November 2024 COMBINING SAFE SPACES WITH GENDER INNOVATION LAB ACCOMPANYING MEASURES: A The Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) SOLUTION TO EMPOWER ADOLESCENT conducts impact evaluations of development interventions in GIRLS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE Sub-Saharan Africa, seeking to generate evidence on how to Authors: Othmane Boulhane, Claire Boxho, Eleonora Cavagnero, Alejandra Mia close gender gaps in earnings, Garcia-Meza, Olga Guerrero Horas, Desiré Kanga, Djibrilla Karamoko, Karine productivity, assets, and agency. Kouacou, Estelle Koussoubé, Christophe Lemiere, Margareta Norris Harrit, Léa The GIL team is currently working Rouanet, Adama Traore, Jozefien Van Damme1 on over 80 impact evaluations in more than 30 countries with the KEY MESSAGES aim of building an evidence base with lessons for the region. • In a cluster-randomized trial in Côte d’Ivoire, we examined the The impact objective of GIL is effectiveness of multi-sectoral approaches to improving adolescent increasing take-up of effective girls’ empowerment (AGE) outcomes. To do so, we assessed the impact policies by governments, of safe spaces offering life skills and sexual and reproductive health education, development organizations, and both alone and combined with interventions like livelihood support, male the private sector to address engagement (husbands’ and future husbands’ clubs), and involvement of the underlying causes of gender community and religious leaders. inequality in Africa, particularly in terms of women’s economic and • Our findings demonstrate that multi-sectoral approaches are most social empowerment. The Lab effective. Combining safe spaces with livelihood support or engaging men aims to do this by producing and and community leaders leads to stronger outcomes across multiple domains delivering a new body of evidence compared to safe spaces alone. and developing a compelling narrative, geared towards policymakers, on what works and 1 Nelsy Affoum contributed to the preparation of this brief. The full study description and results are what does not work in promoting available online and were published in March 2024 in the World Bank Policy Research Working gender equality. Paper series. https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/africa-gender-innovation-lab • The most significant impacts, including and the technical assistance of the United Nations improved sexual and reproductive health (SRH), Populations Fund (UNFPA) from 2015 to 2024. This World economic participation, and decision-making, Bank-funded regional project aimed to empower young occurred when safe spaces were paired with women and adolescent girls by enhancing their usage both husbands’ clubs and community leader of quality services on reproductive, child and maternal engagement. This was the only combination health. to significantly affect marriage and childbearing outcomes. In contrast, safe spaces alone had limited THE PROGRAM impacts beyond SRH improvements. This result underlines the importance of policies that foster Currently implemented in twelve countries (Benin, the creation of a community context conducive to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, The progress on gender norms for girls’ empowerment. Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and • Our study highlights the critical importance of Togo), SWEDD is a regional project aiming to accelerate implementation quality. Unexpected results from the demographic transition by addressing both supply- community leader involvement suggest the need for and demand-side constraints to family planning and unified messaging and thorough training to maximize sexual and reproductive health. To achieve its objective, impact. the project targets adolescent girls and young women mainly between the ages of 8 and 24, who are vulnerable to early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and early school THE CONTEXT drop-out. Côte d’Ivoire is among the countries with the highest level of gender inequality in the world: in 2021, this West African country was ranked 155 out of 170 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (UNDP, 2022). It is reported that on average, an Ivorian woman has 4.3 children over her lifetime, with this average reaching about 5.3 children in the rural parts of the country (Demographic and Health Survey 2021), compared to 4.6 children on average in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2021). Despite an upward trend in contraceptive use by Ivorian women, in 2021, only 21% of women reported using a contraceptive method (either modern or traditional). The average female literacy rate was 87% compared to a literacy rate of 93% for males (World Bank, 2019), with a primary, secondary, and tertiary education completion rate consistently higher for men than women (UNICEF, 2022). Furthermore, 94% of employed women work in the informal sector compared to 77% of men, and nearly half of working women had to ask permission from a family member to do so, compared to only 11% of men (SIGI, 2022), reflecting strong gender norms around labor force participation. This context raises great concern for poverty reduction and economic development. To address these challenges, the government of Côte d’Ivoire implemented the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project in collaboration with local and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) In Côte d’Ivoire, during the first phase of the SWEDD interventions with the aim of providing girls with livelihood project (2015-2020), the government implemented safe opportunities and/or creating an enabling environment spaces-based interventions, both in schools and in for AGE. For instance, in some communities, girls were communities, in collaboration with local and international provided support for the creation of income generating NGOs. These interventions targeted in-school female activities (IGA) through entrepreneurship