Monitoring and Evaluation of Gender-Based Violence: Methodologies and Field Implications

Dr. Charlotte Watts, Dr. Shelah Bloom, Dr. Margaret Greene, and Dr. Sunita Kishor spoke at the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG) seminar on November 25 2008, in Washington, DC, United States. Below are excerpted sections from the Rapporteur's text of each presentation. Click here to access a page on the IGWG website with links to the full presentations, and other information.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Programs: Insights from the International Men and Gender Equality Study (IMAGES) and SASA Studies

"Dr. Watts opened the day’s discussion by affirming the need for strong monitoring and evaluation methodology to improve research and influence policy.... From her experience, there are certain questions that policy makers want answered: is the intervention feasible, is it cost effective, and can it be scaled up. [She] presented lessons learned and challenges from her recent work. Each ...demonstrated the importance of a mixed-methods approach that uses quantitative studies at baseline and post-intervention and complementary qualitative research with participants, project staff and key stakeholders. Three lessons from the three studies were presented:

1. It is important to have a clear conceptual framework to guide evaluation. The SASA! intervention used the behavioral change steps of start, awareness, support then action to figure out the context, range of activities, immediate and long-term outcomes, and impacts on violence and HIV behaviors;
   
2. It is useful to have multiple forms of evidence. The IMAGE study used quantitative measures to find decreased vulnerability in the microfinance community. In-depth interviews were used to find out how women were responding, i.e. were their relationships changing, seeking divorce, taking a greater role in family finances, etc.; and
   
3. Costing is an important element of an intervention evaluation. Economic data is seldom mentioned though it’s central to argue the affordability, financial value and feasibility of scaling up. For example, in the IMAGE study, the trial cost US $43/woman, and once the study had been scaled up it only cost $13/woman."

Challenges observed include: 1) violence may appear to increase after an intervention because women may feel more comfortable in reporting violence; 2) GBV [gender-based violence] research isn’t predictable (as drug trials are, for example), and change is not as easily reported to donors; and 3) evaluations are difficult and getting reliable evidence on impact is not easy - control communities are difficult to establish, particularly when they, too, ask for interventions.

Violence Against Women and Girls: A Compendium of Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators

"Dr. Shelah Bloom presented MEASURE Evaluation’s new compendium of ... M&E indicators [Violence Against Women and Girls [VAW/G]: A Compendium of Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators] that can be used in the field. MEASURE started with an extensive literature review to see what programs were using and what they needed, and to identify existing sources of data that could be used for new indicators..... [A] technical advisory group [TAG examined] indicators [including] prevalence measures for the magnitude and characteristics of different forms of VAW/G, programmatic sectors, under-documented forms of violence and emerging areas, and prevention programs.... A list of suggested indicators is available in the back of the publication.... [The compendium has been used] in the aftermath of the Kenya election, in assessing Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and in the provision of short M&E trainings for people who would like to use the compendium..... MEASURE will partner with programs to test validity and reliability by region in order to modify them for cultural contexts."

Evidence to Support the Scale-up of Work with Men: Men and Gender Equality Policy Project

"Dr. Greene stated that men and masculinities need to play a greater role in the global gender discourse... The Men and Gender Equality Policy Project has used the concept of masculinities to map different gender differentials. Men don’t always uses the services available to them, there are structural difficulties in making good policies work, and there is still some resistance to working with men. Greene said the gender discourse is often framed in terms of women. Programming has a tendency to focus strongly on the health sector, and purely regards men as helpers of mothers instead of focusing on their full roles as household members and fathers. A key question for policy development is not if men are changing, but how and why are they changing? Since men and masculinities are changing all of the time, the project has asked what are the factors associated with that change. The increasing evidence base indicates that interventions are working, but little scaling up has occurred.... To change policy, it needs to be approached at the legal, institutional and individual level. It is also important to look at how to make gender equality a more accessible concept to more people. The project goals are: to increase men’s visibility in conversations about gender equality, to look at influences to individual behaviors and change structures, and to study how to move gender equitability from the feminist movement to the mainstream."

The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)/Promundo project partnership has four activities: 1) comparative research consisting of a policy scan, qualitative study of men in non-traditional caregiving roles, and the quantitative IMAGES; 2) a conceptual framework and national policy advocacy briefing for each setting; 3) a comparative analysis and framework for international use - accompanied by policy analysis tool-kit and policy briefings held internationally; and 4) a video documentary of men and change in diverse settings to present alternate discourse on men and change.

"The policy analysis included drug laws, parental leave, and violence - all possible areas that might directly or indirectly affect the lives of men. The qualitative component, titled “Men Who Care,” works with men in paid or unpaid care giving work such as preschool teachers, nurses or stay at home fathers. The IMAGES study includes questions on family background and influences, if a man was subject to violence or harassment of any kind as a child in his family, the nature of his intimate relationships, time use, contraceptive use, support for partner in seeking services, attitudes regarding sexual orientation, knowledge and attitudes of laws and policies, perceptions of gender split in workplace, and general attitudes toward gender equality. In hopes of unique comparative data, the study will be conducted with 1500 men ages 18-59 and 500 women in two urban areas, with a goal of 90% of questions in the final instruments will be common across all countries, and up to 10% country specific. Dr. Greene invited any other country partners interested in participating to contact her."

Dr. Kishor summarised the session messages of each presenter as follows:

Dr. Watts: evaluation of these projects is essential, "and more importantly, it is doable. There are certain essential things that need to be incorporated in the way we do these evaluations. There are methodological signs, ethics involved in all sides. Also, if we ignore the economics we are then ignoring the possibility of allowing these projects to grow. To maintain research ethics, we must remain objective."

Dr. Bloom: there is "an obvious field need for this work and underlines the difficulty of dealing with the issue of men."

Dr. Greene: working with and for men can be done without "undermining the efforts of gender equality. Gender equality can only be attained by a joint effort between men and women."