Preventing sexual assault and other violence among adolescents in informal settlements
Preventing sexual assault and other violence among adolescents in informal settlements: A randomized, controlled trial of an empowerment and self-defense intervention in Nairobi, Kenya
Sexual assault incidence for adolescent girls in the informal settlement of Nairobi is as high as 25% annually. Our current research is a cluster-randomized trial of a combined girl’s and boy’s intervention aiming to reduce sexual assault and other forms of violence in this population. It is the largest study to date of an empowerment and self-defense based violence prevention intervention, involving around 5,000 adolescents between 11-15 years of age. Baseline data was collected in 2017; both preliminary data and challenges and successes in research implementation will be discussed.
Dr. Sarnquist focuses on implementation and evaluation of interventions to decrease gender-based violence, improve family planning access and uptake, and enhance child and maternal health both globally and within the U.S. Her work is applied, multidisciplinary research that brings together expertise from varying fields and involves multiple organizations both inside and outside of academia. Clea and Mike Baiocchi (PI on the study) will be available if anyone wants to have a one-to-one talk with them about the study. They would be happy to meet in the morning before the presentation.