A Congolese–US participatory action research partnership to rebuild the lives of rape survivors and their families in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Glass, Nancy; Ramazani, Paul; Tosha, Mafille; Mpanano, Mitima; Cinyabuguma, Matthias

doi:10.1080/17441692.2011.594449

Cited by 37 publications

(62 citation statements)

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“…Our implementing partner had the expertise and access to engage traditional and administrative village leaders in productive and culturally appropriate economic activities that supported the participation of men and women. 27 Partnerships have the benefit of also building local capacity to provide economic and other development initiatives, which is a critical step to ending a dependence on humanitarian aid and progress to sustainable development that will advance wealth, health and gender equality. It is certain that credit and productive asset transfer programmes alone will not solve the multiple challenges facing families in conflict-affected settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 In 2010, Programme d'Appui aux Initiatives Economiques (PAIDEK), a Congolese microfinance organisation and the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing ( JHSON) joined in collaboration to improve household economic stability, health and safety in rural Eastern DRC. 27 The partners adapted their experience in microcredit, knowledge of productive asset transfer programmes, health and women's empowerment to the DRC context and developed Pigs for Peace (PFP). PFP is a hybrid programme that integrates microcredit and productive asset transfer principles.…”

Section: Key Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…27 PFP uses pigs as productive assets because they are an important source of economic stability and social status with no cultural or religious taboos or gender-based responsibilities related to raising, breeding or selling. The partners revised the 'granting' of the productive asset, a female piglet aged 2-4 months to a productive asset 'credit' to participating households.…”

Section: Study Design and Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Randomised controlled trial of a livestock productive asset transfer programme to improve economic and health outcomes and reduce intimate partner violence in a postconflict setting

et al. 2017

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BackgroundDiverse economic empowerment programmes (eg, microcredit, village-led savings and loan, cash and productive asset transfers) for the poor have demonstrated mixed results as vehicles for improved economic stability, health and women's empowerment. However, limited rigorous evaluations exist on the impact of financial and non-financial outcomes of these programmes, especially in conflict-affected areas.MethodsThe team evaluated the effectiveness of an innovative livestock productive asset transfer intervention—Pigs for Peace (PFP)—on economic, health and women's empowerment outcomes with participants in households in 10 villages in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Residual change analysis was used to examine the amount of change from baseline to 18 months between the intervention and delayed control groups, controlling for baseline scores.FindingsThe majority of the 833 household participants were women (84%), 25 years of age or older, married, had on average 3 children and had never attended school. At 18 months postbaseline, the number of participants in the PFP households having outstanding credit/loans was 24.7% lower than households in the control group (p=0.028), and they had an 8.2% greater improvement in subjective health (p=0.026), a 57.1% greater reduction in symptoms of anxiety (p=0.020) and a 5.7% greater improvement in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (p<−0.001). At 18 months postbaseline, partnered women and men reported a reduction in experience and perpetration of all forms of intimate partner violence, although not statistically significant between groups.InterpretationThe findings support scalability of a livestock productive asset transfer programme in rural and conflict-affected settings where residents have extremely limited access to financial institutions or credit programmes, health or social services and where social norms that sustain gender inequality are strong.Trial registration numberNCT02008708.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Key Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Design and Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Randomised controlled trial of a livestock productive asset transfer programme to improve economic and health outcomes and reduce intimate partner violence in a postconflict setting

et al. 2017

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“…[13] PFP provides a loan to interested and committed households in the form of a 2 to 4 month-old female pig. The PFP microfinance approach uses pigs as a loan because livestock/animals are an important source of economic security and status, similar to a savings account, in rural villages and there are no cultural or religious taboos or gender-based responsibilities related to raising a pig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most rural villages in the target area for this study have reported the loss of land and essential tools for farming resulting in limited agricultural productivity. [12], [13] Food insecurity in rural Eastern DRC has been well noted [14]–[16] [17] specifically that household members typically eat one meal a day and eat the same food every day (e.g., sweet potatoes, corn, cassava) with very limited access to protein from meat, eggs or milk. The looting or loss of animals (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock/Animal Assets Buffer the Impact of Conflict-Related Traumatic Events on Mental Health Symptoms for Rural Women

