Completed Mental Health Public Health & Healthcare

Community interventions for primary and secondary prevention of violence against women and girls: a cluster randomized controlled trial in urban India

Funder Wellcome Charity-funded
Recipient organisation University College London
Funding £2.4M
Period Jul 2017 — Jul 2022

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

In Mumbai slums, community volunteers and women's groups will test whether grassroots action can reduce how many women experience violence. One in three women in India have survived physical or sexual violence, yet rigorous trial evidence for community-based solutions remains scarce. This cluster randomised trial compares 24 neighbourhoods that receive both support services and community mobilisation activities with 24 that receive support services alone. After three years, researchers will measure changes in intimate partner violence, domestic violence, community attitudes, bystander intervention, and gender equality. If the intervention works, it could provide a replicable, community-led model for tackling a major public health burden—not just in India, but in other urban settings where violence against women and girls is widespread. The approach builds on sixteen years of programmatic experience and two years of formative research, so the design is grounded in real-world practice rather than theory alone. Success would mean that local volunteers and discussion groups, not just formal services, can become a scalable part of the solution.

View original technical description
In a cluster randomised controlled trial in Mumbai slums, we will test the effects of community mobilisation through groups and individual volunteers on the prevalence of violence against women and girls. One in three women in India have survived physical or sexual violence, making it a major public health burden. Reviews recommend community mobilization to address violence, but trial evidence is limited. Already implemented in other areas, our intervention has been developed over 16 years of programmatic experience and two years of formative research. Guided by a theory of change, we will compare 24 areas receiving support services, community group, and volunteer activities with 24 areas receiving support services only. These community mobilisation activities will be evaluated through a follow-up survey after three years. Primary outcomes will be prevalence of intimate partner violence, and prevalence of domestic violence, in the preceding year. Secondary outcomes will describe disclosure of violence to support services, community attitudes to violence, bystander intervention, gender equality, and prevalence of non-partner sexual violence. Backed by public engagement, advocacy, and open publication, our vision is of a replicable community-led intervention to address the public health burden of violence against women and girls.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

David Osrin (EPMC Awardee)

Related Research

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intervention for primary and secondary prevention of gender-based violence in India
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Original classification

Senior Research Fellowship Clinical Renewal

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.