Findings from studying the commonalities and differences of two gender transformative interventions in Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo

• In Event: Gender transformative education a catalyst for the next generation of male advocates for gender equality.

Proposal

Gender inequality has a profound influence on health worldwide. Yet, the focus of global health policy and programming has primarily focused on girls and young women, which has brought enormous gains in many areas, such as access to education, reproductive health care, and political and economic participation. Among boys and young men, however, progress in health has been modest at best. This highlights the critical importance of understanding the extent to which gender norms shape the health trajectories of both boys and girls.
While programmatic efforts are growing, there is a lack of understanding of when best to intervene and how interventions that target unequal gender norms work across a diversity of social contexts and populations. To address these gaps, this initiative was launched to provide longitudinal evidence on gender socialization and health among very young adolescents, aged 10-14 years (VYAs) and the impact of associated gender-transformative interventions.
The present panel presentation offers a unique perspective from the study of the commonalities and differences in the shifts of gender norms perceptions and related health outcomes following two gender transformative interventions conducted in urban educational centers of Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Growing Up Great! (GUG!), a multi-level gender transformative intervention implemented in Kinshasa among in-school and out-of school VYAs. The second intervention is SETARA, a school-based comprehensive sex education program among VYAs implemented in three districts in Indonesia. Both interventions incorporate gender transformative approaches differently, with GUG! focusing on household chore sharing as a means for shifting rigid gender norms, while SETARA promotes more equitable gender attitudes as an intermediate outcome towards improving sexual well-being among VYAs.
Both interventions were evaluated through a quasi-experimental study. In Kinshasa (DRC), adolescents were interviewed in 2017 and one year later (n = 2,519). In Indonesia, baseline data was gathered in 2018 and was follow-up in 2020 in Bandar Lampung (n = 948), Denpasar (n = 1,156), and Semarang (n = 1,231). Outcomes evaluated included sexual, reproduction and health (SRH) knowledge and communication, awareness of SRH services, and attitudes about sexuality. Analysis followed a difference-in-difference approach to compare changes in each outcome over time between interventions and controls.
Results demonstrated that although the two interventions differed in how they addressed gender, there were bigger shifts among girls compared to boys. Part of the reason is that programs tend to focus on the problematic aspects of individual male beliefs which places the onus on the individual boy to overcome without considering relational and social structures. Another reason is that boys and girls are impacted differently by gender norms, and therefore interventions that do not consider different approaches for promoting gender equality between boys and girls have limited impact on one or the other. This analysis points to the need for programs to consider adolescent boys’ specific needs and perspectives, along with those of girls, to include them in the general movement for gender equality which ultimately improves the health and well-being trajectories of all VYAs.

Author

• Kristin N Mmari, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health