Tipping Point Initiative evaluation trial employs a mixed method design. The quantitative component includes a three-arm Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial design, where Arm 1 receives Tipping Point Program (TPP); Arm 2 receives Tipping Point Program Plus (TPP+), a social norms-enhanced version of TPP; and Arm 3 is the Control. The trial covers 51 clusters (villages) in
Pirgacha
, in Rangpur district, randomized into three study arms (17 per arms). From each cluster, a cohort of 25 adolescent girls aged 12–<16 years were selected randomly for participation in the survey and intervention. Further, a cross-section of adults (six males and six females) were randomly selected from each cluster for survey. Qualitative baseline data were collected from two purposively selected intervention villages in each intervention arm. Thirty In-Depth Interviews, eight Key Informant Interviews and 16 Focus Group Discussion were conducted with adolescent girls, boys, adult women and men. Same strategies have been followed at endline. The intervention was implemented from April 2019 to December 2020. The endline was conducted 10 months after the end of intervention. Intention-to-treat analysis approach will be used for impact assessment. Both narrative analysis and Grounded Theory approach will be employed in analysing qualitative data. The learnings are expected to inform programs and policies regarding what works and does not work to address CM in such social norms intervention in Bangladesh.
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