Help the Afghan Child: Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls

The intervention aimed to reduce aggressive behavior among Afghan boys and girls, increase the use of non-violent conflict resolution at school and at home, motivate men to respect and value women and promote women's community engagement. It was implemented by Help the Afghan Children (HTAC). Peace education is delivered through schools in 33 lessons (35 minutes long each) per year over two years for boys and girls in grades 7-9, delivered by trained teachers. Community activities included conflict resolution, peace building and advocacy training with adults in the community; training for women in civil society organizations; a radio drama and radio discussions with religious leaders on the position of women in Islam; and establishing peace committees.

The modified interrupted time series evaluation was conducted in 11 schools. Interviews were conducted at 6, 12 and 18 months after the start of the intervention with a randomly selected sample of 720 children in grade 6 and 7 (average age 14 at first interview round).