training and students enrolled in grades 7-9 and out-of-school girls grants. In others, boys and men were engaged in aged 8 to 24 (respectively in-school safe spaces and husbands’ and future husbands’ clubs, providing them community safe spaces), who were identified as most at with life skills - e.g. communication, anger management risk of early marriage, early childbearing, and school drop- or decision power in the household - and SRH education. out, according to vulnerability criteria. In safe spaces, Finally, community and religious leaders were actively beneficiaries met under the leadership of a trusted female mentor and received various contents related to engaged in a subset of communities to further raise life skills, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gender awareness regarding restrictive social norms related to norms, gender stereotypes, nutrition, gender-based girls’ schooling, marriage, and fertility. Their involvement violence and women and children’s rights. Community aimed to foster a supportive environment for normative safe spaces, specifically, were complemented by other and behavioral changes. FIGURE 1: THE INTERVENTIONS Community Safe Spaces Supporting the creation Engaging boys and men Mobilizing community of income generating through husbands’ and and religious leaders activities (IGA) future husbands’ clubs HERE’S WHAT WE DID The Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) partnered with the The random assignment into treatment and control SWEDD project team to conduct a cluster randomized groups was conducted in three stages. First, the 60 controlled trial to study both the effects of school-based secondary schools were randomized into three groups interventions targeted to girls in schools, and the effects of equal size: a control group, a group to receive in- of community-based interventions targeted to out-of- school safe spaces and a group to receive in-school safe school girls. The study was conducted in 280 localities spaces and tutoring classes in mathematics and French. in the catchment area of 60 middle schools located in Next, we randomly assigned the 280 localities selected the Northern regions of Poro, Tchologo, Bagoué, Folon around the schools into treatment and control groups. and Kabadougou. These 60 eligible schools correspond The 56 localities around the 20 control group schools to the schools with the largest populations of girls at the were automatically considered as a pure control, i.e. with time, thereby facilitating the achievement of the project’s no intervention taking place either in selected schools or intended beneficiary targets. in the localities. The remaining 224 localities mapped to treated schools were randomly assigned to one of the We use two rounds of data collection for this four community-based treatment groups: (i) a group analysis. First, a baseline survey conducted before of 56 localities receiving community safe spaces, the implementation of the interventions between (ii) a group of 56 localities receiving community safe December 2017 and January 2018. Second, a midline spaces and support to IGA for eligible girls, (iii) a group survey conducted approximately one year after the of 56 localities receiving community safe spaces and end of the interventions, between January and March husbands’ and future husbands’ clubs; (iv) a group of 2021. The results described below focus on the effects 56 control localities, i.e. without any community-based of the community safe spaces and accompanying activities, but in the catchment areas of treated schools interventions. The evaluation of in-school safe spaces, to measure potential spillovers from the school-based which revealed no impacts on AGE, primarily due to interventions.. Finally, each group of localities, with the implementation issues such as delayed and incomplete exception of the control group, was further subdivided safe-space activities, constitutes a separate study and into two, with one subgroup in which religious and will not be discussed further in this current study. community leaders were trained and engaged in community sensibilization activities. This final step allowed to isolate the additional impact of leaders’ engagement. FIGURE 2: IMPACT EVALUATION DESIGN Northern Côte d’Ivoire 5 Regions Control Schools 20 Schools Pure School Safe Spaces Control 40 Schools 56 Localities Safe Spaces + Safe Spaces Safe Spaces + IGA Control Husbands’ Clubs 56 Localities 56 Localities 56 Localities 56 Localities Leaders Leaders Leaders 28 Localities 26 Localities 29 Localities No Leaders No Leaders No Leaders 28 Localities 30 Localities 27 Localities HERE’S WHAT WE FOUND When combined with IGA support or husbands’ clubs, safe spaces have significant and substantial One year after the end of the interventions, impacts on girls’ economic opportunities. This is we find that providing girls with life skills and SRH knowledge through safe spaces alone has true regardless of community and religious leaders’ positive impacts on AGE outcomes, primarily engagement. Notably, we find that engaging boys improving girls’ SRH behavior and knowledge, and young men in husbands’ clubs is at least as gender attitudes, and mental health. Notably, effective at improving girls’ economic prospects as we observe a reduction in transactional sex and an providing direct IGA support. Additionally, engaging increase in the knowledge of modern contraceptive boys and men through husbands’ clubs leads to methods and maternal healthcare among beneficiaries significant improvements in girls’ decision making of safe spaces. However, the intervention alone did on individual matters such as education and work, not have any significant impact on girls’ employment as well as on decision-making within the household. outcomes, socio-emotional skills, or decision-making. These results suggest that providing girls with life This suggests that the engagement of boys and skills and SRH knowledge does