Content uploaded by Erdenechimeg Ulziisuren
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Erdenechimeg Ulziisuren on Apr 26, 2022
Content may be subject to copyright.
1
Final report for the Endline Survey for
the Generation Breakthrough Project
Prepared for
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
IDB Bhaban (15th Floor), E/8-A Rokeya Sharani
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
by
Erdenechimeg Ulziisuren,
International Consultant
Data collected by
The Nielsen Company Bangladesh Limited
December, 2019
Acknowledgements
The UNFPA worked with Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry of Women and Children
Affairs (MoWCA) and Plan International Bangladesh to implement the Generation
Breakthrough Project in its project areas at four districts (Barguna, Patuakhali, Barisal town
and Dhaka city). The UNFPA assigned Human Development Research Centre (HDRC) to
conduct the Baseline Survey of Generation Breakthrough Project in its project areas. For its
Midline and Endline evaluation, the Nielsen Company Bangladesh Limited was contracted to
collect data, and an independent international consultant was contracted to analyze the data and
write final reports for Midline and Endline evaluations.
I am grateful to UNFPA team’s support, especially Ms. Eshani Ruwanpura - Programme
Specialist for Adolescents and Youth (AY), Dr. Muhammad Munir Hussain - National
Programme Officer for Adolescents and Youth, Mr. Jefarson Chakma – National Programme
Officer-M&E and Ms. Humaira Farhanaz - National Program Officer for Gender, Adolescents
and Youth; for their valuable inputs and guidance throughout this research, including
finalization of methodology, data collection instruments, data analysis and report writing.
Erdenechimeg Ulziisuren
December, 2019
Abbreviations
AH Adolescent Health
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
ANC Antenatal care
ASRHR Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
GB Generation Breakthrough
GBV Gender Based Violence
GEMS Gender Equity Movement in Schools
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
pp Percentage points
PNC Postnatal care
STI Sexually transmitted infections/diseases
SRH Sexual and Reproductive Health
SRHR Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
1
Status of Selected Indicators of the Generation Breakthrough Project
Indicators
GB ARM
GEMS ARM
Control ARM
Baseline
Midline
Endline
Baseline
Midline
Endline
Baseline
Midline
Endline
1. Percentage of adolescents who are Gender equitable, Non-
violent, and Responsible
Gender equitable
High
44.6
66.9
97.5
38.8
62.4
98.6
38.1
40.8
64.3
Moderate
53.4
32.0
2.5
59.4
36.8
1.4
60.8
55.9
34.9
Low
2.0
1.1
0.0
1.8
0.9
0.0
1.0
3.3
0.8
Non-violent
85.3
81.6
93.2
87.3
82.7
92.9
85.8
86.5
85.3
Responsible
0.0
2.1
0.4
0.2
1.3
0.3
0.1
0.2
0.4
2. Percentage of adolescents who have comprehensive
knowledge on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
issues and negative effects of Gender Based Violence (GBV)
Comprehensive knowledge on SRHR issues
0.0
1.3
0.7
0.0
0.4
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Negative effects of GBV
46.6
65.8
84.5
38.6
56.8
80.3
47.3
36.8
38.6
3. Percentage of adolescents who are knowledgeable about
sources of SRHR and GBV prevention information
92.5
95.9
96.3
89.4
96.1
92.8
91.3
94.7
96.7
4. Percentage of adolescents who agree that a husband is
justified in beating his wife for at least one reason
24.9
22.8
3.8
25.4
26.5
2.5
25.7
27.4
30.5
5. Level of skills among adolescents about SRHR and GBV
58.2
78.0
81.0
47.7
73.5
92.2
50.9
53.1
57.9
6. Percentage of adolescents who felt able to say 'No' to any
undesired proposal for a physical relationship
94.3
96.1
96.9
94.0
92.5
96.6
92.1
93.9
93.9
7. Percentage of adolescents married before 18
1.2
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.7
0.0
0.1
8. Percentage of adolescents who have comprehensive
knowledge on HIV/AIDS
5.5
14.4
17.5
0.6
14.6
24.9
4.0
6.4
4.9
9. Percentage of adolescents who reported having at least one
youth friendly facility in or around their school/madrasah or
community
13.0
40.9
56.5
13.8
20.3
46.0
17.3
10.5
9.7
i
CONTENT
No.
Title
Page #
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Status of Selected Indicators of Generation Breakthrough Project
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................ i-vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES .....................................................................
1.1 Introduction …..………. ...................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives of the Survey ...................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...........................................................................................................
2.1 Study Areas ……… ................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Target Respondents .................................................................................................................... 3
2.3 Sample Size ……………. .......................................................................................................... 3
2.4 Data Processing and Database Preparation ............................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 3: BASIC INFORMATION OF THE RESPONDENTS .......................................................
3.1 Age of the Respondents ............................................................................................................ 4
3.2 Parents’ Level of Education ....................................................................................................... 4
3.3 Parents’ Occupation ................................................................................................................... 4
3.4 Marital Status of Respondents ................................................................................................... 4
3.5 Residence of Respondents ......................................................................................................... 4
3.6 Key Income Earner of Respondent’s Household ....................................................................... 4
3.7 Key Decision Maker Regarding Education Matters at Respondent’s Household ..................... 4
3.8 Key Decision Maker Regarding Marital Matters at Respondent’s Household .......................... 5
CHAPTER 4: SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND RIGHTS OF ADOLESCENTS .....
4.1 Knowledge, Attitude and Experiences on ASRHR .....................................................................
4.1.1 Knowledge of ASRHR and gender issues in curricula of school teaching ................... 6
4.1.2 Dependable sources of SRH information ..................................................................... 6
4.1.3 Feelings with bodily changes ........................................................................................ 6
4.1.4 Experience of nocturnal emission and masturbation .................................................... 6
4.1.5 Experienced menstruation and maintenance of menstrual health during period .......... 7
4.1.6 Knowledge about problems during pregnancy, ANC and PNC ................................... 7
4.1.7 Knowledge on three delays responsible for maternal mortality.................................... 8
4.1.8 Knowledge about contraceptives .................................................................................. 8
4.1.9 Knowledge on sources of condom and its proper use ................................................... 8
4.1.10 Knowledge of proper use of pills .................................................................................. 8
4.1.11 Discussion on issues related to ASRH .......................................................................... 8
4.1.12 Knowledge on condom use, its protection from HIV/AIDS, and pregnancy ............... 9
4.1.13 Knowledge of pregnancy at first unprotected sex ....................................................... 10
4.1.14 Experience of health facilities utilized and satisfaction level ..................................... 10
4.1.15 Knowledge on adolescent friendly health services in locality .................................... 10
4.1.16 Household decision maker on health-related issues ................................................... 10
ii
No.
Title
Page #
4.2 Knowledge and Practice of Smoking and Drug Use among Adolescents ..................................
4.2.1 Awareness about the smokers and drug users, harmful effects and practices............. 11
4.2.2 Exposure to pornographic materials ........................................................................... 12
4.3 Knowledge on STIs and HIV/AIDS among Adolescents ............................................................
4.3.1 Knowledge on STIs, transmission and manifestation ................................................. 12
4.3.2 Experience of symptoms of STIs and consulting service provider ............................. 13
4.3.3 Knowledge on HIV/AIDS, transmission and protection ............................................ 13
4.3.4 Comprehensive knowledge on HIV transmission ....................................................... 13
4.3.5 Frequency of sex and confidence of motivation partner to use condoms .................. 13
CHAPTER 5: GENDER ISSUES .............................................................................................................
5.1 Knowledge, Attitude and Experiences of School/Madrasah Students .........................................
5.1.1 Gender perceptions and attitudes ................................................................................ 15
5.1.2 Knowledge of negative effects of violence against boys, girls and women ............... 19
5.1.3 Classmates’ exposure to violence ............................................................................... 19
5.1.4 Knowledge of services for violence against boys, girls and women .......................... 19
5.1.5 Experience of receiving services on violence issues and satisfaction level ................ 20
5.1.6 Intimate friend’s exposure to proposal for physical relationship ................................ 20
5.1.7 Experience of protesting against violence against boys, girls and women ................. 21
5.1.8 Alternative skills development to manage violence ................................................... 21
5.2 Opinion of School and Madrasah Teachers on Gender Equity Issues .........................................
5.2.1 Curriculum, class/period, and teachers focusing gender equity .................................. 20
5.2.2 Subjects/issues taught or information provided in the course/topic on gender equity 20
5.2.3 Perception about sex-based appointment of teachers for gender and ASRHR ........... 21
5.2.4 Opinion on friendship between girls and boys ........................................................... 21
5.2.5 Attitude of school and madrasah teachers on different gender issues ........................ 23
CHAPTER 6: CHILD MARRIAGE .........................................................................................................
6.1 Knowledge on Legal Age of Marriage of Respondents ........................................................... 27
6.2 Source of Knowledge of Legal Age of Marriage of Respondents ........................................... 27
6.3 Reported Bad Effects of Child Marriage by Respondents ....................................................... 27
6.4 Perception on Child Marriage of Respondents ........................................................................ 28
CHAPTER 7: VIOLENCE ON ADOLESCENT STUDENTS IN SCHOOL ..................................
