GBV Prevention, Mitigation, and Response in Colombia

The Washington University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Decision Making; Mental Health Issue; Refugee Self-reliance; Empowerment; Gender Based Violence Knowledge and Perceived Risk

Treatments: Behavioral: Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06312592

FWA00015367

Details and patient eligibility

About

As of August 2021, Colombia hosts the vast majority of Venezuelan refugees and migrants (UNHCR, 2022). For vulnerable refugees and migrants in Colombia, and especially for women, gender-based violence (GBV) is present during transit and continues in their new homes where xenophobia, lack of accessible and adequate services, lack of safe economic opportunities, and lack of information on access to services, further increase risk. Lack of livelihood opportunities also affect vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women, with barriers to employment including lack of information; precarious working conditions with lower payments and longer working days with increasing risks of labor exploitation; xenophobia and discrimination; limited access to formal labor markets; lack of access to financial services, among others. To address these issues, the investigators are conducting a pilot randomized-controlled trial (RCT) of HIAS' Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens (ESGL), a methodology that targets GBV survivors and women at-risk to help them develop business ideas, access needed support for the prevention of and response to GBV, exploitation and trafficking, and improve participants' overall self-reliance. The pilot RCT will be conducted within three cities in Colombia; approximately 80 eligible participants will be enrolled in each city and randomized to a treatment or control arm. Survey questionnaires will be administered to participants at baseline, eight months following baseline (endline), and 3-4 months after endline. Outcomes of interest include household self-reliance, mental health, empowerment, decision-making, and GBV risk and knowledge.

Enrollment: 253 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Woman
• At least 18 years of age
• At risk of gender based violence (GBV) or ever experienced GBV
• Have a migratory permit (for migrants/refugees)
• Colombian or Venezuelan, living in Colombia for at least six months
• Hold an entrepreneur profile registered with HIAS (the implementing partner).

Exclusion criteria

• Man or does not self identify as a woman
• Less than 18 years old
• Not at risk of GBV and never experienced GBV
• Does not have a migratory permit
• Not Colombian or Venezuelan
• Living in Colombia for less than six months
• No entrepreneur profile registered with HIAS (the implementing partner).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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253 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention group

Experimental group

Description:

Receives the Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens intervention. Participants receive a general training with six modules focused on business modeling and female empowerment for the participants. It is targeted for women who are forcibly displaced people, including refugees, and who are survivors or at risk of Sexual or Gender Based Violence. Each women entrepreneur, participates in individual mentoring sessions to build their business plan after the training and receives $800 start-up capital for their business plan. For at least a year, entrepreneurs will have a follow-up to promote their business scale up, including how to formalize their business in the market, how to define new strategies, and how to answer to the market's evolving requirements. Additionally, the participants receive an extensive training in gender aspects that have been identified as relevant to promote women's empowerment. The intervention also includes mental health content.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Does not receive the Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens intervention the Entrepreneurship School with Gender Lens intervention