Empowering Girls, Engaging Boys: Reducing Gender-Based Violence in Pakistan through School-level Interventions

We evaluate the impact of school-based interventions aimed at reducing gender-based violence (GBV) and empowering adolescent girls in Punjab, Pakistan, where harassment restricts girls’ mobility and school attendance. In collaboration with the University of Health Sciences and the School Education Department, we conduct a clustered randomized controlled trial in gender-segregated public middle schools. Girls in treatment schools receive self-defense training focused on situational awareness, assertive communication, and verbal and physical response strategies. Boys in treatment schools receive GBV sensitization and bystander intervention training. We assess the impacts of the programs on girls’ mobility, experiences of harassment in public spaces and education outcomes, and on boy’s awareness, attitudes toward GBV and willingness to intervene. By combining empowerment strategies for girls with preventive training for boys, this study contributes to the evidence on early GBV prevention in low-resource settings, examining whether school-level programs can shift norms and expand opportunities for adolescent girls.