Effective prevention of intimate partner violence through couples training: a randomised controlled trial of Indashyikirwa in Rwanda
Outcomes: Gender‑Based Violence, Women’s Economic Empowerment
View SourceKey Social Norms Take-aways Indashyikirwa’s couples’ training effectively challenged and shifted harmful gender norms by reducing the acceptability of IPV, transforming beliefs around male dominance, and strengthening norms around mutual respect and communication. The programme demonstrated that directly engaging couples can alter relationship dynamics and foster broader social norm change, including promoting community action against IPV.
Objectives To assess the impact of the Indashyikirwa couples’ curriculum—a gender-transformative programme—on the prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural Rwanda.
Methods A cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted across 28 sectors in Rwanda, comparing sectors receiving the full Indashyikirwa programme to those receiving only village savings and loan association (VSLA) activities. Sixty couples per sector were recruited, and outcomes were assessed through baseline and follow-up surveys at 12 and 24 months using validated tools, including WHO IPV measures. Analysis used intention-to-treat and mixed-effects modeling.
Intervention Details Indashyikirwa included a 21-session participatory couples’ curriculum focused on power dynamics, communication, and conflict resolution, adapted from Journeys of Transformation and SASA! The broader programme also involved community activism, training of opinion leaders, and support for IPV survivors through women’s safe spaces.
Results At 24 months, women in the intervention arm were significantly less likely to report past-year physical and/or sexual IPV (adjusted relative risk [aRR]=0.44), and men were less likely to report perpetration (aRR=0.54). Additional benefits included lower acceptance of wife beating, improved communication and conflict management, enhanced trust, better mental health, reduced corporal punishment of children, increased household earnings, and greater food security.
Conclusions The Indashyikirwa couples’ training was highly effective in reducing IPV and improving relationship quality. Its success in shifting gendered social norms and behaviors suggests that scale-up and adaptation in similar contexts should be seriously considered. Working with couples proved both safe and impactful in addressing IPV in a way that aligns with the social and economic realities of participants.
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