ASSESSING THE DURABILITY OF A CASH TRANSFER ON PHYSICAL PARTNER VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA

Study description

Adolescence constitutes an important window of opportunity for IPV prevention: it is often the first time that adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) experience violence in sexual relationships, which affects their relationships into early adulthood. Moreover, understanding the durability of cash transfer effects on IPV in HIV-endemic contexts like South Africa is crucial given the myriad negative impacts of IPV, which include an increase in one’s risk of HIV acquisition. This study uses mixed-methods to examine the longer-term impact of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) (the South African HPTN 068) on exposure to physical IPV among South African AGYW. HPTN 068 was an experimental HIV prevention intervention, led by Audrey Pettifor from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, in which 2,355 AGYW were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to intervention or control. Kathleen Kahn was the PI of HPTN 068 from The University of the Witwatersrand, School of Public Health in South Africa. The study took place within the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Unit Agincourt Socio-Demographic Surveillance Site in Mpumalanga, South Africa. AGYW in the intervention arm received $10 USD and their parent/guardian received $20 USD monthly, conditional on 80% school attendance until completion of grade 12. The CCT occurred in rural South Africa between 2011-2015. The main findings of this trial revealed that the CCT had no significant effect on HIV incidence but reduced AGYW’s risk of physical IPV by 34 percent. Quantitative mediation analyses showed that the CCT reduced IPV by delaying young women’s sexual debut and decreasing their sexual partnerships. To examine the durability of the CCT on IPV two years after the CCT ended, this study will analyze two additional rounds of quantitative data with the full sample (between 2016-2018) and one additional round of qualitative data with a subset of AGYW (n=22) who received the CCT and were currently in sexual partnerships. The study will address the following research questions: (1) What is the impact of the CCT on IPV for AGYW two years after the intervention? (2) How do AGYW who received the CCT describe experiences of IPV within their sexual partnerships two years later, and to what extent (and through what pathways) did the CCT influence their experiences of IPV?

For more information: Details about HPTN 068 intervention can be found here.