The research behind our work
Intimate partner violence has deep behavioural and social roots. Recent research shows that edutainment, specifically radio drama, can shift key attitudes, norms and behaviors.
NOVAH builds on that evidence, and adds to it.​
Why radio drama's can change behahaviour
People learn through stories. When listeners identify with characters who face the same tensions they do at home, they reflect on their own behaviour in a way that direct messaging rarely achieves.
Radio reaches everyone, including the rural and low-literacy audiences most affected by violence. And unlike a workshop or a poster, a drama can model alternative behaviours through listening
The evidence that it works
64%
of rigorous studies in a recent peer-reviewed meta-review found edutainment reduced women's actual experience of violence.
The broader edutainment evidence base spans health, education, and gender outcomes across dozens of countries. Evaluators of global development programmes recommend edutainment to prevent violence against women.
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Our theory of change
Intimate partner violence has many drivers. We focus on the ones a radio drama can change: social norms that tolerate violence and gender inequality, poor communication and alcohol-related conflict.
Our dramas follow familiar characters navigating the same tensions listeners face at home. Hearing them work through conflict and make decisions together, listeners start to see new possibilities for their own relationships. Reflection prompts after each episode encourage couples to talk and try small changes.
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Over time, couples communicate better, share decisions, and reduce conflict. Women feel more empowered to seek help. And the community shifts too as people become less tolerant of violence and more supportive of women who speak up.
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The result, at scale: fewer women experiencing violence, better health and agency, and stronger families.
Our 4-step process
We use an evidence based approach to content production and test our content at different stages.
1. FORMATIVE RESEARCH
In-depth interviews and focus groups with couples and community leaders in rural areas help us understand the daily realities of our audience and identify the most promising drivers of change to build our storylines around.
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2. ITERATIVE SCRIPTWRITING
Based on formative research and consultations with local gender NGOs and officials, we select 3-5 messages to test. We produce short audio stories embodying each of these messages, and we then test them with audiences. We analyse their reactions and narrow down to the 2-3 key messages that resonate most before writing the final script.
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3. PRE-AIRING EVALUATION
Finished episodes are played to a sample audience. We assess how listeners understand and appreciate the story, and most importantly how they interpret the messages, whether they remember them, and whether they shifted any attitudes or behaviours. This step also screens for unintended effects (such as backlash or the risk to do harm) before wider broadcast.
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4. AIR & REACH MEASUREMENT
Episodes air on popular radios at peak times, after weeks of promotion through ads, and broadcast is monitored through an AI algorithm. We partner with well-known male journalists to reach a broader audience and reduce the risk of backlash, and run a listener survey to measure reach and engagement.​​​​​
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The evidence we are generating ourselves
~40%
relative reduction in violence reported by women, baseline-endline with 200 couples. ​
The study was a pilot with limited statistical power. Results are suggestive, not definitive.