Abstract
Background:Sexual violence is a widespread human rights violation that affects women and girls throughout the world, with particularly high rates among college-age youth. In the United States, many universities have developed primary prevention education programs to comply with federal mandates; however, these programs are limited in sub-Saharan Africa.Objectives:The purpose of this pilot study is to describe and evaluate the training of peer facilitators for a sexual violence prevention program at two universities in Ghana; the University of Cape Coast and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.Methods:A three-day “master trainer” training was held focusing on sexual violence, sexual health, bias, healthy relationships, and facilitation skills. Participants completed pre- and post-test evaluations on knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to the topics and participants from the University of Cape Coast also participated in a focus group about bias and self-care.Findings:Participants (n = 23) at both universities demonstrated significant changes in the domains of: self-care knowledge, sexual violence knowledge, rape myth acceptance, and facilitation skills.Conclusions:This study provides early evidence about training methods for primary prevention programs aimed at students on university campuses in sub-Saharan Africa. Further research is needed on peer-facilitation, training, and primary prevention programs related to sexual violence for university students in sub-Saharan Africa.
Highlights
In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly half of all women will experience some form of intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime [1]
This study focused on the TOT model using a Facilitator Training Manual. It resulted in a cadre of 23 trained master trainers at two universities in Ghana who are ready to begin delivering the primary prevention program to their peers. These pieces are critical to the successful implementation and scale-up of the primary prevention program at University of Cape Coast (UCC) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and could be influential in implementation across other universities in Ghana
The strengths of this project are the foundation that it is evidencebased, innovative, and culturally adapted. This model was successfully deployed at two different sites and demonstrates that master trainers can successfully train other trainers. This manuscript reports on findings from a TOT model utilized to train master trainers for a sexual violence prevention program to be delivered to university students in Ghana
Summary
In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly half of all women will experience some form of intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime [1]. There is a need for culturally appropriate, peer-led sexual violence prevention programs on university campuses to address underlying causes of violence, such as knowledge about sexual violence, rape myth acceptance, and other social factors which normalize violence in relationships [6]. The final workshop focused on self-care, with the purpose of providing education and brainstorming ways the participants can incorporate self-care into their daily lives In addition to these workshops, participants practiced the full-length program with partners as well as discussed the utility of the Facilitator Training Manual, and ways it could be improved. Conclusions: This study provides early evidence about training methods for primary prevention programs aimed at students on university campuses in sub-Saharan Africa. Further research is needed on peerfacilitation, training, and primary prevention programs related to sexual violence for university students in sub-Saharan Africa
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