Pathways to Reducing Dating and Relationship Violence and Gender-based Violence in School-based Interventions: Systematic Review Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis

This paper uses qualitative comparative analysis to understand why some school-based interventions for dating and relationship violence and gender-based violence are more effective than others. Results indicate that a central condition for the reduction of victimization is the reduction of perpetration. However, a number of other pathways to the reduction of victimization exist, generally characterized by the implementation of single-gender components or a critical mass of girls. Absence of parental involvement and of narrative components was important as well. These findings underscore the importance of both simple content (clearly connecting victimization to perpetration) and complex influences (such as the role that participant gender and single-gender activities may play) in understanding pathways through which interventions effectively reduce all forms of DRV and GBV.