7.1 Violence against Students by Teachers or School Staff ..............................................................
7.1.1 Exposure to physical violence from teachers/employees ........................................... 29
7.1.2 Exposure to psychological violence from teachers/school staff ……………………30
7.2 Exposure to Violence in School Perpetrated by Students .............................................................
7.2.1 Exposure to physical violence .................................................................................... 31
7.2.2 Exposure to psychological harassment ....................................................................... 31
7.2.3 Exposure to sexual harassment in schools/madrasahs ................................................ 32
7.2.4 Student perpetrators of violence against fellow students ........................................... 33
7.2.5 Witnessing violence against students and actions taken ............................................. 33
CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................. 35
iii
ANNEX
Annex 1: Data Tables ..............................................................................................................................
Annex 2: Construction of Composite Index .............................................................................................
Annex 3: Statistical Significance Test for Selected Indicators .................................................................
i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bangladesh has an adolescent population
of approximately 36 million: more than
one-fifth of the total population of
Bangladesh are those between the ages of
10 and 19 years (BBS, 2015). A majority
of them have a poor understanding of their
own sexuality, wellbeing, health and rights
(Barkat et al. 2002
1
, Barkat and Majid
2003
2
, Hossain and Suman 2013
3
, Naved
and Amin 2013
4
). Pre-adolescent and
adolescent boys and girls grow up here
often witnessing or experiencing Gender-
based Violence (GBV). Moreover, since
they do not get the required information on
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive
Health and Rights (ASRHR) from home
and/or school, the mostly learn it from
inaccurate sources. Proper and adequate
education is essential for them to
understand their desires, safer sex,
sexuality, reproduction and HIV or other
STIs. There is an enormous need for this
group to grow up in a healthy, non-violent,
and gender-equal environment. Early
marriage is another problem in
Bangladesh, with 58.9 percent of women
aged 20-24 years married before the age of
18 and 19.3 percent before 15 years of age
5
.
The risk of unwanted pregnancies among
adolescents increase, when they become
sexually active without knowledge of or
access to contraceptives, even if it is within
marriage. Against this backdrop, access to
1
Barkat, A., Rahman, M., Majid, M., Ara, R., Maksud,
AKM., Poddar, A. and Akhter, S. (2002). Baseline
Survey on Adolescent Reproductive Health. Dhaka:
UNFPA
2
Barkat, A. and Majid, M. (2003).Adolescent
Reproductive Health in Bangladesh: Status, Policies,
Programs, and Issues. Dhaka: USAID
3
Hossain, KT. and Suman, MSR. (2013). Violence
against Women: Nature, Causes and Dimensions in
Contemporary Bangladesh. Bangladesh e-Journal of
reliable ASRHR information and services is
both a priority and a challenge. Increasing
this accessibility will help address issues
such as gender-based violence, early
marriage, unwanted pregnancies and high-
risk sexual behavior (Barkat and Majid,
2003).
Against this backdrop UNFPA
implemented the Generation Breakthrough
(GB) project in collaboration with the
Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA)
and Plan International Bangladesh in 2012
which focused on adolescents aged 10-19
with the aim of developing them into
responsible, non-violent and healthy
adults, as future (sexual) partners, fathers,
mothers and care givers, with gender
equitable attitudes and practices. The GB
project, supported by the Embassy of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands, includes a
component on raising awareness on key
GBV and SRHR issues among adolescents
and community members, using varied
modes of media and communication.
The GB project was implemented in 350
schools and madrasahs and 150 clubs in
both urban and rural areas, i.e. in the City
Corporations of Dhaka and Barisal and the
districts of Barguna and Patuakhali.
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the
core interventions implemented through
the project in schools/madrasahs and clubs,
Sociology. Volume 10, Number 1, January 2013. Pp79-
91
4
Naved, RT. and Amin, S. (Eds.) (2013). From Evidence
to Policy: Addressing Gender-Based Violence against
Women and Girls in Bangladesh. Dhaka
5
National Institute of Population Research and Training
(NIPORT), and ICF. 2019. Bangladesh Demographic
and Health Survey 2017-18: Key Indicators. Dhaka,
Bangladesh, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NIPORT,
and ICF.
ii
three surveys were conducted: The
Baseline survey (BLS) of the project was
conducted by the Human Development
Research Centre in 2015; the Midline
survey (MLS) and the Endline survey
(ELS) were conducted by the Nielsen
Company (Bangladesh) Limited in 2018
and 2019, respectively.
ENDLINE SURVEY KEY RESULTS
The same methodology used for the BLS
and the MLS was employed for the ELS,
when determining the sample size and
sample distribution. The respondents of the
quantitative survey are referred to as
primary respondents. Data for the
quantitative survey was collected from
3,063 adolescents (1,638 girls and 1,425
boys) of classes VIII and IX in 102 target
schools and madrasahs across 4 districts –
Dhaka, Barisal, Barguna and Patuakhali –
which were stratified into three arms (34 in
each arm). In addition, data was collected
from 306 teachers in schools and madrasahs
where the GB project was implemented.
The three arms are as follows:
• GB arm: Schools and madrasahs
with all GB interventions
• GEMS arm: Schools and
madrasahs with only GEMS
intervention
• Control arm: No intervention
For the qualitative survey, a total of 74
respondents including Government
Officials, NGOs, Service Providers,
parents/guardians as well as girls and boys
from classes VIII and IX in schools and
madrasahs were interviewed. A total of 28
girls and boys were selected for in-depth
interviews as part of the qualitative
research.
Basic Information of Respondents
Most students were 13-14 years (74.4%),
followed by age 15-17 years (23.0%). All
GB and GEMS arm students were
unmarried and 96.8 percent of respondents
were living with their parents.
The fathers of approximately one in every
three students and the mothers of one in
every two students had education up to class
VIII.
For 92.1 percent students, their father was
the key income earner and the key decision
maker regarding education (71.4%) and
marriage (75.9%).
Key Project Indicators
The GB project has nine key indicators and
the survey results of these indicators show
that there is a substantial increase in terms
of adolescents’ knowledge, attitude and
practices in relation to SRHR and GBV
issues. There is a slightly more positive
change among students in the GB arm
compared to the GEMS arm
6
.
6
Note: There are three notations of statistical
significance: ***p<0.001, **p<0.01 and *p<0.05 to show if the change between the BLS
and ELS was statistically significant.
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
iii
Indicator 1: Percentage of adolescents
who are gender equitable, non-violent,
and responsible
As shown below in Figures 1a, 1b and 1c,
there is little difference between the
students in the GB and GEMS arms in
practicing equitable, non-violent and
responsible behavior. In terms of change
since the BLS, there was an increase in all
three behaviors positively, and all are
statistically significant.
Indicator 2: Percentage of adolescents
who have comprehensive knowledge on
SRHR and the negative effects of GBV
GEMS arm students demonstrated a higher
level of comprehensive knowledge on
SRHR compared to GB arm students
(Figure 2a). Comprehensive knowledge on
the negative effects of GBV (Figure 2b)
almost doubled among GB and GEMS arm
students vis-à-vis the BLS; whereas there
was no change observed among students
from the Control arm.
Indicator 3: Percentage of adolescents
who are knowledgeable about sources of
SRHR
It was interesting to find that students in the
Control arm were slightly more
knowledgeable about sources of SRHR and
GBV prevention information than students
from the GB and GEMS arms.
Indicator 4: Percentage of adolescents
who agree that a husband is justified in
beating his wife for at least one reason
There was dramatic drop among GB and
GEMS arm students who agreed to this
statement from around 25 percent to around
3 percent between the baseline and the
0.0
1.3
0.7
0.0
0.4
1.0
0.0 0.0 0.0
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 2a: Percentage of adolescents who had
comprehensive knowledge on SRHR issues
***
**
***
44.6
66.9
97.5
38.8
62.4
98.6
38.1 40.8
64.3
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 1a: Percentage of adolescents who had high
equitable gender attitude ***
***
***
85.3 81.6
93.2
87.3
82.7
92.9
85.8 86.5 85.3
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 1b: Percentage of adolescents who had non-
violent behaviour ***
***
0
2.1
0.4
0.2
1.3
0.3
0.1 0.2 0.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 1c: Percentage of adolescents who had
responsible behaviour
***
**
*
92.5
95.9 96.3
89.4
96.1
92.8
91.3
94.7
96.7
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 3: Percentage of adolescents who were
knowledgeable about the source of SRHR and GBV
prevention information ***
**
***
46.6
65.8
84.5
38.6
56.8
80.3
47.3
36.8 38.6
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 2b: Percentage of adolescents who had
comprehensive knowledge on negative effects of GBV
***
***
***
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
iv
endline. However, those who supported the
statement increased among students in the
Control arm.
Indicator 5: Level of skills among
adolescents on SRHR and GBV
Nine in every ten students from the GEMS
arm were able to develop skills on SRHR
and GBV. Similarly, eight in every ten
students in the GB arm developed these
skills. In both arms, compared to the
Control arm, there was a significant
increase in the skills level.
Indicator 6: Percentage of adolescents
who felt they could say 'NO' to any
undesired sexual proposition
There was almost no difference between the
GB, GEMS and Control arm students in
terms of feeling able to say 'NO' to any
undesired sexual proposition.
Indicator 7: Percentage of adolescents
married before 18 years
All students in the GB and GEMS arms
were unmarried and 0.1 percent of students
in the Control arm were unmarried.
