Pilot Study of the Ntombi Vimbela Sexual Violence Intervention Among Female Tertiary Students in South Africa
Condition: Sexual Violence
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The pilot study aims to test the acceptability of content, feasibility of delivery methods
      and preliminary assessment of outcomes from the implementation of the Ntombi Vimbela
      intervention with volunteer groups of female first year students at eight South African
      higher education campuses. Data to inform the different objectives will be collected from
      participants at different time points. A baseline questionnaire was administered at the
      beginning of the Ntombi Vimbela workshops. Qualitative data to provide evidence about the
      workshop content and relevance was collected using participant end of workshop evaluation
      forms and end of intervention delivery focus group discussions.Feasibility data was collected
      through research team observations, facilitator debriefings and end of intervention delivery
      workshop One year post-implementation data which provides evidence of preliminary impact has
      commenced which includes a survey and in-depth interviews with participants.
    

Detailed description: 
      Facilitator recruitment and training: The intervention piloting will be conducted in eight
      selected campuses. In each campus, three facilitators will be recruited through a process
      involving advertisements, applications, screening and interview. This makes a total of nine
      facilitators. The criteria for facilitators will be full time female students, between the
      ages of 25 and 30 years of age, enrolled at the institution for at least one year.
      Facilitators will be trained by the lead researchers to recruit participants and run
      intervention with groups of participants. The facilitator training will be conducted by the
      lead researchers over a duration of seven days. The training will cover the intervention
      content, participatory delivery protocol, group facilitation techniques, dynamics of
      co-facilitation and problem-solving techniques.

      Project marketing and participant recruitment: First posters about the study will be put up
      in lecture rooms, residences and central meeting points at selected campuses. Posters will
      have information which will include the study aims, participation criteria and contact
      details of the project managers. Facilitators will also approach students, share the study
      information and invite them to participate. The Student Support managers will also assist in
      publicising the project as they conduct their normal duties. In each institution, 20 students
      will be recruited to participate in the intervention. To be eligible to participate, a
      student has to be female, aged 18-30 years and a full-time student at the college. At the
      final stage of recruitment, participants will receive the written project information leaflet
      and will be required to give written consent prior to participation. Participants will also
      be required to provide their contact details which will be used to communicate project
      activities.

      Participant assessments and feedback: Prior to participating in the programme, participants
      will be required to complete a short baseline questionnaire that includes measures of their
      background data, gender attitudes, perceptions of sexual violence, violence exposures,
      knowledge or use of campus support services or other forms of support (informal and formal).
      The same tool used at baseline will be used at 1 year post-implementation of workshops to
      assess any changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. In compliance to the COVID-19
      regulations the researchers will contact participants and invite them to participate
      remotely. A survey link will be sent to them which they will use to complete the
      questionnaire. For the qualitative follow up component, researchers will systemically sample
      half of the participants at each site and invite them to participate in telephonic in-depth
      interviews. On agreed days and times, researchers will conduct the telephonic interview using
      a structured guide. All interviews will be audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and
      translated into English in preparation for analysis. The assessments are solely for the
      purpose of assessing the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention and impact
      evaluation.

      Facilitator support, debriefing and feedback: During the implementation of the programme,
      facilitators will be expected to fill attendance records, collect filled participant
      evaluation forms and compile session reports. Attendance record will allow us to ascertain
      whether workshop attendance gets sustained throughout the four sessions. Facilitators will
      use session reports to document challenges encountered and how those were resolved; which
      exercises worked well and which did not; what do they think could be done to make the
      exercises work better. Each facilitator will be expected to attend a weekly two-hour face to
      face debriefing and planning meeting chaired by the lead researchers. The debriefing sessions
      will be used to engage with the participant evaluations and as a means of getting facilitator
      feedback relating to intervention delivery. Facilitators will also be expected to request the
      inputs of the project manager when dealing with any challenges in implementation. In closing
      the implementation, in-depth one-on-one interviews will be conducted with facilitators on
      their experiences of delivering the intervention, reflecting on similar issues as are
      observed for participants. A focus group discussion will also be conducted with all
      facilitators to allow them to discuss in detail amongst themselves the challenges, successes
      and suggest improvements to the intervention.
    

Intervention name(s): Ntombi Vimbela! intervention
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Ntombi Vimbela! constitutes a series of ten workshops running for a total 35 hours. The intervention is designed to raise awareness about sexual rights, violence against women and girls and its drivers; sensitise about gender inequality and build more gender equitable beliefs; sensitise about sexual assault; equip participants with skills to assess and act in situations where there is a high risk of sexual assault; build resilience and skills to withstand social and material pressures in college or university ; enable utilisation of health, psycho-social services and access to justice for survivors; enhance communication skills and building healthy sexual relationships; promote mental health and coping and build empathy towards survivors.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Intervention model description: This is a pilot and feasibility study where sites are conveniently selected and the recruitment of participants is by invitation and non-randomised. All participants will receive the Ntombi Vimbela intervention.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other