The SONKE Change trial is cluster randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of community mobilization and advocacy on men's use of violence in peri-urban South Africa.
Sonke Gender Justice's flagship programme, One Man Can, is an existing multi-level intervention that engages men in confronting harmful aspects of masculinity and as partners in addressing gender-based violence and HIV and AIDS, with the ultimate goal of achieving gender equality. The intervention programme refined the existing Sonke's existing gender-transformative programme by adding community mobilisation and advocacy with the aim of addressing the multi-level nature of VAWG and creating an enabling environment for men to embrace more equitable forms of masculinity.
- Sonke developed a novel Theory of Change that addresses risk factors for VAWG at individual, relationship, community and societal levels. This model includes: new findings that health-seeking and non-violence can be nurtured when men self-reflect and have space to rehearse new masculinity behaviours.
- Recognition that masculinities may influence men's use of violence through multiple pathways: alcohol use, partner communication, mental health theories of community mobilisation for health promotion
The Sonke CHANGE Intervention was implemented over a period of 18 months (April 2016 to November 2017). Men who lived in one of the 18 clusters (9 intervention, 9 control) in Diepsloot, a peri-urban settlement to the north-west of Johannesburg, for at least 12 months, and were 18-40 years old, were eligible to be recruited. Men over the age of 40 years are not being prevented from participating in community mobilization or any of the Sonke CHANGE intervention activities but were not be eligible to be recruited for the trial. Overall 2600 (129--150 per cluster) men were recruited at baseline and data was collected at 3 time points (baseline, 12 months post-baseline and 24 months post baseline)