Indicator 8: Percentage of adolescents
who have comprehensive knowledge on
HIV/AIDS
The level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS
among students from the GEMS arm
increased by 24.3 percentage points (pp),
compared to the BLS. The level of
knowledge among students from the GB
arm also increased but not as significantly
as students from the GEMS arm.
Indicator 9: Percentage of adolescents
who reported having at least one youth
friendly facility in or around their
school/madrasah or community
About half of the GB and GEMS students
reported that they had at least one youth
friendly facility in or around their
school/madrasah. Students in the Control
arm showed a decrease in knowledge
levels, against this indicator vis-à-vis the
BLS.
58.2
78.0 81.0
47.7
73.5
92.2
50.9 53.1 57.9
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 5: Percentage of adolescents who developed skills
as alternative to violence on SRHR and GBV
**
94.3
96.1 96.9
94.0 92.5
96.6
92.1
93.9 93.9
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 6: Percentage of adolescents who felt able to say
'No' to any undesired proposal for physical relationship
*
1.2
0.1 0
0.2 00
0.7
0
0.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 7: Percentage of marriage before 18
*
*
5.5
14.4 17.5
0.6
14.6
24.9
4.0 6.4 4.9
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 8: Percentage of adolescents who had
comprehensive knowledge on HIV/AIDS
***
***
24.9 22.8
3.8
25.4 26.5
2.5
25.7 27.4 30.5
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 4: Percentage of adolescents who agreed that a
husband is justified in beating his wife for at least one
reason **
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
v
Other key highlights
The positive changes in perception on
gender issues were remarkably different in
the treatment and control arms.
Approximately 90 percent of students from
the GB and GEMS arms disagreed with a
majority of stereotypical gender norms that
often have harmful effects on women and
girls’ rights. Students from the Control arm
however still agreed with these statements
and there was very little change in their
perceptions on gender issues.
Overall, positive changes in students’
knowledge and practice in terms of
ASRHR, the negative effects of smoking
and drug addiction, transmission and
prevention of sexually transmitted
infections and HIV/AIDS were observed. A
majority of female respondents knew how
to manage their menstruation more
effectively by using sanitary pads (around
80%), and washing the menstrual cloth with
soap and water (around 90%) and drying it
under sufficient sunlight (around 50%).
There is notable progress observed among
teachers, especially in their ability to
provide information on GBV and SRHR,
when compared to the BLS.
Conclusion and Discussion
The findings of the Endline survey show
that Generation Breakthrough project has
brought significant progress in knowledge,
attitude and practices of school and
madrasah attending adolescents and
teachers; in the areas of ASRHR and gender
issues, especially GBV.
A majority of parents of the students had
education up to Secondary School
Certificate and, interestingly, there were
more mothers who educated than fathers, at
this level. However, at the level of Higher
Secondary Certificate and higher education
attainment, more fathers had completed
their education. In the quantitative study,
about three-quarter of students reported that
the key decision maker regarding education
and marital issues in the household was the
father.
Survey results of the nine key indicators of
the GB project indicate that a substantive
increase in adolescents’ knowledge,
attitude and behavior regarding ASRH and
GBV issues has occurred since the BLS
period, especially a more positive change
among students in the GB arm compared to
the GEMS arm.
Overall, positive changes in students’
knowledge and practice in terms of
ASRHR, the negative effects of smoking
and drug addiction, transmission and
prevention of sexually transmitted infection
and HIV/AIDS were observed. A majority
of female respondents knew how to manage
their menstruation by using sanitary pads,
and washing the menstrual cloth with soap
and water, and drying it under sufficient
sunlight.
A significant increase in the level of
awareness among students with regard to
the need for at least 4 Antenatal Care visits
during a pregnancy and two or more
Postnatal care visits after delivery, was
found. Some positive changes in
comprehensive knowledge on HIV
prevention and transmission among
respondents was also recorded; however,
this area of knowledge remains inadequate
and in need of improvement since only
about one in five students had
comprehensive knowledge.
13.0
40.9
56.5
13.8 20.3
46.0
17.3
10.5 9.7
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
Figure 9: Percentage of adolescents who reported having
at least one youth friendly facility in or around their
school/madrasah or community ***
***
***
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
vi
The reason for limited improvement in
students’ confidence in refusing to take
drugs or smoke when offered by their peers,
compared to the results of the BLS, could
be related to the fact behavior change often
takes many years. Therefore, long-term
investment is required to see substantive
results, especially in the area of drug use
and smoking.
Students have become more aware of the
symptoms of STIs, thus the reporting of
symptoms has increased as well, which
cannot necessarily be attributed to an
increase in the number of incidents per se.
To validate this assumption, a further in-
depth qualitative study is needed.
The respondents have improved their
perceptions on various gender issues
including GBV. For a majority of questions
on gender perception, students from the
GEMS arm had a slightly higher positive
change towards gender stereotypes
compared to students from the GB arm.
Moreover, GEMS arm students had higher
positive change regarding gender
perceptions and attitudes vis-à-vis the GB
arm students.
Importantly, when it comes to gender
perception by sex, there are still notable
differences between boys and girls. In
particular, boys were more likely than girls
to believe that ‘husband can beat his wife
sometimes;’ and ‘it is girl's fault if a male
student or teacher sexually harasses her,’
‘violence against women is acceptable in
some situations,’ ‘a woman should tolerate
violence in order to keep her family
together.’ Regretfully, girls, especially girls
in the GB arm were more likely than boys
to agree that ‘violence against women is
acceptable in some situations.’ All these
reveal that attitudes and perceptions take a
long time to be changed despite an effective
intervention in place because they are
dependent on the social and cultural norms
and environment. Therefore, continued
efforts are required to reach the closing and
narrowing of the gender gap in GBV related
perception among adolescents.
Since the MLS, there was a decrease in
satisfaction about services provided by
various organizations on violence among
students, raising their voices against
physical relationships, and reporting
incidents of physical punishment by
teachers or schools staff to the head
teacher/principal. All these indicate that
there is a need for improving the quality of
services and encouraging students to be
more responsible for taking an action
against violence. However, more in-depth
study is needed to find out whether the
number of violent acts truly decreased or if
there is another reason for the reduced
reporting of violence.
Based on what GB and GEMS arm students
reported, there was a dramatic decrease in
school authorities not doing anything in
response to teachers/staff punishing their
students vis-à-vis the BLS. The sample size
for this indicator is too small to draw any
conclusion; therefore, this conclusion
should be treated cautiously. A further
study is needed for a clearer conclusion.
The survey results discovered a pattern of
male teachers being more prone to engage
in physical and psychological violence to
male students and female teachers doing the
same with female students. This pattern
was also found in relation to violence
among students, by fellow students, i.e.
male students being more prone to engage
in physical violence to male students
whereas female students were more violent
towards female students.
It is recommended that GB programme
should be scaled up and continued for at
least another two rounds targeting students
from much earlier ages, in particular from
the grade V onwards to see more positive
results attitude and behavior regarding drug
and smoke as well gender perception.
When scaled up, a randomized control trial
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
vii
design be used for selecting samples and
carrying out interventions to improve the
internal validity of the data and to establish
stronger correlations between the role
played by the project and the baseline–
endline changes observed.
It is very clear from the ELS results that the
impact of “the Generation Breakthrough”
Project was a great success in creating
awareness among adolescent boys and
girls, their parents, teachers and school
authorities on the SRHR and GBV issues.
These findings were also corroborated from
the qualitative component of the study.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
1.1 Introduction
There are approximately 36 million
adolescents aged 10-19 years in
Bangladesh – 17.5 million girls and 18.5
million boys – making up about one fifth of
the total population (BBS, 2015). This large
cohort presents significant potential for the
social and economic development of the
country if necessary investments are made
to develop them into healthy and productive
individuals. It has been evidenced that
investments in adolescent health can bring
a triple dividend of immediate benefits,
benefits into future adult life and benefits
for the next generation of children
7
.
With a large and growing adolescent
population there is a need to understand
which approaches can improve
adolescents’ knowledge of SRH issues and
their access to and uptake of services, and
to identify gaps in programming knowledge
and practice. Understanding what works
and what does not for adolescent SRH
interventions will help inform the scale-up
of promising interventions, minimize
duplicative efforts, and ensure efficient use
of available resources.
Another major problem faced by adolescent
girls is child marriage, which is a serious
concern for Bangladesh with 58.9% of
women currently aged 20-24, being married
by 18 years (BDHS 2017-18). According to
the International Centre for Research on
Women (2012), the prevalence of child
marriage in Bangladesh is the highest in
South Asia and even though poverty is not
the only contributing factor, it is one of the
strongest drivers for this high level of child
7
Patton, G.C., Sawyer, S.M., Santelli, J.S. et al,
Our future: A Lancet commission on adolescent
health and wellbeing. Lancet. 2016;387:2423–2478
marriage. The societal pressure to prove
one's fertility, almost immediately after
marriage, has resulted in Bangladesh also
having high levels of adolescent pregnancy
and fertility. The high level of child
marriage and associated adolescent
pregnancy results in many negative health
and social consequences which include
obstetric fistula and other pregnancy related
morbidities, maternal mortality, neo
natal/infant mortality, anemia and poor
overall health of both the baby and the
mother.
