Culture and domestic violence in Tanzania

Last registered on September 17, 2019

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Culture and domestic violence in Tanzania

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0004669

Initial registration date

September 17, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

September 17, 2019, 10:28 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

Tanzania, United Republic of

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Neda Trifkovic

Affiliation

University of Copenhagen

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Vincent Leyaro

PI Affiliation

University of Dar es Salaam

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Pablo Selaya

PI Affiliation

University of Copenhagen

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2017-02-01

End date

2020-12-31

Keywords

Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Gender

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

We investigate the effectiveness of documentary films to change individual attitudes justifying domestic violence, and reporting of own experiences of domestic violence. We study this in Tanzania, where the Tanzanian Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children produced a documentary film showing severe cases of violence against women, albinos and children, in 2009. We use fragments of this documentary as experimental treatments with the intention to evaluate the effectiveness of documentary video material to affect individual attitudes about domestic violence, and reporting of own experiences of domestic violence. In particular, we compare these two outcomes among participants who watched a video on violence against women, with those of participants who watched a video on violence against albinos (control group 1) and participants who did not watch any video (control group 2). The intervention is implemented separately among women and men to assess the effectiveness of the video across genders. Findings from this study can enhance the current understanding of whether and how documentary video material can help public policy in changing harmful individual attitudes and social norms.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Leyaro, Vincent , Pablo Selaya and Neda Trifkovic. 2019. "Culture and domestic violence in Tanzania." AEA RCT Registry. September 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4669-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2018-01-21

Intervention End Date

2019-02-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Individual attitudes justifying domestic violence and own experience of domestic violence

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Experience of violence measures: 1. spouse pushed, shook or threw something, 2. spouse slapped, 3. spouse twisted arm or pulled hair, 4. spouse punched with fist or something harmful, 5. spouse kicked or dragged, 6. tried to choke or burn, 7. spouse threatened or attacked with any weapon, 8. physically forced you to have sexual intercourse, and 9. forced to perform any sexual acts you did not want to
Attitudes justifying domestic violence: 1. Wife beating justified if wife goes out without telling, 2. neglects the children, 3. argues with the husband, 4. refuses to have sex, and 5. burns the food.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Treatment:
We show a 13-minute video describing the case of a victim of domestic violence in Tanzania, and her efforts to overcome such situation. The video is shown to separate, randomly chosen groups of men and women. The video is an extract from the 45-minute documentary "Kataa Ukatili Dhidi ya Wanawake, Watoto na Mauaji ya Albino," ("Stop Violence Against Women, Children and Killings of Albinos"), produced by the Tanzanian Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children, and broadcasted in the country between 2009 and 2011. After participants have seen the 13-minute video on domestic violence, we administer an individual questionnaire that includes demographic and socio-economic characteristic of the respondent, as well as his/her attitudes and experiences of domestic violence.

Control 1:
We show a 9-minute video describing a case of violence against albinos in Tanzania. The video is shown to separate, randomly chosen groups of men and women. The video is an extract from the 45-minute documentary "Kataa Ukatili Dhidi ya Wanawake, Watoto na Mauaji ya Albino," described above. After participants have seen the 9-minute video on violence against albinos, we administer an individual questionnaire that includes demographic and socio-economic characteristic of the respondent, as well as his/her attitudes and experiences of domestic violence.

Control 2:
We do not show any documentary video material to this group, and only administer a questionnaire that asks about demographic and socio-economic characteristic of the respondent, as well as his/her attitudes and experiences of domestic violence.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Public lottery

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

240 men and 240 women in 6 villages (40 men and 40 women in each village)

Sample size: planned number of observations

480 men and women

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

156 participants (78 women and 78 men) in the treatment group
156 participants (78 women and 78 men) in control group 1
168 men and women in control group 2

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB