Qualitative evaluation of an edutainment intervention to prevent age-disparate transactional sex in Tanzania: Changes in educational aspirations and gender equitable attitudes towards work
Outcomes: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Women’s Economic Empowerment
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways The study demonstrates that edutainment can shift gender norms by modeling alternative roles and behaviors, helping to create an enabling environment where girls’ education is prioritized and restrictive norms—such as male provider expectations and limitations on women’s work—are challenged. These normative shifts matter because they address underlying drivers of age-disparate transactional sex, supporting safer choices and greater gender equity beyond individual knowledge change.
Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the LINEA radio drama intervention on distal drivers of age-disparate transactional sex among adolescent girls in Tanzania, specifically focusing on changes in girls’ educational aspirations and gender-equitable attitudes toward work among both girls and their caregivers.
Methods The study used a qualitative evaluation design embedded within a broader mixed-methods impact assessment. The intervention—a 39-episode edutainment radio drama—was distributed to 331 households. Longitudinal in-depth interviews were conducted with adolescent girls (ages 12–16) and their female and male caregivers at midline and endline. A thematic analysis (both inductive and deductive) was applied to 104 interview transcripts to examine perceived changes in attitudes, beliefs, and social norms. Social norms were assessed indirectly through reported shifts in attitudes, aspirations, and perceived acceptability of behaviors (e.g., women working in male-dominated roles, prioritizing girls’ education), rather than through formal quantitative norms measurement tools.
Results The intervention increased girls’ motivation to focus on their education, strengthened their commitment to long-term goals, and improved their ability to navigate challenges without engaging in transactional sex. Girls also demonstrated greater awareness of sexual and reproductive health risks and their consequences for education. Across participants, there was strong evidence of more gender-equitable attitudes about work, including acceptance of women in traditionally male-dominated roles and increased support for women’s economic participation. Caregivers, particularly women, reported motivation to engage in income-generating activities to better support girls and reduce reliance on transactional relationships. These findings reflect shifts in both individual attitudes and broader social norms.
Conclusions The LINEA radio drama shows promise as a social norms–informed intervention that can influence key contextual drivers of age-disparate transactional sex by reshaping aspirations and gender norms. While further rigorous evaluation is needed to assess sustained behavioral and normative change, the findings suggest that edutainment approaches can complement structural interventions by addressing the social and normative environment, contributing to improved sexual and reproductive health outcomes and more gender-equitable communities.
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