Against this backdrop, UNFPA
implemented Generation Breakthrough
(GB) project, in collaboration with the
Ministry of Education (MoE), the Ministry
of Women and Children Affairs
(MoWCA) and Plan International
Bangladesh from 2013, in 350 schools and
madrasahs and 150 clubs. The working
areas were both urban and rural, i.e. in the
City Corporations of Dhaka and Barisal
and the districts of Barguna and
Patuakhali. The GB project focused on
adolescents aged 10-19 with the
overarching objective of developing them
into responsible and sensible adults who
would respect the dignity of others.
Furthermore, it was envisaged that they
would grow into respectful and non-
violent adults, sexual partners and parents
in the future. Raising awareness on key
GBV and SRHR issues was also a
component of this project. The project
approach not only included generating
awareness but also developing life skills of
adolescents to resolve their problems
amicably and intelligently. The project
approach adopted an adapted version of the
Gender Equity Movement in Schools
(GEMS) module in schools and clubs. The
programme reached out to adolescents
through classroom based educational and
life skills development sessions in
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
2
government owned and aided schools and
madrasahs.
In 2017 the GB project phased out the
delivery of GEMS and SRHR sessions to
adolescents through club settings and
focused on the delivery of interventions to
adolescents through schools and
madrasahs. The GB interventions through
adolescent clubs were delivered through
trained Gender Promoters and commenced
in 2015 whereas the GB interventions in
schools and madrasahs commenced only in
2016 through trained teachers. For the past
2 years, only adolescents in schools have
been receiving the project interventions.
The GB project is in its final year of
implementation and will be completed at
the end of 2019. Therefore, UNFPA
commissioned the Endline survey for the
Generation Breakthrough Project in order
to assess the effectiveness of the core
interventions implemented through the
project in schools/madrasahs.
1.2 Objectives of the survey
The objective of this study was to collect
and analyze data for final evaluation of the
GB project and to assess the effectiveness
of the core interventions implemented
through the project in schools and
madrasahs.
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
3
CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY
2.1 Study areas
The survey was conducted in both urban
and rural settings in Dhaka and Barisal
(urban), and Patuakhali and Barguna
(rural). The same methodology that was
used for the BLS and the MLS was
employed for the ELS when determining
the sample size and sample distribution.
Moreover, the school list for the ELS was
the same as list used for the BLS and the
MLS.
2.2 Target respondents
The respondents of the quantitative survey
are referred to as primary respondents. The
primary respondents of the survey were
girls and boys of classes VIII and IX in 102
pre-identified schools and madrasahs
across 4 districts – Dhaka, Barisal, Barguna
and Patuakhali which were stratified into
three arms (34 in each arm), as follows:.
In the ELS, teachers were interviewed as
part of the quantitative survey. And total of
306 teachers were surveyed.
The respondents of the qualitative survey
are referred to as secondary respondents.
The secondary respondents (a total of 74)
were Government officials, NGO
personnel, Service Providers, girls and boys
of grade VIII and IX in schools and
madrasahs and parents/guardians. A total of
28 girls and boys were selected for the in-
depth interviews as part of the qualitative
research.
2.3 Sample size
Data was collected from girls and boys of
classes VIII and IX in 102 target schools
and madrasahs across 4 the districts by the
Nielsen Company (Bangladesh) Limited
through a stratified sampling technique.
The stratification process was delineated by
UNFPA along with the desired sample size
for each stratum as guided by UNFPA. The
final sample size for the survey was 3,063
(1,638 girls and 1,425 boys).
2.4 Data processing and database
preparation
Collected data was stored in SPSS by the
Nielsen Company. The consultant
converted the data into STATA, then, all
syntaxes, log and do files were created in
STATA software. Once an estimation was
done in STATA, all the Tables were
converted into an Excel sheet for output
Table construction which is annexed into
this report.
Treatment group
GB arm
includes Schools and
Madrashas with complete GB
intervention
(n = 34)
GEMS arm
includes Schools with
only GEMS for young
adolescents
(n = 34)
Control arm
includes Schools
and Madrashas
without any
intervention
(n = 34)
A
•Government officials
•NGOs
•Service providers
B
•Girls and boys of grade
VIII and IX at school and
madrasah
•Parents/guardians
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
4
CHAPTER 3
BASIC INFORMATION OF
RESPONDENTS
3.1 Age of the Respondents
The primary respondents chosen for this
survey were students of grades VIII-IX.
Most students were 13-14 years old
(74.4%), followed by 15-17 years (23.0%).
Only 2.6 percent students were 10-12 years
old. Details are in Annex Table 1.
3.2 Parents’ Level of Education
On average, 3.6 percent of fathers and 3.4
percent of mothers of students had no
formal education. The fathers of
approximately one in every three students
and the mothers of one in every two
students had education up to class VIII
(Figure 3.1). Around 22.1 percent of
students’ fathers and 24.3 percent of
students’ mothers had SSC. As for HSC and
higher education, more fathers than
mothers had completed their education, i.e.
30.1 percent and 22.2 percent, respectively.
Details are in Annex Table 4.
3.3 Parents’ Occupation
The fathers of one in every three students,
was a ‘farmer/agricultural worker.’ The
next most common occupation was
‘professional/technical’ (24.1%), followed
by ‘business’ (20.7%). Among other
reported occupations, the percentage of
fathers who were engaged in unskilled
labor (7.4%) is also noteworthy. Details are
in Annex Table 6.
The mothers of nine out of every ten
students was a ‘house wife.’ The
occupation of about 5.6 percent of students’
mothers were ‘professional/technical,’
followed by ‘semi-skilled labor/service’
(1.6%). Details are in Annex Table 7.
3.4 Marital Status of Respondents
All GB and GEMS arms students were
unmarried, and only 0.1 percent of Control
arm students were married. Details are in
Annex Table 8.
3.5 Residence of Respondents
About 96.8 percent of respondents were
living with their parents. And around 2.1
percent of students were living with their
relatives while 1.0 were living in a
hostel/mess. Details are in Annex Table 9.
3.6 Key Income Earner of the
Respondent’s Household
In 92.1 percent of student’s households, the
father was the key income earner, which is
common for Bangladesh. The mother was
the key income earner in only 4.9 percent of
student’s households. Details are in Annex
Table 10.
3.7 Key Decision Maker Regarding
Education Matters at Respondent’s
Household
It is not surprising that in most households
the father (71.4%) was the key decision
maker regarding education related issues
followed by the mother (22.1%) and
brother (3.0%). Details are in Annex Table
11.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
No education
Below Class V
Class V
Class VIII
SSC
HSC
More than HSC
Father Mother
Figure 3.1: Percentage distribution of parents'
education
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
5
3.8 Key Decision Maker Regarding
Marital Matters at the Respondent’s
Household
In 75.9 percent of households, the father
was the key decision maker regarding
marriage-related issues. In about 17.0
percent of households, the mother was the
key decision maker regarding marital issues
followed by adolescent themselves (6.0%).
Details are in Annex Table 12.
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
6
CHAPTER 4
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH AND RIGHTS OF
ADOLESCENTS
This section details a comparative analysis
of the data collected during the baseline and
endline, with regard to the knowledge and
practices of students of schools/madrasahs
and teachers on various aspects of Sexual
and Reproductive Health and rights
(SRHR).
4.1 Knowledge, Attitude and
Experiences on ASRHR
4.1.1 Knowledge of ASRHR and gender
issues based on school curricula
When asked what topics covered through
the GB project were incorporated in their
school curricula, almost everyone both in
the GB and GEMS arms stated that it was
‘physical growth/change’ in the ELS.
However, the topic of ‘means of
transmission of STIs and HIV’ was the
highest increase in knowledge compared to
the BLS, an increase by 58.7 pp for GB and
by 73.4 pp for GEMS arm students. Details
are in Annex Table 13.
4.1.2 Dependable sources of SRH
information
For GB arm students, the highest increase
amongst the responses for dependable
sources of SRH information was ‘Internet/
Facebook/Youtube,’ up by 30.9 pp,
whereas it was ‘Private Hospital/ Clinic’ for
GEMS arm students up by 41.9 pp vis-à-vis
the BLS. On the other hand, almost
everyone answered that ‘Public
Hospitals/Clinic’ was their dependable
source of SRH information. Details are in
Annex Tables 14.
4.1.3 Feelings about bodily changes
There was a steady increase in feeling ‘very
comfortable’ about physical changes during
the period between the BLS and the ELS
among both GB and GEMS arm students
(Figure 4.1). For GB arm students those
who felt ‘very comfortable’ increased by
26.8 pp vis-à-vis the BLS, differentiated by
boys (60.2%) and girls (75.8%),
statistically significant at p<0.001. As for
GEMS arm students, the percentage went
up by 30.2 pp compared to the BLS (boys
59.6%, girls 66.1%), statistically significant
at p<0.001). Details are in Annex Table 15.
4.1.4 Experiences of nocturnal
emission and masturbation
About half of the GB and GEMS arm
students had experienced nocturnal
emission. Compared to GEMS arm
students, GB arm students had higher
experience of discussing nocturnal
emissions with somebody (Figure 4.2).
In the ELS, GB arm students who discussed
with others increased by 33.5 pp vis-à-vis
the BLS, whereas it was 16.7 pp increase
37.7
66.6 71.2
48.3
57.7 65.0
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.2: Percentage of boys who had discussed
nocturnal emissions with somebody
41.1 52.3 68.0
40.4 52.7 70.5
BL ML EL
Figure 4.1: Percentage of students who
were very comfortable with their growing
body
GB GEMS
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
7
for GEMS arm students. As for practicing
masturbation, 19.0 percent of GB and 25.1
percent of GEMS arm students responded
that they had experienced it. Details are in
Annex Table 16.