Glass¹,

Perrin²,

Kohli³

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

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Background In the context of multiple adversities, women are demonstrating resilience in rebuilding their futures, through participation in microfinance programs. In addition to the economic benefits of microfinance, there is evidence to suggest that it is an effective vehicle for improving health. Methods The parent study is a community-based trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a livestock microfinance intervention, Pigs for Peace (PFP), on health and economic outcomes with households in 10 villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The analysis for this manuscript includes only baseline data from female participants enrolled in the ongoing parent study. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine if livestock/animal asset value moderates the relationship between conflict-related traumatic events and current mental health symptoms. Findings The majority of women are 25 years or older, married, have on average 4 children in the home and have never attended school. Nearly 50% of women report having at least one livestock/animal asset at baseline. Over the past 10 years, women report on average more than 4 (M = 4.31, SD 3·64) traumatic events (range 0–18). Women reported symptoms consistent with PTSD with a mean score of ·2.30 (SD = 0·66range 0–4) and depression with a mean score of 1.86 (SD = 0·49, range 0–3.47). The livestock/animal asset value by conflict-related traumatic events interaction was significant for both the PTSD (p = 0·021) and depression (p = 0·002) symptom models. Interpretation The study provides evidence of the moderating affect of livestock/animal assets on mental health symptoms for women who have experienced conflict. The findings supports evidence about the importance of livestock/animal assets to economics in rural households but expands on previous research by demonstrating the psychosocial effects of these assets on women's health. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT02008708

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Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lwamba¹,

Shisler²,

Ridlehoover³

et al. 2022

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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Background Across the globe, gender disparities still exist with regard to equitable access to resources, participation in decision‐making processes, and gender and sexual‐based violence. This is particularly true in fragile and conflict‐affected settings, where women and girls are affected by both fragility and conflict in unique ways. While women have been acknowledged as key actors in peace processes and post‐conflict reconstruction (e.g., through the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda) evidence on the effectiveness of gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions to improve women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected states and situations (FCAS) remains understudied. Objectives The purpose of this review was to synthesize the body of evidence around gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions aimed at improving women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected settings with high levels of gender inequality. We also aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that could affect the effectiveness of these interventions and to provide implications for policy, practice and research designs within the field of transitional aid. Methods We searched for and screened over 100,000 experimental and quasi‐experimental studies focused on FCAS at the individual and community levels. We used standard methodological procedures outlined by the Campbell Collaboration for the data collection and analysis, including quantitative and qualitative analyses, and completed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methodology to assess the certainty around each body of evidence. Results We identified 104 impact evaluations (75% randomised controlled trials) assessing the effects of 14 different types of interventions in FCAS. About 28% of included studies were assessed as having a high risk of bias (45% among quasi‐experimental designs). Interventions supporting women's empowerment and gender equality in FCAS produced positive effects on the outcomes related to the primary focus of the intervention. There are no significant negative effects of any included interventions. However, we observe smaller effects on behavioural outcomes further along the causal chain of empowerment. Qualitative syntheses indicated that gender norms and practices are potential barriers to intervention effectiveness, while working with local powers and institutions can facilitate the uptake and legitimacy of interventions. Conclusions We observe gaps of rigorous evidence in certain regions (notably MENA and Latin America) and in interventions specifically targeting women as actors of peacebuilding. Gender norms and practices are important elements to consider in programme design and implementation to maximise potential benefits: focusing on empowerment only might not be enough in the absence of targeting the restrictive gender norms and practices that may undermine intervention effectiveness. Lastly, programme designers and im...

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A Congolese–US participatory action research partnership to rebuild the lives of rape survivors and their families in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Cited by 37 publications

References 9 publications

Randomised controlled trial of a livestock productive asset transfer programme to improve economic and health outcomes and reduce intimate partner violence in a postconflict setting

Randomised controlled trial of a livestock productive asset transfer programme to improve economic and health outcomes and reduce intimate partner violence in a postconflict setting

Livestock/Animal Assets Buffer the Impact of Conflict-Related Traumatic Events on Mental Health Symptoms for Rural Women

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

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