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. 2019 Sep 18;18(1):149.
doi: 10.1186/s12939-019-1049-4.

Effects of an empowerment program for survivors of sexual violence on attitudes and beliefs: evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

John Quattrochi  1   2 , Rosalie Biaba  3 , Ragnhild Nordås  4   5 , Gudrun Østby  5 , Susanne Alldén  3 , Aline Cikara  3 , Esther Namegabe  3 , Christina Amisi  3
Affiliations

Effects of an empowerment program for survivors of sexual violence on attitudes and beliefs: evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

John Quattrochi et al. Int J Equity Health. .

Abstract

Background: Women's empowerment may require women to change their beliefs and views about their rights and capabilities. Empowerment programs often target women who have survived sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), with the justification that these women may develop disempowered beliefs as a coping mechanism, or face greater barriers to, or derive greater benefits from, the adoption of empowered beliefs and preferences. We investigated an intensive, six-month residential empowerment program ("City of Joy") for SGBV survivors in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where more than one in five women have experienced SGBV.

Methods: We asked 175 participants about their beliefs and preferences pertaining to political, financial, and domestic empowerment. Interviews took place immediately before and after participation in the program, and we tested for differences in views of empowerment between entry and exit using paired t-tests and McNemar's test. We also conducted 50 semi-structured interviews about empowerment with an additional 30 women who had completed the program up to 5 years earlier and then returned to their home community.

Results: Prior to enrolling in the program, participants had fairly empowered views regarding politics, less empowered views regarding finances, and still less empowered views regarding the domestic sphere. After completing the program, participants had significantly more empowered views in all three domains, particularly regarding domestic violence, how families should treat men and women, and women's economic rights. Participants in their home communities reported taking a more active role in community affairs and speaking out against the mistreatment of women.

Conclusion: This study adds to the evidence that women's empowerment programs can change participants' beliefs and thus increase the confidence with which they participate in their communities and support one another.

Keywords: Attitude; Belief; Democratic Republic of Congo; Empowerment; Gender; Sexual and gender based violence.

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Conflict of interest statement

We wish to draw the attention of the Editor to the following facts which may be considered as potential conflicts of interest. PRIO’s local partner for the research project, the International Center for Advanced Research and Training (ICART) in Bukavu, DRC, has Panzi Foundation DRC as one of its founding partners. Panzi Foundation DRC is also a co-founder of the program under study, City of Joy (the other co-founder being the V-Day Organization). Furthermore, one of the authors of the study, Christine Amisi, also holds a position as a medical doctor at Panzi Hospital, which is the hospital which initiated Panzi Foundation DRC. By nature, since this project is a partnership between PRIO and the International Centre for Advanced Research and Training (ICART) which includes researchers associated with implementing agencies (Panzi Hospital and Panzi Foundation) we cannot guarantee independence of research with complete certainty. However, the researchers involved in the project have never been employed by and are not financially relying on the City of Joy program, or directly affiliated with them. The research partners at ICART have a sincere wish to conduct scientifically sound research in order to inform future project development and to improve various existing support programs. Through regular project meetings and quality control measures in various stages of the research process, we have assured data reliability and analytical rigor.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Participants’ views on political empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Participants’ views on political empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Participants’ views on financial empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Participants’ views on financial empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Participants’ views on domestic empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Participants’ views on domestic empowerment, before and after the program. Percent of participants in the City of Joy empowerment program (n = 175) agreeing or disagreeing with the statements in the figure, before beginning the six-month program (“Before”) and after completion (“After”)
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