4.1.5 Experienced menstruation and
maintenance of menstrual health
Almost all the surveyed adolescent girls
reported that they had experienced
menstruation. With respect to maintenance
of menstrual health, ‘Sanitary napkin’ was
the highest increase in usage compared to
the BLS for both GB students (by 34.3 pp)
and GEMS arm students (by 44.3 pp) as
shown in Figure 4.3. Moreover, about every
eight in 10 GB arm students used ‘sanitary
napkin’ while it was about nine in 10
among GEMS arm students. During the
qualitative study, constraints of financial
situation and feeling of shyness to buy
sanitary napkin from shop were key
hindrances to using sanitary napkins, but to
stick to using cloths during menstruation.
Contrary to expectation, there was a slight
increase in cleaning cloth ‘with water only’
among GB arm students up by 4.3 pp
compared to the BLS. However, there was
a consistent increase in drying their used
rag/cloths outside room/veranda/
balcony/roof with sufficient sunlight
among both GB and GEMS arm students by
about two times than the BLS. Details are
in Annex Tables 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Those who thought that menstruation was
not a disease increased about four times
than the BLS (GB 81.7%, GEMS 86.9%)
Details are in Annex Table 31.
4.1.6 Knowledge about problems during
pregnancy, ANC and PNC
Knowledge of danger signs during
pregnancy
GB and GEMS arms students’ knowledge
on danger signs during pregnancy increased
significantly across all the problems stated
in the questionnaire (by 47.8 pp – 67.5 pp)
vis-a-vis the BLS. ‘Profuse bleeding’ was
the highest increase in knowledge among
GB arm students by 60.9 pp while ‘Severe
headache’ was the highest increase among
GEMS arm students by 67.5 pp compared
to the BLS. ‘Severe headache’ was the most
reported danger sign of pregnancy by both
GB (88.1%) and GEMS (86.9%) arm
students, followed by ‘Profuse bleeding.’
Details are in Annex Table 21.
Antenatal care (ANC) and Postnatal care
(PNC)
Significant increase in level of awareness of
the students about requirement of at least 4
ANC visits during a pregnancy and 4 PNC
visits after pregnancy was observed for
both GB and GEMS arm students since the
BLS (Figure 4.4). GB students who knew
the required visits increased by 65.2 pp vis-
à-vis the BLS, differed by boys (65.5%)
27.7
42.9 45.6
23.0
37.8
56.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.3: Percentage of girls who dried their
used rag/cloths outside room/veranda/
balcony/roof with sufficient sunlight
3.7
47.2
75.3
2.6
42.4
67.8
3.6 19.5
71.5
2.1 15.7
69.8
BL ML EL BL ML EL
Figure 4.4: Percentage of students by
knowledge of minimum of 4 ANC and 4
PNC need
GB GEMS
4+ PNC visits
4 ANC visits
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
8
and girls (70.1%), statistically significant at
p<0.05. As for GEMS arm students, the
percentage went up by 67.7 pp in the ELS
compared to the BLS, and also had
statistically significant difference by boys
(65.1%) and girls (74.4%). Details are in
Annex Tables 22 and 23.
4.1.7 Knowledge on three delays
responsible for maternal mortality
For GB arm students, though the 'delay in
receiving treatment’ responsible for
maternal mortality was the most reported
knowledge at 90.0 percent in the ELS, the
highest increase in knowledge was ‘delay in
decision making’ by 59.6 pp than the BLS.
As for GEMS arm students, ‘Delay in
decision making’ was both the most
reported (85.9%) in the ELS and the highest
increase reached (by 69.7 pp) vis-à-vis the
BLS. Details are in Annex Table 24.
4.1.8 Knowledge about contraceptives
There was a remarkable increase in
knowledge of contraception methods
among both GB and GEMS arm students
since the BLS (Figure 4.5). Compared to
GEMS arm students, GB arm students had
slightly higher increase in the knowledge
throughout the period. For GB arm
students, those who responded that they
knew about contraceptive increased by 72.0
pp compared to the BLS, whereas it was
76.5 pp increase among GEMS arm
students.
The method of ‘injectable’ was the highest
increase for both GB and GEMS arm
students vis-à-vis the BLS by 52.4 pp and
67.0 pp, respectively. However, ‘condom’
was the most popular answer among almost
all students as contraceptive method,
followed by ‘pill.’ Details are in Annex
Table 25. During the qualitative study
interview on family planning method with
students, it was found that girls were more
aware compared to boys which is consistent
with the quantitative study findings.
4.1.9 Source of knowledge on condoms
and its proper use
Among the sources of knowledge of
availability of condoms, ‘public
hospital/clinic’ was not only the highest
increase in knowledge by 35.2 pp for GB
arm students and by 42.6 pp for GEMS arm
students vis-à-vis the BLS, but also was the
most commonly known source by about
every respondent. Details are in Annex
Table 26.
For the question of using condom as
mandatory during every sexual intercourse
for contraception, about two third of both
GB and GEMS arms students, respectively,
viewed it as mandatory to do so. Details are
in Annex Table 27.
4.1.10 Knowledge of proper use of pills
About 45.1 percent of GB arm students
viewed that it was ‘mandatory to take pill
every day as a measure of birth control,’
differed by boys (36.9%) and girls (53.3%),
statistically significant at p<0.001. This
view increased by almost by three times
fold vis-a-vis the BLS. For GEMS arm
students, one third of them viewed it
mandatory. Details are in Annex Table 28.
4.1.11 Discussion on issues related to
ASRH
Love and relationships: More than half of
all GB and GEMS arm students said that
18.8
56.2
90.9
10.0
46.32
86.5
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.5: Percentage of students who
knew about contraceptive method
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
9
they had discussed about love and
relationship with friends/siblings which is
an increase of 41.1 pp among GB arm
students and of 47.2 pp among GEMS arm
students compared to the BLS. Details are
in Annex Table 30.
Menstruation and maintenance of health:
Parents were the main persons with whom
girls discussed about menstruation and
maintenance of health in the BLS, and this
position was maintained in the ELS as well,
i.e. every seven out of 10 GB arm female
students and every eight out of 10 GEMS
arm female students said that they had
discussed the issue with their parents.
Compared to the BLS, the percentage of
girls who discussed about menstruation and
maintenance of health with their parents
increased by 42.1 pp for GB arm students,
and by 49.6 pp for GEMS arm students,
followed by with friends/siblings. Details
are in Annex Table 30.
Conception process: About a third of both
GB and GEMS arm students, respectively,
reported that they had discussed about
conception process with their
friends/siblings, followed by with teachers.
Compared to the BLS, the highest increase
was in discussion with friends/siblings as
well (GB arm by 27.4 pp, GEMS arm by
32.7 pp). Details are in Annex Table 30.
Nocturnal emissions: Despite a significant
drop in discussing about nocturnal emission
with nobody (GB arm by 38.8 pp, GEMS
arm by 40.2 pp), still about a half of all GB
and GEMS arm male students remained
silent about this topic in the ELS.
Friends/siblings were the main people with
whom the students discussed about
nocturnal emission, i.e. every four out of 10
GB and GEMS arm male students said that
they had discussed the issue with
friends/siblings. Details are in Annex Table
30.
Masturbation: Those who did not discuss
about masturbation with no one decreased
by 25.2 pp among GB arm students and by
33.5 pp among GEMS arm students
compared to the BLS. However, still more
than half of all GB and GEMS arm students
remained silent about the issue in the ELS.
Around about a third of all GB and GEMS
arm students said that they had discussed
about masturbation with friends/siblings
which indicates an increase of 22.7 pp for
GB arm students and of 29.8 pp for GEMS
arm students vis-à-vis the BLS. Details are
in Annex Table 30.
4.1.12 Knowledge on condom use, its
protection from HIV/AIDS, and
pregnancy
Compared to GEMS arm students, GB arm
students had a slightly higher increase in
agreeing to the statement ‘Condom can
protect from pregnancy’ throughout the
intervention period (Figure 4.6). For GB
arm students, those who agreed to the above
statement went up by 65.1 pp vis-à-vis the
BLS whereas it was 72.9 pp increase among
GEMS arm students. Details are in Annex
Table 31.
Though more GB arm students started off
agreeing to the statement ‘Condom can
protect from HIV/AIDS’ compared to
26.4
71.5
91.5
16.3
66.2
89.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.6: Percentage of students who agreed
condom can protect from pregnancy
22.3
69.1 87.3
12.7
65.0
87.7
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.7: Percentage of students who agreed
condom can protect from HIV/AIDS
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
10
GEMS arm students in the BLS, the
percentage got close in the ELS (Figure
4.7). For GB arm students, those who
agreed to the above statement went up by
65.0 pp vis-à-vis the BLS whereas it was
75.0 pp increase among GEMS arm
students. Details are in Annex Table 31.
GB arm students had slightly higher
increase in agreeing to the statement
‘condom can protect both pregnancy and
HIV/AIDS’ vis-à-vis the GEMS arm
students throughout the intervention period
(Figure 4.8).
For GB arm students, those who agreed to
the above statement went up by 66.9 pp
since the BLS while it was 73.8 pp increase
among GEMS arm students. Details are in
Annex Table 31.
