Young people’s experiences with an empowerment-based behavior change intervention to prevent sexual violence in Nairobi informal settlements: A qualitative study
Abstract
Young people in sub-Saharan Africa face one of the
world’s highest burdens of sexual violence. Previous impact evaluations indicated that a 6-week empowerment-based behavioral
intervention in Nairobi informal (slum) settlements can reduce
sexual assault. This qualitative study investigated girls’ and boys’
experiences of the intervention to identify potential mechanisms of
change.We conducted a qualitative study in Nairobi slums with
students (aged 15–21 years) who had participated in 2 parallel
school-based curriculums called IMPower (girls) and Your
Moment of Truth (boys) at least 1 year ago. Data were collected
via 10 focus group discussions (5 for boys, 5 for girls) with
6–11 participants in each and 21 individual in-depth interviews
(11 boys, 10 girls) that explored participants’ experiences of the
intervention and their suggestions for improvement. Findings
were analyzed using thematic network analysis guided by empowerment theory.