Intimate Partner Violence in the Era of Pandemic: Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 and a Text-based Mitigation Campaign in Urban Peru

In collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations (MIMP), this project will co-create and evaluate the impact of an intimate partner violence (IPV) awareness campaign delivered remotely that is specifically targeted to men at risk of perpetrating IPV. The team will conduct two rounds of phone-based surveys among a large sample of couples in urban Peru to understand the impact of restrictions instituted to contain the spread of COVID-19  on IPV and intra-household conflict. The surveys will also allow the team to identify couples at heightened risk of IPV as a result of these measures and inform the government’s response to IPV by helping them target services to couples most in need. The project will also evaluate the efficacy of an SMS intervention designed to help men manage emotional regulation while at heightened risk of committing expressive violence. By leveraging text based delivery channels, this intervention is likely to be cost-effective and scalable both during and in the aftermath of the crisis. This project was funded in partnership with J-PAL’s Crime and Violence Initiative (CVI).