4.1.13 Knowledge of pregnancy at first
unprotected sex
Compared to GEMS arm students, GB arm
students had a slightly higher increase in
agreeing to the statement ‘a woman can get
pregnant the very first time she has sexual
intercourse’ throughout the intervention
period (Figure 4.9). For both GB and
GEMS arm students, those who agreed with
the above statement increased by 26.4 pp,
respectively, vis-à-vis the BLS.
4.1.14 Experiences of health facilities
utilized and satisfaction levels
Among GB arm students, ‘Clinic/hospital
operated by NGO’ was most (13.1%)
visited whereas it was ‘Medical
college/specialized hospital’ among GEMS
arm students (12.7%) to seek reproductive
health services in last 6 months. Since the
BLS, satisfaction level for services offered
at health centers has been doubled among
both GB and GEMS arm students (Figure
4.10). Details are in Annex Tables 33 and
34.
4.1.15 Knowledge on adolescent
friendly health services in locality
Still more than half of all GB and GEMS
arm students were not aware of any
adolescent friendly health service facilities
in or around the community/school. On a
positive note, though, those who reported
that they knew two health service facilities
increased by 13.5 pp among GB arm
students and by 14.4 pp among GEMS arm
students. Details are in Annex Table 35.
4.1.16 Key decision maker on health-
related issues in a household
13.6
35.6 40.0
12.0
27.9 38.3
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.9: Percentage of students who agreed that a
woman can get pregnant on the very first time she
has sexual intercourse
47.2
88.9 91.7
47.9
88.8 93.1
BL ML EL
Figure 4.10: Percentage of students satisfied
with services of health center
GB GEMS
18.6
60.5
85.5
10.4
55.6
84.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.8: Percentage of students who agreed
condom can protect both pregnancy and HIV/AIDS
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
11
Based on what students reported, there was
almost no change in percentage of mothers
making decisions on health-related issues
among GB arm students, and even there
was decrease among GEMS arm students
by 11.0 pp in the ELS compared to the BLS.
Fathers still prevailed to be the main
decision makers concerning health related
issues in a family for every six students out
of 10 GB and GEMS arm students. Details
are in Annex Table 36.
4.2 Knowledge and Practice of
Smoking and Drug Use among
Adolescents
4.2.1 Awareness about the smokers and
drug users, harmful effects and practices
About 74.1 percent of GB arm students and
69.6 percent of GEMS arm students said
that they knew someone smoking or having
a problem with drug addiction. There was a
sharp increase in knowledge about harmful
effects of smoking and drug use among
students (GB arm students by 42.6 pp
increase, GEMS arm students by 46.0 pp
increase) as shown in Figure 4.11. Some of
the students during the qualitative study
said that they had tried to convince their
friends who did smoking saying that
“There’s no good side of it” and “It creates
a temporary excitement in their mind.”
The most mentioned dangerous effect of
smoking and drug use by almost every GB
and GEMS arm student was ‘problem in
lung,’ followed by ‘cancer.’ In terms of the
highest increase in knowledge about
harmful effects, ‘exclusion from society or
family’ and ‘dropping out from school’
were the highest among GB arm students
by 60.0 pp each vis-à-vis the BLS, whereas
it was ‘poverty’ and ‘dropping out of
school’ among GEMS arm students by 61.0
pp increase. Details are in Annex Tables 37
and 38. During the qualitative study
interview, students expressed their interest
to know more about negative consequences
of smoking and drugs.
Regarding smoking or drug use by
themselves, 4.1. percent of GB arm
students (boys 2.8%, girls 5.5%), and 5.8
percent of GB arm students (boys 5.7%,
girls 5.8%), reported that they had smoked
or had the habit of drug use. Details are in
Annex Table 39.
It was encouraging to see that a majority of
the adolescent boys and girls did not
support smoking during the qualitative
study interview. A few adolescent boys
from Dhaka confirmed that they had
experimented smoking and drugs with their
local senior brothers.
In addition, during the qualitative study
interview with students, they mentioned
that Cannabis, Phensedyl and Yaba were
mostly seen by the respondents on
television news. They also said that family
problems and frustration could lead
someone for taking drugs; even bad
influence of friends can lead too. Regarding
the negative impacts of drugs, majority of
the adolescents mentioned:
53.1
80.8
95.7
49.4
79.6
95.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.11: Percentage of students who knew about
bad effects of smoking or taking drugs
“I felt bad. Then I started smoking for
few days. My mother got to know
about it. She told me that it’s harmful.
I shouldn’t do all these things. Mother
found some cannabis in my pocket.
They had a discussion with me and
finally I realized I was on the wrong
track. I felt that parents should have
friendly conversation to make their
children understand the situation, then
problems can be solved more easily”
- Student class-IX, Dhaka.
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
12
They came to know about the negative
consequences of smoking and taking drugs
from TV, teachers of the school as well as
from physical education book and GEMS
diary.
It was surprising that there was not much
improvement in student’s confidence in
refusing to take drugs or smoking while
getting offers from their close friends
compared to the results of the BLS, i.e. only
about 10.9 pp increase for GB arm students
and 6.6 pp increase for GEMS arm students
vis-à-vis the BLS. Though the
improvement was not so significant, about
eight in every 10 GB and GEMS arm
students were confident to refuse the offer
to take drugs or smoking, even when it
comes from an intimate one, (Figure 4.12).
Details are in Annex Table 40.
4.2.2 Exposure to pornographic
materials
A majority of the students (GB 82.1%,
GEMS 82.1%) responded that they did not
have any practice of observing
pornographic materials. Among those who
were exposed, ‘video/photos on internet’
was the most common way to be exposed to
pornography for GB arm students (84.6%)
while it was ‘Video/photo on mobile’ for
GEMS arm students (83.2%). A half of
those who had an experience of observing
pornographic materials watched the
materials with friends. Details are in Annex
Table 41.
4.3 Knowledge on STIs and HIV/AIDS
among Adolescents
4.3.1 Knowledge on STIs, transmission
and manifestation
GB arm students demonstrated a higher
level of knowledge about STIs compared to
GEMS arm students throughout the
intervention period. The highest increase in
knowledge about ways of transmission of
STIs was ‘Child born from infected mother’
among GB arm students up by 41.6 pp vis-
à-vis the BLS while it was ‘blood
transfusion from an infected person’ for
GEMS arm students by 55.0 pp increase.
The most reported way of STI transmission
by both GB (96.9%) and GEMS (96.0%)
arm students was ‘Re-use of syringe used
by HIV infected person,’ followed by
‘Sexual intercourse with infected person
without condom’ (GB 96.3%, GEMS
94.3%). Details are in Annex Table 42.
Students’ knowledge on symptoms of STIs
increased across the board since the BLS.
The highest increase in knowledge was
‘Sores in genital area’ among GB arm
students up by 62.7 pp while it was ‘Itching
inside vagina’ among GEMS arm students
by 67.9 pp increase. The most reported
symptom in the ELS was ‘itching inside the
vagina' by both GB (87.7%) and GEMS
(82.1%) arm students. Details are in Annex
Table 43.
4.3.2 Experience of symptoms of STIs
and consulting service provider
Around 13.6 percent of GB arm and 13.9
percent of GEMS arm students reported
that they had experienced symptoms of
Drug addicted
people tend to
sleep all day
long.
They steal
money from
home and
misbehave with
family members.
Ultimately it
creates
violence in the
society
It blackens the
lips.
It causes
different skin
diseases,
bronchitis and
cancers
74.0 73.4
85.0
78.6
70.5
85.3
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.12: Percentage of students who were
confident to refuse in taking drugs or smoking while
getting offers from their close friends
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
13
STIs in last 3 months. Details are in Annex
Table 44.
The share of GB arm students who
consulted health service providers for
symptoms of STIs doubled that of the BLS
whereas it was only around 10.4 pp increase
among GEMS arm students (Figure 4.13).
4.3.3 Knowledge on HIV/AIDS,
transmission and protection
Around 94.9 percent of GB arm students
and 94.2 percent of GEMS arm students
said that they had heard of HIV/AIDS.
Details are in Annex Table 45.
Regarding its transmission, ‘Sexual
intercourse with infected person without
condom’ was the highest increase in
knowledge by 69.4 pp among GB arm
students whereas it was ‘Re-use of syringe
used by HIV infected person’ by 85.9 pp
increase among GEMS arm students
compared to the BLS. In terms of the most
reported answer about ways of
transmission, it was ‘Re-use of syringe used
by HIV infected person’ by both GB
(96.6%) and GEMS (97.7%) arm students.
Details are in Annex Table 46.
According to the surveyed students, the
most common preventive measure against
HIV/AIDS was ‘Using condoms and
limiting sexual intercourse to one
uninfected partner’ by both GB (80.8%)
and GEMS (77.5%) arm students in the
ELS. ‘Using condoms and limiting sexual
intercourse to one uninfected partner’ was
also the highest increase in knowledge
among both arm students, GB up by 70.1 pp
and GEMS up by 73.6 pp. Details are in
Annex Table 47.
