A social empowerment intervention to prevent intimate partner violence against women in a microfinance scheme in Tanzania: findings from the MAISHA cluster randomised controlled trial
Themes:
Saidi Kapiga, Sheila Harvey, Gerry Mshana, Christian Holm Hansen, Grace J Mtolela, Flora Madaha, Ramadhan Hashim, Imma Kapinga, Neema Mosha, Tanya Abramsky, Shelley Lees, Charlotte Watts
The Lancet Global Health, 2019;
MAISHA social empowerment RCT findings
Globally, about 30% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence, or both, from an intimate partner during their lifetime. Associations between poverty and women's increased risk of intimate partner violence have been observed. STRIVE consortium members, the Mwanza Intervention Trials Unit (MITU) and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, assessed the effect of a violence prevention intervention delivered to women participating in a group-based microfinance scheme in Tanzania. The cluster randomised trial found that:
- reported physical or sexual intimate partner violence, or both, was reduced among women who participated in the intervention arm
- the effect was greater for physical intimate partner violence
The findings from the MAISHA study suggest that intimate partner violence is preventable in high-risk settings such as Tanzania.
For more information and a range of resources on MAISHA, see the project page.
