Project Title

Action Research Addressing masculinities as a strategy to reduce Sexual risk behaviour among young men in Uttar Pradesh

Funding Agency

Duration of the project

Sida, Population Council

2005-07

Geographical Coverage

Partner NGOs

14 Villages in Pali Block, Gorakhpur, Uttarpradesh

Objectives

• To understand masculinity (as perceived by young men and community), as a construct of perceptions influencing sexuality and sexual behaviour amongst young men (10-24).

• To investigate social, cultural, familial, economic and individual constructs of masculinity influencing existing gender perceptions and sexual behaviour of young men.

• To explore the existing gender roles and associated values and norms.

• To implement targeted interventions addressing issues of masculinity and its constructs.

• To validate GEM scale through intervention process.

• To evaluate the outcome of the intervention with respect to change in perception, perception and intention.

Project Brief

The study is a case control one with one-intervention site and one control site for comparison.
The study phases are:

• group formation and formative research,
• baseline survey,
• group education intervention (for 6 months),
• end line survey and
• Follow-up end line survey (six months after intervention) to judge the sustainability of the effect of education sessions after the lapse.

28 peer leaders were selected and recruited from Intervention block, two each from each villages. They formed groups of 40 peers each in each village. First six months was devoted for group formation in the intervention area and formative research. The peer leaders of the intervention arm were trained and conducted the formative research in their respective block but in other villages than the intervention villages. The findings of the formative research was used for localization of the CORO intervention module - Yari Dosti Hindi version, which has been adapted from the original programme H module of Promundo. The intervention is not to be implemented at all in the control arm. These peer leaders formed the groups in their respective villages. 540 young men of 15-24 years in both the intervention as well as in control area is the study population. Peer leaders from the villages were trained to deliver the intervention within the peer groups in two groups of 20 each in each village. The group education intervention, once in a week - four sessions in a month, is running for six months in the intervention area, this would be followed by endline in both intervention and control areas. This endline would be the followed up with repeat endline at the lapse of six months for the intervention area.

Female members of the immediate family would constitute a female group of informants for understanding the effect of intervention at endline. Other groups like adults, community leaders and teachers were key informants for formative research.