Evaluating scalable approaches to reducing sexual violence towards children in Liberia

Funded by the Fund for Innovation in Development (FID), this collaborative project seeks to develop and evaluate an innovative child protection program to minimize risks of transactional sex involving children and sexual violence towards children in Liberia. The intervention, implemented by World Hope International (WHI), consists of a child-friendly flipchart and associated curriculum delivered to middle school children, teachers, and staff, focusing on bodily autonomy, identifying inappropriate behavior, and how to report incidents. This curriculum is supplemented by activities to improve both schools’ and communities’ ability to prevent and respond to sexual violence towards children (including, but not limited to, transactional sex). Using an RCT study design, WHI’s activities on children’s awareness of sexual violence and victimization, as well as communities’ norms regarding transactional sex with minors will be evaluated for efficacy and impactfulness.