Impact evaluation of the Economic and Social Empowerment (EA$E) programme to improve spousal relationships and mitigate intimate partner violence in Syria

Final Impact Report of FAO’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) pilot interventions

Executive Summary

Background: Since the onset of the Syrian conflict, women have faced heightened risks of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), particularly Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). In Phase 1 of the Building Local Resilience in Syria (BLRS) programme, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Syria, through a strategic partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is piloting interventions aimed at reducing and preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Homs and Rural Damascus governorates. The pilot is implemented through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) and combines the provision of agro-processing vouchers worth 400 USD with the Economic and Social Empowerment (EA$E) curriculum to couples. These interventions aim to rebalance intrahousehold power dynamics, mitigate economic and emotional intimate partner violence (IPV), and improve household welfare, with the goal of increasing women’s economic and social participation. 

This report is intended for programme implementers, researchers, policy-makers, donors and other stakeholders working on gender equity and IPV prevention programming in Syria and similar contexts. The report balances accountability, by identifying the programme’s successes and areas for improvement, with learning, through generating insights and recommendations, while considering the broader challenging context. 

Impact evaluation learning questions: We causally estimate the effects of providing the EA$E curriculum combined with agro-processing vouchers (Vouchers + EA$E), compared to vouchers alone (Vouchers-only). Key  learning questions are:

• LQ1. What are the effects of providing Vouchers + EA$E compared to Vouchers-only on women’s reported experiences and men’s reported perpetration of IPV?
• LQ2. What are the programme impacts on shared decision-making and other empowerment measures, such as sense of control and group membership? 
• LQ3. What are the programme impacts on time spent on work, including domestic work?
• LQ4. Does the intervention influence women’s and men’s gender attitudes and perceptions of community gender norms, including those related to child marriage? 
• LQ5. Does the programme affect individual wellbeing, relationship quality, and household welfare? 
• LQ6. Are there differences in impacts between women and men participants? Which pathways are most promising to meet the programme’s objectives?

Impact evaluation design and analytical approach: In collaboration with FAO Syria, ISDC conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial with 581 couples to answer these learning questions. Impacts were estimated using difference-in-differences with appropriate controls and village-clustered standard errors. Additional robustness checks were also conducted. 

Baseline prevalence of IPV: Baseline prevalence of reported 12-month IPV experience among women was high: approximately 46% and 55% reported experiencing economic and emotional IPV, respectively. Only 26% of men reported 12-month economic IPV perpetration.