Edutainment to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children

Objectives

The review set out to assess whether edutainment can reduce violence against women and children by changing attitudes, norms and behaviours. It aimed to synthesise findings from 21 rigorous impact evaluations on different forms of violence, including violence against women, child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation and violence against children. A further aim was to identify common mechanisms through which edutainment influences behaviour and to highlight methodological gaps that limit conclusions about its effectiveness at scale.

Findings

The review shows that edutainment can positively shift violence-related norms and behaviours, but effects are not uniform across outcomes and populations. Around 71% of the 21 studies reported reductions in attitudes and norms that support violence, and 64% of the 11 studies measuring behaviour documented declines in violent acts. The largest evidence base concerns violence against women, with 13 studies and moderate protective impacts in 57-69% of them.

Evidence on child, early and forced marriage is relatively stronger in proportional terms, with 63-75% of eight studies finding reductions, although the total number of studies is smaller. Only a few studies have examined impacts on female genital mutilation, and just one addressed violence against children with no significant effect. Adverse impacts are uncommon, but several evaluations report mixed or variable results by study arm, follow-up period or target group. The review highlights four main mechanisms for change: increased information, individual persuasion, diffusion of new norms through social networks and better linkages to services.

Recommendations

The author recommends continued and expanded use of edutainment to address violence against women and child, early and forced marriage, while recognising that design quality and context are critical for impact. Programmes should be grounded in theory, explicitly target norms and behaviours linked to specific forms of violence and be integrated with supportive services and broader prevention efforts. Implementers should invest in audience research, careful message testing and strategies that promote norm diffusion beyond direct viewers or listeners. Funders and researchers should prioritise more rigorous and diversified evaluations, including studies focused on violence against children and female genital mutilation, longer-term follow-up, and robust measurement of mechanisms of change. Addressing methodological challenges, such as selection bias, contamination and underpowered samples, is essential to fully harness the potential of edutainment for large-scale violence reduction.