Social Inclusion of Survivors of Sexual Violence: How Do Support Programs Work?

New survey-based evidence indicates that Brief Points survivors of sexual violence in eastern DRC feel less included across various social settings compared to non-survivors. Support programs for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) are found to have a significant positive effect on perceived improvements in economic wellbeing. They also make women feel more socially included. However, the latter effect appears to be weaker for survivors than for non-survivors. Hence, increased focus and resources are needed to work actively with the local population in order to encourage social inclusion of SGBV survivors

From Pain to Empowerment? : Impact of an empowerment program for survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on attitudes towards female leadership

City of Joy Brief Points is an intensive six-month support program for survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that aims to transform vulnerable women into community leaders. What transformations do we see in participants from the time of starting the program to the end of the program? Systematic survey results indicate that the women display significant changes in their attitudes and knowledge about women’s empowerment and leadership, indicating that the program has a strong immediate effect on changing the participants’ views on female leadership. However, further research is needed on the degree to which – and for whom – these positive changes endure after the women re-enter their home communities

Effects of an empowerment program for survivors of sexual violence on attitudes and beliefs : evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Background: Women’s empowerment may require women to change their beliefs and views about their rights and capabilities. Empowerment programs often target women who have survived sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), with the justification that these women may develop disempowered beliefs as a coping mechanism, or face greater barriers to, or derive greater benefits from, the adoption of empowered beliefs and preferences. We investigated an intensive, six-month residential empowerment program (“City of Joy”) for SGBV survivors in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where more than one in five women have experienced SGBV. Methods: We asked 175 participants about their beliefs and preferences pertaining to political, financial, and domestic empowerment. Interviews took place immediately before and after participation in the program, and we tested for differences in views of empowerment between entry and exit using paired t-tests and McNemar’s test. We also conducted 50 semi-structured interviews about empowerment with an additional 30 women who had completed the program up to 5 years earlier and then returned to their home community. Results: Prior to enrolling in the program, participants had fairly empowered views regarding politics, less empowered views regarding finances, and still less empowered views regarding the domestic sphere. After completing the program, participants had significantly more empowered views in all three domains, particularly regarding domestic violence, how families should treat men and women, and women’s economic rights. Participants in their home communities reported taking a more active role in community affairs and speaking out against the mistreatment of women. Conclusion: This study adds to the evidence that women’s empowerment programs can change participants’ beliefs and thus increase the confidence with which they participate in their communities and support one another