Lusajo Kajula's presentation at a gender-based violence researchers networking meeting in Mwanza, Tanzania in March 2019.

1. Cash transfers and gender-based violence:
The Cash Plus Study
Lusajo Kajula, Ph.D.
UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti
Presented at GBV Research Networking Meeting
March 14, 2019
Mwanza, Tanzania

2. Social protection
Set of programs and policies that aim to reduce poverty, exclusion and vulnerability.
Contributory & non-contributory schemes, including:
– cash transfers, in-kind transfers
– waivers for schooling or health-related fees
– insurance schemes
Can be
– Protective: responding to adversity or shocks experienced by poor households
– Preventive: aiming to prevent future harm by bolstering households’ ability to cope
with future shocks such as loss of income or unexpected flooding
– Transformative: address structural barriers & aim to promote
• empowerment, voice and agency among adolescents
• tackle harmful socio-cultural practices
• improve their strategic position in families and community

3. Tanzania’s Productive Social Safety
Net (PSSN)

4. Cash transfers, violence & youth
Cash transfers increasingly implemented by governments to
reduce poverty
• Economic drivers of GBV pathways (school drop-out, poor
mental health, early marriage, HIV risk behaviors) and
violence outcomes
– Are economic strengthening programs protective?
– Key group to breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty
4
Cash Plus for GBV reduction

5.  Why doesn’t cash work the same everywhere/on all
outcomes?
 Would help if we better understand pathways of impact
 Can complementary interventions and linkages to services
(Cash Plus) facilitate safer adolescent transitions into
adulthood?
Research gaps

6. Target population:
Male & female
adolescents aged 14-
19 years (1,500
youth)
Location: 4 districts
Mufindi (Iringa) and
Rungwe (Mbeya)
Partners: Tanzania
Social Action Fund
(TASAF), Tanzania
AIDS Commission
(TACAIDS),
MOHCDGEC,
UNICEF
Program components:
The Cash: PSSN households (TASAF cash transfer
programme)
The Plus:
• Livelihoods and life skills trainings
• Mentoring, including referrals and productive grant
• Linkages to adolescent friendly SRH, HIV and other
health and violence response services in the
communities
Cash Plus – The Intervention

7.  Knowledge of and access to SRH/HIV
services
 Gender equitable attitudes
• Violence, exploitation victimization,
violence perpetration and transactional
sex
 Sexual debut, marriage and pregnancy
• Livelihoods knowledge, skills, aspirations
• Economic activity
 Stress, mental health, hope, aspirations
and risk preferences.
Photo credit: A Kirk
Adolescent outcomes examined

8. Midline findings

9. Summary of midline findings
Domain Total number of outcomes
Number of statistically significant
impacts (full sample)
Education 9 1
Economic activities (participation, hours) 17 3
Aspirations (educational, occupational) 10 0
Attitudes (quality of life, self-esteem,
social support, locus of control)
5 0
Attitudes on gender 5 1
Contraceptive knowledge 17 3
HIV knowledge 4 1
HIV risk (perceived, tested) 5
SRH visits and reasons for visit 8 1
Total 63 10

10. Intervention increased economic activities
Figure 8.2. Youth participation in any economic activities,
by interview wave and treatment status.

11. Economic activities
Qualitative findings elaborate adolescent engagement in business activities before and after livelihood
training.
Me, before I started training I was cooking buns, but after I started training we were taught simple
business plan, I started selling soap, salt and juice. Female, 14 years, Rungwe
Participants who reported having started businesses prior to the training cited financial difficulties at home
as the main reason for their interest in business starting the same:
I mean, you look at how the system of life goes at home, and a person when you reach 16 or 17
years, you must know how life goes. You will be surprised you need money and then you ask from
Mama and Mama says she doesn’t have, that’s why you have to evaluate and act. Female, 15 years,
Rungwe
Despite a lack of quantitative impacts on entrepreneurial aspirations at midline, one male
adolescent describes his aspirations that are focused on improving his family’s living conditions in
terms of food and shelter:
Another thing, if I had at least a little money to roof this house [pointing at their unroofed house] for
our mother to live in. She lives there, the situation is difficult but we still depend on her. I have plans
to do small business to earn some money, so my younger siblings can eat, live in a good house…
(M,19 years, Rungwe)

12. Protective effects: Youth school dropout between
baseline and midline
Proportion who dropped out of school by midline, by gender and trea

13. Intervention increased gender-equitable attitudes,
particularly among males
GEM Scale, by gender, treatment and time

14. Conclusion
Adolescent Cash Plus intervention is:
– Addressing multiple vulnerabilities of adolescents in Tanzania
– Informing programs which can run on a government platform
– Providing evidence on a pilot with extremely poor, marginalized adolescents
After 12 weeks of training, positive impacts on knowledge and attitudes:
– Participation in economic activities
– More gender equitable attitudes
– More knowledge of modern contraceptives
– Increased knowledge of HIV prevention
Too soon for changes in behavior, to be measured again at endline (May – July
2019)

15. Acknowledgements
• Government partners:
– Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF)
– Tanzania Commission for AID (TACAIDS)
– Ministry of Community Development, Gender and
Children (MCDGC)
• Pilot project & evaluation receive generous
support from Oak Foundation, Irish Aid, Sida, and
UNICEF
• We thank Technoserve and Tamasha for technical
assistance in curriculum development

16. Ahsanteni!