Essential Gender-Based Violence Services and Prevention Project in Malawi

  • P Project/Program

I Inactive

Key Information

WEI/Bantwana implemented a comprehensive school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) prevention and response program in 43 secondary schools in Malawi, reaching 12,000 student and 17,000 community members with interventions at the individual, school, household and community level: 1. Built the agency of adolescent girls and boys to promote gender equality and to recognize and report violence through Protect Our Youth Clubs (POY) . Organized inter-school competitions and information dissemination to increase awareness of SRGBV prevention and response. Post-test results indicate that POY increased positive attitudes towards gender equality and decreased tolerance of violence among students. Qualitative results show that POY helped students recognize forms of GBV and report it, to challenge gender norms in a safe space, and to empower girls to better protect themselves from SRGBV. 2. Trained 417 teachers and administrators on child rights, teacher misconduct and positive discipline to reduce SRGBV. Trained Mother Groups on case management and creating a supportive school environment. Introduced student dropout early warning system to retain at-risk students in schools. Organized GBV awareness Bonanzas where 3,249 students accessed critical health, justice and social protection services. 3. Strengthened capacity of 6,046 caregivers to prevent violence and support girls’ education through Village Savings and Lending Associations and positive parenting training. 4. Enhanced community efforts to respond to GBV by engaging duty bearers through interface meetings; platforms that provide students an opportunity to engage service providers and local leaders to hold them accountable for their conduct and service delivery.


Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawi

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2017 - 2019

Partner(s)

EngenderHealth, Coalition of Women Living with HIV & AIDS (COWLHA), Tovwirane, Women's Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) and Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO)

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

National

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Other skills

  • Financial literacy
  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Social and emotional learning

Quality

  • School-related gender-based violence

Cross-cutting areas

  • Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Community sensitization
  • Early/child marriage
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Empowerment
  • Gender equality
  • HIV and STIs
  • Sexual harassment & coercion
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Girls in school, Mothers, Youth

Age

13 - 19

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Lower secondary

Other populations reached

  • Boys (both in school and out of school)
  • Community leaders
  • Fathers
  • Other caregivers
  • Other community members - female
  • Other community members - male
  • Parent-teacher associations/school management committees
  • Religious leaders
  • School administrators
  • Teachers - female
  • Teachers - male

Participants include

  • Orphans and vulnerable children

Program Approaches Back to Top

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • Mothers' clubs

Life skills education

  • Gender, rights and power
  • Negotiation skills
  • Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building

Reducing economic barriers

  • Financial literacy training
  • Microcredit

School-related gender-based violence

  • Safe channels/mechanisms for reporting violence
  • Training of school personnel (including teachers)
  • Violence prevention curriculum/activities for students

Social/gender norms change

  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Work with community leaders
  • Work with religious leaders

Women's empowerment programs

  • Self-help groups (non-financial)

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Improved social and emotional learning/skills and mindsets
  • Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
  • Increased secondary school completion
  • Increased years of schooling
  • Reduced absenteeism

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved financial literacy and savings
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased knowledge of HIV, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health
  • Increased knowledge of rights
  • More equal power in relationships
  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms
  • Reduced adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Reduced intimate partner violence
  • Reduced poverty/increase household well-being
  • Reduced school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV)
  • Reduced STI/HIV/AIDS
  • Reduced violence against children in the home