What Works - Malawi SASA! Together

Violence against women is complex and must be addressed at multiple levels, with leadership from women themselves on how to bring about positive change to free women and girls from daily experiences of violence and to promote their rights. It is in this context that the Pamodzi Kuthetsa Nkhanza (PKN) consortium will implement a programme to facilitate the prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Malawi as one of the most common forms of VAW experienced in Malawi. The programme takes a whole community approach and uses gender transformative approaches at different levels of society to address the root causes of IPV. It will draw primarily on two existing, evidence-based prevention models, namely SASA! Together (community mobilisation model) and Moyo Olemekeza (MO) (gender norms and behaviour change and economic empowerment approach). A cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) will evaluate the effectiveness of the PKN programme, assessing the effectiveness of the SASA! Together programme at shifting individual behaviours and reducing violence in intimate relationships while also tackling community norms that drive these forms of violence against women. The cRCT will also assess the added value of combining SASA! Together and a women's social and economic empowerment programme (MO) for most at-risk households. This protocol focuses on the evaluation of the SASA! Together programme.