Tackling Violence against Women: From Knowledge to Practical

30 Yet the authors of this report would argue that appraisals of the kind being
discussed can only benefit from triangulation using different methods to
confirm findings. programming interventions planned on a larger scale to
address violence cross-sectorally also require a greater array of assessment
tools. A multi-method toolkit is needed to facilitate an understanding of
complex interacting violence dynamics and to enable decision-makers to
plan engagements that integrate different levels of analysis (OECD, 2009).
TAckliNG ViolENcE AGAiNsT WomEN
5� support a comprehensive evaluation toolkit for VaW
prevention and reduction programming
programming to reduce or prevent VAw follows three distinct, yet interrelated,
tracks: law and justice, the provision of services, and violence reduction and
prevention interventions. All three tracks have grown substantially in the
last decade, while remaining uneven in geographic and programming scope
terms. 30 A few countries have even gone further to adopt multi-sector national
strategies to combat VAw (Travers et al., 2008).
Solid interventions that have proved to be effective in preventing and reducing
VAw are increasing. Three are mentioned here:
The Safe Dates programme is a school and community initiative for
13–15-year-old boys and girls. A ten-session programme targets attitudes
and behaviours associated with dating abuse and violence among peers
(wHO, 2009, p. 5). The sessions cover subjects such as defining caring
relationships and dating abuse, means of helping friends, equalizing
power through communication, and preventing sexual assault. participants
in the programme produce a play and posters for community communication,
and there is also a parental component. The programme was
originally funded by the University of North Carolina and the Centers for
Disease Control and prevention. In randomized controlled trials, the
programme has been shown to have lasting effects on dating partner
violence. Originating in the United States, the Safe Dates programme is
now being implemented in an adapted form in South Africa (Ashley and
Foshee, 2007; MRC, 2009).
Stepping Stones is another promising example. It is a community-based
life skills training intervention, carried out in parallel for single-sex
groups of women and men, that was first used in Uganda in 1995. It has
subsequently been implemented in more than 40 countries, mostly in Africa
and Asia. The project is delivered through a series of small group, participatory
learning activities based on critical education theory and the use of
assertiveness training techniques, and theatre and drawing exercises.