not suffice to translate men in the community was successful in creating immediate outcomes into structural changes of better allies for promoting AGE in these communities. employment and increased autonomy. Engaging religious leaders to raise awareness on CONCLUSION social norms related to girls’ schooling, marriage, and fertility significantly enhanced the effects of safe Our findings underscore the importance of multi-sectoral, spaces alone or combined with husbands’ clubs on community-wide approaches in improving adolescent girls’ socio-emotional skills, as well as the impact of girls’ empowerment (AGE). A key contribution of this safe spaces alone on girls’ decision-making within the study is its ability to disentangle the specific impacts household. However, we observe that in communities of safe spaces from accompanying interventions, where leaders were engaged, the impacts of safe thereby identifying the most effective strategies for spaces on SRH knowledge are not statistically improving AGE outcomes—an insight often overlooked significant: indicators on the girls’ knowledge of in bundled interventions. In this study context, we find modern contraceptive methods, modern menstrual that safe spaces are most impactful when combined hygiene products, maternal care and HIV are no longer with husbands’ and future husbands’ clubs, and to a improved when leaders are involved. A similar pattern lesser extent, when paired with interventions aimed at is observed on the SRH behavior index (specifically improving girls’ economic prospects. Notably, engaging indicators on the use of modern menstrual hygiene boys and men through these clubs is crucial not only products and being sexually inactive) where positive for enhancing girls’ economic opportunities but also impacts are detected in villages with husbands’ clubs for increasing their decision-making power within or IGA support, but without the leaders’ engagement. households and communities. These varied results may be explained by messaging While the engagement of community and religious inconsistencies between religious leaders and the key leaders yields mixed results on AGE, it significantly messages conveyed in the safe spaces and husbands’ enhances girls’ decision-making power and reduces clubs. This highlights the importance of ensuring the pregnancies when combined with other interventions. quality of implementation and an effective coordination These findings highlight the importance of involving all between various program activities for overall community members to create a supportive environment effectiveness. for AGE, while also emphasizing the need for quality Interestingly, one of the program objectives of reducing implementation across all program components. adolescent girls’ marriage and childbearing is Future research is necessary to further explore only met when all the community is involved, the mechanisms driving these positive outcomes, that is when safe spaces are combined with particularly the role of boys, men, and community husband’s clubs and with the engagement of leaders in shifting social and behavioral norms. leaders. In these localities, adolescent girls are 36% Additionally, it is also crucial to examine the long-term less likely to be pregnant at the time of the survey and sustainability of these impacts. To this end, a second 7% less likely to be married, compared to the control follow-up survey was completed in August 2024, which group. This suggests that mobilizing influential figures will provide valuable insights into the sustained impact in the community together with boys and men through of the SWEDD project interventions on fertility, marriage, established husbands’ clubs successfully reduces economic opportunities, and other AGE outcomes in the occurrence of marriage and childbearing among Côte d’Ivoire. adolescents and young women. The limited impacts on these outcomes in villages receiving different For more information, access the interventions could potentially reflect the complexity of achieving such an objective within one year. Moreover, Policy Research Working Paper. it is important to highlight that a significant portion of the girls in our sample (around 62% and 63% respectively), had already been married or pregnant. REFERENCES World Bank. “World Bank Open Data - Côte d’Ivoire”. World Development Indicators 2019 and 2021. Accessed September 19, 2023. https://data. worldbank.org/country/cote-divoire?view=chart. Institut National de la Statistique (INS) et ICF. 2022. Côte d’Ivoire Demographic and Health Survey 2021, Key Indicator Report. Rockville, Maryland, USA: INS/Côte d’Ivoire et ICF. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/PR140/PR140.pdf. OECD. 2022. Social institutions and gender equality in Côte d’Ivoire: SIGI country report. Paris, France: OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/c798990a-fr. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2022. Human Development Report 2021/2022, Uncertain times, changed lives: shaping our future in a changing world. New York, United States: UNDP. UNICEF. “Côte d’Ivoire Key Demographic Indicators”. UNICEF Data: Monitoring the situation of children and women. Accessed September 19, 2023. https://data.unicef.org/country/civ/. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT Estelle Koussoubé mkoussoube@worldbank.org Claire Boxho cboxho@worldbank.org Photo credit: Ollivier Girard/World Bank 1818 H St NW This work has been funded in part by the Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE), which is a multi-donor trust fund Washington, DC 20433 USA administered by the World Bank to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through experimentation and www.worldbank.org/africa/gil knowledge creation to help governments and the private sector focus policy and programs on scalable solutions with sustainable outcomes. The UFGE is supported with generous contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund.