Abstract / Summary
Background: Violence against children (VAC) at homes and schools remains highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. We tested the effectiveness of a preventive intervention addressing teacher and parental violence simultaneously.
Methods: In this two-arm, cluster randomised controlled trial, 16 public primary schools in Morogoro, Tanzania, were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive either the Interaction Competencies with Children (ICC) programme or no intervention. Children (aged 8–15 years), their parents, and teachers were enrolled. The ICC intervention targeted teachers and parents focusing on non-violent behaviour management strategies and positive adult–child interactions. Interviewers at follow-up were blinded. The primary outcome was emotional and physical VAC, measured by children and adults’ reports at baseline and follow-up. All randomised participants were analysed. Missing data were estimated through multiple imputation. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT#06369025).
Findings: In total, 410 and 427 children, 380 and 394 mothers, 253 and 246 fathers, and 244 and 235 teachers were assigned to the intervention and control condition, respectively. Participants were recruited between 15 April to 24 August 2024 for baseline and between 1 October 2024 to 21 February 2025 for follow-up assessment. Participants in intervention schools reported significantly greater reductions in emotional and physical violence by mothers (child report (CR): Cohen’s d = 0·227 for emotional violence (EV), 0·134 for physical violence (PV); adult report (AR): 0·343 for EV, 0·473 for PV), fathers (CR: 0·180 for EV, 0·215 for PV; AR: 0·222 for EV, 0·187 for PV), and teachers (CR: 0·089 for EV, 0·164 for PV; AR: 0·336 for EV, 0·607 for PV). No adverse events related to the intervention were detected.Interpretation: By leveraging the infrastructure of public schools, ICC offers an effective and scalable multi-sectoral model for VAC prevention.