4.3.4 Comprehensive knowledge on HIV
transmission
A person should know at least two correct
ways to prevent HIV transmission and
should correctly identify 3 misconceptions
about HIV to be considered having
comprehensive knowledge of HIV
transmission. The findings reveal that there
was an increase in having comprehensive
knowledge on HIV prevention and
transmission up by 11.4 pp among GB arm
students while it was 24.0 pp increase
among GEMS arm students vis-à-vis the
BLS. Girls (GB 20.1%, GEMS 28.5%) had
higher knowledge than boys (GB 14.9%,
GEMS 21.2%), statistically significant at
p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively (Table
4.1). Details are in Annex Table 48.
Table 4.1: Percentage distribution of students by their
comprehensive knowledge on HIV transmission
4.3.5 Frequency of sex and confidence
of motivating the partner to use condoms
Out of all surveyed students, the question of
whether having regular sex with a sex
partner was asked, and only 4.1 percent of
GB and 2.7 percent of GEMS arm students
said that they had regular sex with a sex
partner. About half of those who had
experience of some STI symptoms
consulted a doctor, nurse, or health worker
Type and sex of the
surveyed adolescents
Knows 2 ways to
prevent HIV
transmission
Correctly identifies 3
misconceptions about
HIV transmission
Have comprehensive
knowledge
GB
students
Boys
39.4
46.9
14.9
Girls
41.9
50.0
20.1
All
40.7
48.4
17.5
GEMS
students
Boys
49.0
44.5
21.2
Girls
49.3
54.0
28.5
All
49.2
49.3
24.9
23.3
43.7 56.5
43.8 39.3
54.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 4.13: Percentage of students consulted
health service providers for symptoms of STIs
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
14
for this problem. Among those who had
regular sex, about every nine students out
of 10 were confident in convincing their sex
partner to use a condom during sexual
intercourse. Details are in Annex Tables 49
and 50.
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
15
CHAPTER 5
GENDER ISSUES
5.1 Knowledge, Attitude and
Experiences of School and Madrasah
Students
5.1.1 Gender perceptions and attitudes
Social as well as cultural understanding of
masculinity and femininity, and the fact of
assigning roles and practices for them are
executed on the basis of gender
construction.
8
Perceptions and attitudes of
the adolescent group have been assessed in
the study through interviews with students
using twenty different statements. Below
Figures illustrate the change in students’
attitudes with regards to Gender issues
comparing the results of the BLS, MLS and
the ELS.
Overall findings show that GB and GEMS
arm students had a remarkably positive
change in attitude regarding gender issues
having either disagreed or strongly
disagreed with pervasive gender norms. On
the other end of spectrum, there was close
to none or insignificant positive change in
attitude developed among the Control arm
students which had none of the GB and
GEMS intervention. In general, GEMS arm
students had slightly higher level of
positive change in gender issues compared
to GB students (Figures 5.1-20).
Notes: All the figures show the percentage of
Disagreed and Strongly disagreed combined by the
share of students in GB arm, GEMS arm and
Control arm.
8
Marcus, R. and Harper, C. (2014) Gender Justice
and Social Norms – Processes of Change for
Adolescent Girls
Figure 5.1: Taking care of the home and children are
more important than her career.
Figure 5.2: The traditional view that a man is the
head of the family and responsible for providing
economical support for the family is still correct
Figure 5.3: Men should have more rights to make
household decisions
Figure 5.4: Husband can beat his wife sometimes (If
somebody’s mother cheats with his father then his
father can beat her)
35.2
71.9
96.6
37.8 71.4
98.6
31.4 48.5 63.8
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
44.6
60.5
94.8
49.1 56.8
97.7
43.3 41.3
57.9
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
58.2 67.4
94.5
58.8 68.6
97.2
55.3 52.3
63.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
71.2
68.9
95.2
71.4 65.3
97.2
71.5
58.7 66.6
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
*
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
16
Figure 5.5: Only men should work outside home
Figure 5.6: Men need more remuneration as they
work harder than women
Figure 5.7: Boys are violent by nature
Figure 5.8: Girls are tolerant by nature
Figure 5.9: Girls who wear less clothes provoke
boys to violence
Figure 5.10: It is girl's fault if a male student or
teacher sexually harasses her
Figure 5.11: A woman should tolerate violence in
order to keep her family together
Figure 5.12: Violence against women is acceptable
in some situations
77.9
88.2 98.1
75.9
86.2
98.8
74.2 76.5 76.8
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
**
60.8
71.6
95.6
56.4 71.5
97.2
53.8 56.8 66.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
44.3
56.8
88.3
44.7 53.3
89.7
44.9
39.0
58.5
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
20.8
39.8
79.1
24.0 36.8
81.1
22.0 23.0 37.8
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
34.1 42.7
80.6
32.2 37.2
85.8
31.0 29.5
46.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
85.0 86.8
98.0
83.9
88.3
98.1
81.7 79.3 78.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
**
70.6 79.5
98.5
66.1
81.3
98.3
67.9 70.2 75.7
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
60.2 71.7
94.5
59.8 69.5
97.7
57.0 60.3
71.9
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
17
Figure 5.13: Since girls have to get married, they
should not be sent for higher education
Figure 5.14: Contraception is the responsibility of
women
Figure 5.15: Teasing is harmless fun
Figure 5.16: Boys should not cry
Figure 5.17: Boys should not sweep and cook at
home
Figure 5.18: Girls should be allowed to decide when
they want to marry
Figure 5.19: It is appropriate for a boyfriend to
dictate his girlfriend whom to talk to
Figure 5.20: It is appropriate for teachers to give
physical punishment to students in certain situations
When it comes to gender perception by sex,
notable differential between boys and girls
81.8
91.7
98.6
79.7
90.8
98.5
81.4 82.8 81.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
68.0 72.6
96.7
61.9
69.7
97.9
62.2 59.0
72.8
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
75.0
84.9
98.5
70.5
82.3
99.0
71.5 73.7
81.6
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
67.0 72.7
94.4
64.4 72.3
96.4
60.7 60.3
69.4
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
56.5
77.4
92.0
61.4
78.3
92.3
54.7 59.5 64.6
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
17.7
11.6
14.1
23.5
13.5 13.0
21.9
15.5
22.0
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
*
***
73.0 79.6
94.5
65.4
80.0
93.3
65.7 70.8 73.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
73.0 79.6
94.5
65.4
80.0 93.3
65.7 70.8 73.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS Control
***
***
***
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
18
still prevails. In particular, among GB arm
students, boys were 2.0 times ((odds ratio
(OR)=2.0)) more likely than girls to believe
that ‘Men need more remuneration as they
work harder than women,’ statistically
significant at p<0.05. It is also noteworthy
to state that boys were 2.8 times (OR=2.8)
more likely than girls to believe that ‘Only
men should work outside home,’
statistically significant at p<0.05).
Interestingly, girls were 1.8 times (OR=1.8)
more likely than boys to agree that ‘Girls
are tolerant by nature,’ statistically
significant at p<0.001. Regretfully, girls
themselves were 2.2 (OR=2.2) times more
likely than boys to agree that ‘Violence
against women is acceptable in some
situations,’ statistically significant at
p<0.01. Girls were 1.5 (OR=1.5) times
more likely than boys to believe that ‘Girls
should be allowed to decide when they want
to marry,’ statistically significant at
p<0.05). Please see Annex 3 for details.
As for GEMS arm students, boys were 3.8
times more likely than girls to agree that
‘Taking care of the home and children are
more important than her career.’
statistically significant at p<0.05.
Moreover, boys were 7.0 times more likely
than girls to agree that ‘The traditional view
that a man is the head of the family and
responsible for providing economical
support for the family is still correct,’
statistically significant at p<0.01. Another
notable observation was that boys were 5.3
times more likely than girls to agree that
‘Men should have more rights to make
household decisions,’ statistically
significant at p<0.01. Unfortunately, boys
were 3.5 times more likely than girls to be
in favor of ‘The traditional view that a man
is the head of the family and responsible for
providing economic support for the family
is still correct,’ statistically significant at
p<0.01. Boys also were 2.3 times more
likely than girls to be in favor of the view
of ‘Men need more remuneration as they
work harder than women,’ statistically
significant at p<0.05. In addition, boys
were 1.9 times more likely than girls to
agree that ‘Girls who wear less clothes
provoke boys to violence,’ statistically
significant at p<0.001. Boys were 3.4 times
more likely than girls to agree that ‘A
woman should tolerate violence in order to
keep her family together,’ statistically
significant at p<0.05. Unfortunately, boys
were 3.9 times more likely than girls to be
in favor of the view of ‘Violence against
women is acceptable in some situations,’
statistically significant at p<0.01. For the
view of ‘Since girls have to get married,
they should not be sent for higher
education,’ boys were 3.8 times more likely
than girls to favor it, statistically significant
at p<0.05. As for the view of
‘Contraception is the responsibility of
women,’ boys were 9.4 times more likely
than girls to agree with the statement,
statistically significant at p<0.01. Boys
were 2.4 times more likely than girls to
agree that ‘Boys should not cry,’
statistically significant at p<0.05. For the
view of ‘It is appropriate for teachers to
give physical punishment to students in
certain situations,’ boys were 2.6 times
more likely than girls to be in favor of,
statistically significant at p<0.001. Please
see Annex 3 for details.
