Girl Empower: Studying the Impact of Mentorship, Asset Building, Caregiver Discussion Groups, and Cash Transfers on Reducing Girl's Vulnerability to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Girl Empower: Studying the Impact of Mentorship, Asset Building, Caregiver Discussion Groups, and Cash Transfers on Reducing Girl's Vulnerability to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

Girl Empower (GE) is a program designed to equip girls with the skills and experiences necessary to make healthy, strategic life choices and to stay safe from sexual exploitation and abuse.

The GE program is unique in its approach because it addresses girls' needs holistically. The girls' activities will take place in girl-only safe spaces located in their communities and contains the following components: Mentorship: girls have access to older female mentors. Mentors both provide weekly group-based and one-to-one interaction with girls as well as teach them critical skills; Asset building: Girls will have access to life skills and financial literacy training. This includes setting up savings accounts so girls practice their financial literacy skills, Monthly caregiver discussion groups among guardians of program girls, Capacity building and training of local health and psychosocial service providers to provide quality services to survivors of gender-based violence Intervention communities will either receive the GE program alone or the GE program with the plus small cash transfers to the girls' families as an incentive to attendance in weekly sessions (GE+).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy, eligible girls aged 13 to 14 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

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