Submission ID 118554
| Issue/Objective | Pakistan faces deeply rooted gender inequalities and widespread violence against women and children, with cultural norms, poor legal implementation, and lack of education fueling the problem. Research evidence states that 94% of boys and 85% of girls have experienced some form of Violence against children (VAC). Therefore, this project fills a crucial gap by integrating the Right to Play-Plus life skills program into schools, aiming to reduce violence against girls in Pakistan through education that challenges restrictive gender norms and builds resilience. The study aims to encourage gender attitudinal change in children, a Mainstreaming Right to Play Plus, Life Skills Based Education (LSBE) Program is planned to reduce Violence Against Girls. A Baseline study for teachers and students is conducted in schools to assess the effectiveness of the intervention at the endline, preparing for a scale-up implementation |
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| Methodology/Approach | A cluster randomized controlled trial is being conducted in 100 public and private schools of grade 6 students aged 11-13 years. Baseline assessment would enroll 241 teachers, and 2,500 students with 1,250 in each arm. Primary outcomes include experiences of physical, emotional, sexual violence, and cyber sexual harassment, measured using the ICAST-C tool. The intervention comprises a two-year, play-based life skills curriculum delivered by trained teachers. |
| Results | Baseline data from 241 teachers (49.4% private, 50.6% public; 75.8% female; 24.2% male) showed largely progressive gender-equitable beliefs on General Efficacy Scale (X=4.62 ±0.76), low acceptance of violence (X=0.27±0.77) and moderate level of conservative beliefs accepting child marriage (X= 1.60±1.16). The baseline survey of 2122 sixth grade students (64.2% girls and 35.8% boys) reported 47% physical,19% sexual, 56% emotional, and 2% cyber sexual violence |
| Discussion/Conclusion | Although the teachers hold progressive gender views, baseline data revealed widespread violence among students, highlighting an urgent need for transformative school-based interventions to address all forms of violence. The evidence from the RCT would help strengthen the integration of LSBE in formal school systems for reducing violence against children, an outcome that is vital for scale-up implementation across Pakistan. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Dr Maria Ather Aga Khan University Rozina Karmaliani Aga Khan University Tazeen Ali Aga Khan University Samral Idrees Aga Khan University Muazzam Nasir Aga Khan University Shireen Shehzad Aga Khan University Farida Mughal Aga Khan University Hussain Maqbool Aga Khan University Maria Ather Aga Khan University |
