Evaluating a Workshop on Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Bystander Intervention

The purpose of this evaluation was to assess whether an online workshop on gender-based violence prevention and bystander intervention at a South African university (1) increased the participants’ confidence to discuss gender-based violence (GBV) acts with their peers, (2) increased the participants’ understanding of the link between GBV and HIV, (3) increased the participants’ knowledge of the support structures available on campus, and (4) improved the participants’ ability to intervene in violent situations. A differences-in-differences research design was used. The research design consisted of two phases in which participants from four university residences were used as control and intervention groups. The results showed that the participants generally had a strong confidence regardless of the intervention and were able to identify the acts of GBV. They also showed a good understanding of the link between GBV and HIV. The results also indicated that the participants became knowledgeable about the support structures available on campus and that they felt empowered to intervene in violent situations. However, the timing between the different phases and steps (for example the pretest, intervention and post-test) of the research process for both intervention and control groups was too short. The evaluators recommend that more time between follow-up periods be granted to participants in the future in order to examine whether there would be significant changes in the results.