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Gender-based violence is learned, internalized, and reinforced within families: women and girls are most likely to experience violence at the hands of someone they know, most often a male perpetrator with whom they live, and witnessing violence during childhood in the household is a strong predictor of young people perpetrating violence themselves. Given these co-morbidities around experience and perpetration of violence within families, the Sibling Support for Adolescent Girls in Emergencies (SSAGE) program engaged adolescent girls, their male siblings, and their male and female caregivers in conflict-affected communities in Jordan, Niger, and Nigeria. The 12-week gender-transformative approach utilized synchronous life skills sessions with the aim of increasing knowledge and improving attitudes toward power, violence, interpersonal communication, gender, and healthy relationships.
Methods
Implementation of the SSAGE program was complemented by mixed methods research to understand successes and challenges of program contextualization and implementation, as well as outcomes related to gender equity, protection, family functioning, and mental health and psychosocial well-being among participants. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and participatory group activities were conducted with a total of 447 participants in Jordan, Nigeria, and Niger and a survey was administered to 61 participants in Jordan and 406 in Niger. Key informant interviews were carried out with 24 program staff in the three program sites.
Findings
Since its launch in 2020, the SSAGE program has reached a total of 1,353 participants: 390 adolescent girls, 386 male siblings, 295 female caregivers, and 282 male caregivers. Findings from all three program sites suggest changes in family functioning, attitudes toward gender equity, and knowledge of the harmful effects of GBV. In addition, participants expressed an overall appreciation for the SSAGE approach and its involvement of multiple household members. While the program had high participation and acceptability, less is known about the fidelity of implementation. Participants in all three program sites shared learnings that were not necessarily in the program curriculum, and at times these learnings reinforced negative gender attitudes, roles, and norms. SSAGE encountered other implementation and research-related challenges. In Nigeria, COVID-related restrictions required scaling back the number of participants and data collection methods. In Niger, limited literacy among program facilitators and participants complicated curricula contextualization. In Jordan, there was higher participant drop out as some became eligible for external work-related visas during the program period.
Implications and conclusions
The SSAGE program is a promising approach to disrupting inter-generational cycles of violence and increasing the protective assets of adolescent girls in diverse, conflict-affected settings. However, implementing such a novel approach requires ample time to contextualize program materials and work closely with program staff to ensure there is capacity to answer and discuss sensitive issues related to gender equality. Innovative approaches to implementation research would help in understanding the extent to which programming is implemented with fidelity and how best to avoid reinforcing potentially harmful norms and behaviors through gender-transformative programming.