Help Stop Violence Against Women in Nepal

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue that affects 1 in 3 women globally1 and approximately 32% of Nepali women in their lifetime, and yet little is still know about what kind of interventions work to prevent IPV.

Change Starts at Home was created to address this.  Focused on an innovative radio program, an interactive voice response (IVR) platform and weekly group meetings, the intervention is using media and peer to peer support to address social norms, attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate women and girls’ low status in Nepal.

The impact of the project is being rigorously evaluated using a Randomised Control Trial to examine potential pathways of change and over the three years, we hope to identify what works and how when tackling IPV through media. The result will be tested activities that are effective, replicable and scalable creating a change in the status of women and girls that can be sustained over time.

The project is the first of its kind in Nepal to take a multi-pronged approach to IPV, working simultaneously with couples, families and community leaders to drive a change in community attitudes towards violence against women and girls.

Whilst the project’s main objective is to give married couples the knowledge, skills and space to safely address power imbalances in their relationships, the impact is reinforced by activities that aim to bring couples and their family members and community leaders together in a movement to change social attitudes and practices towards girls and women in Nepal.