Though findings from the quantitative
study shows that boys were more likely to
justify violence against women and girls,
the interview results with boys and girls
during the qualitative study reveals a
different view on this issue. More
particularly, the girls and boys were asked
that whether they think husbands have the
right to beat their wives all of the
adolescents strongly said “NO” as they
strongly believe that the husbands do not
have the right to beat their wives in any
situation, and they should settle down
everything by counselling and
conversation. This suggests that there is
still a stronghold of negative perception
regarding gender based violence among
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
19
boys despite of the GB programme
intervention in place because it takes long
time to see the change in one’s attitude. The
reason why adolescents said that it was
wrong for husbands to beat their wives
when asked one-on-one during the
qualitative study could be attributed to the
fact that they replied in that way so that not
to lose face because they did not want to be
deemed as learned nothing from the GB
programme.
5.1.2 Knowledge of negative effects of
violence against boys, girls and women
Since the BLS, the percentage of GB and
GEMS arm students who were informed
about the negative effects of violence
against boys and girls was doubled (Figure
5.21). Girls were informed slightly higher
than boys among both GB (boys 79.8%,
girls 89.2%) and GEMS (boys 77.5%, girls
83.1%) arm students, statistically
significant at p<0.01. Details are in Annex
Table 67.
As for the possible negative effects of
violence, there was an increase in
identifying across all the effects, with the
highest in ‘Depression/fears/anxiety’
among both GB (56.0%) and GEMS arm
students (58.0%). The most reported
negative effect was ‘Physical
injuries/disabilities’ (GB 94.1%, GEMS
94.3%), followed by ‘Committing suicide
or growing suicidal tendencies’ (GB
80.9%, GEMS 79.5%). Details are in
Annex Table 68.
5.1.3 Classmates’ exposure to violence
Around 18.2 percent of GB arm students
(boys 17.5%, girls 18.9%) reported that
classmates had experienced violence in
their personal life, statistically significant at
p<0.001. And this is 2.5 pp increase vis-à-
vis the BLS. This could be attributed to the
fact that students’ awareness about issues
related to violence was increased as a virtue
of the Generation Breakthrough project, not
necessarily due to the increase of violence
itself per se. On the other hand, the
percentage of Control arm students who
reported about ‘Having classmate who has
such experience’ decreased twice vis-à-vis
the BLS. This suggests that when there is
no intervention, then being indifferent and
ignorant about the problem could manifest
itself. Details are in Annex Table 69.
5.1.4 Knowledge of services for
violence against boys, girls and women
Every three out of four GB and GEMS arm
students reported that they knew about
services to respond to violence against
boys, girls and women (Figure 5.22). In
other words, it was 44.0 pp increase for GB
arm students while it was 46.0 pp increase
for GEMS arm students compared to the
BLS. Details are in Annex Table 70.
Regarding the knowledge of services for
information and support of violence issues,
‘One Stop Crisis Centre or OSCC’ was the
most commonly reported one among both
GB (89.8%) and GEMS (92.5%) arm
students, followed by ‘Counseling centre
under MOWCA’ (GB 65.4%, GEMS
65.2%). As for the highest increase in
knowledge of services for information and
46.5
64.5
84.5
39.4
56.8
80.3
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.21: Percentage of students who were
informed about the negative effects of violence
against boys and girls/women
31.8
56.5
75.7
27.0
43.7
73.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.22: Percentage of students who knew
about services which provide information and
supports on violence issues
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
20
supports of violence issues, OSCC was on
top of the list up by 52.5 pp increase among
GB arm students and by 59.2 pp increase
among GEMS arm students. Details are in
Annex Table 71.
Those who reported that the information or
services for violence against boys and
girls/women were available within or
nearby their community or
school/madrasah increased by 16.3 pp
among GB arm students and by 10.8 pp
increase among GEMS arm students.
Details are in Annex Table 72.
Compared to GEMS arm students, GB arm
students had a slightly higher increase in
whose school/madrasah informed about
services on violence against boys and
girls/women issues (Figure 5.23). The
percentage of those who reported that their
school/madrasah had informed about
services on violence against boys and
girls/women issues increased by 20.8 pp
among GB arm students and by 22.4 pp
increase among GEMS arm students
compared to the BLS. Details are in Annex
Table 73.
5.1.5 Experience of receiving services
on violence issues and satisfaction level
One in every three GB arm students and one
in every four GEMS arm students reported
that they availed services on violence issues
in the last 6 months. Details are in Annex
Table 74.
Though there was a steady increase in
satisfaction with the services among GEMS
arm students throughout the intervention
period, there was a slight decrease in
satisfaction among GB arm students since
the MLS down by about two pp (Figure
5.24). Details are in Annex Table 75.
5.1.6 Intimate friend’s exposure to
proposal for physical relationship
About 13.3 percent of GB arm and 12.6
percent of GEMS arm students reported
that their close friends/classmates had
received an undesirable proposal for a
physical relationship. Details are in Annex
Table 76.
Although there was a drop in percentage of
GB arm students’ friend/classmate saying
'no' to a physical relationship in the MLS
compared to the BLS, the percentage went
up in the ELS to 71.1 percent (Figure 5.25).
For GEMS arm students’ friend/classmate,
there was substantial increase in saying 'no'
to a physical relationship up by 27.1 pp vis-
à-vis the BLS. Details are in Annex Table
77.
The study also tried to find out the
anticipating reaction of these adolescent
students to manage the situation of getting
an undesirable proposal for a physical
54.1
65.3
74.8
50.7 52.6
73.1
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.23: Percentage of students whose school
or madrasah informed about services on violence
against boys and girls/women issues
70.1
89.6 87.7
70.4
78.4
86.2
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.24: Percentage of students satisfied with the
services
52.6 48.3
71.1
43.4
57.3
70.5
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.25: Percentage of students whose
friend/classmate said 'no' for physical relationship
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
21
relationship. About 94.2 percent of GB arm
students and 94.3 percent of GEMS arm
students reported that they would say ‘no’
to the proposal to manage such a situation
which was 3.8 pp and 2.0 pp increase,
respectively, compared to the BLS. Details
are in Annex table 78.
5.1.7 Experience of raising their voices
against violence against adolescents
Overall, there was an increase in raising
their voice against violence against boys
and girls among students (GB up by 16.3,
GEMS up by 9.6 pp) vis-a-vis the BLS
(Figure 5.26). However, if compared to the
MLS, the percentage of those who raised
their voice decreased in the ELS. This is
quite contrary to the expectation in which
raising their voices against violence should
have been increased instead, though, it was
not statistically significant result. Details
are in Annex Table 79.
5.1.8 Alternative skills to manage
violence
Among the alternative skills to violence the
students developed, ‘empathy’ was the
highest increase (GB up by 49.9%, GEMS
up by 65.3%) compared to the BLS. In
terms of the most reported alternative skills
to violence students developed, it was
‘Relationship skills’ among GB arm
students at 64.1 percent while it was
‘Empathy’ among GEMS students at 76.4
percent. Details are in Annex Table 81.
5.2 Opinion of School and Madrasa
Teachers on Gender Equity Issues
The school and madrasah teachers opined
about gender equity and related issues
among students in their respective
educational institutions.
5.2.1 Curriculum, class/period, and
teachers focusing gender equity
The ELS results show that there was almost
no difference between GB and GEMS arms
in terms of their reporting about having
curriculum on gender equity, having
particular classes/period on gender equity
and having a teacher specifically assigned
to take classes on gender equity. In
particular, 94.1 percent of GB and GEMS
arm teachers reported about having
curriculum on gender equity in their
respective educational institutions which
was 15.8 pp increase for GB arm teachers
while it was 5.8 pp increase for GEMS arm
teachers vis-à-vis the BLS. For the question
of whether having particular classes/ period
on gender equity in their school, 95.1
percent of GB arm and 97.1 percent of
GEMS arm teachers said ‘yes’ which was
46.9 pp increase for GB arm teachers while
it was 57.7 pp increase for GEMS arm
students compared to the BLS. About eight
in every 10 teachers reported that their
school/madrasah had a teacher specifically
assigned to take classes on gender equity
which was 52.9 pp increase for GB arm
teachers whereas it was 57.2 pp increase for
GEMS arm students. Details are in Annex
Table 82.
5.2.2 Subjects/issues taught or
information provided in the course/topic
on gender equity
For GB arm teachers, 91.2 percent said that
‘Effects of Child marriage’ was the subject
taught or information provided in the
course/topic on gender equity, followed by
‘Source of GBV prevention information’
(Table 5.1).
27.1
48.1 43.4
22.0
45.5
31.6
BL ML EL
GB GEMS
Figure 5.26: Percentage of students who raised their
voice against violence against boys and girls
individually or with friends/classmates
Endline Survey of the Generation Breakthrough Project
22
Table 5.1: School and Madrasah teachers reporting on
subjects/ issues taught or information provided on
gender equity (%)
Subjects/issues
GB arm
GEMS arm
BLS
ELS
BLS
ELS
Effects of early
or adolescent
marriage
65.1
91.2
58.5
91.2
Gender
relationships
37.3
86.3
35.1
83.3
Comprehensive
knowledge on
gender-based
violence
21.7
77.5
13.8
74.5
Knowledge to
handle sexual
propositions
24.1
52.9
20.2
56.9
Source of GBV
prevention
information
72.3
93.1
56.4
89.2
Promotion of
non-violent and
responsible
behavior
3.6
68.6
11.7
58.8
Govt. service
facilities
9.6
35.3
5.3
33.3
n
102
102
102
102
For GEMS arm teachers, 91.2 percent
reported that ‘Effects of early or adolescent
marriage’ was the subject taught or
information provided in the course/topic on
gender equity, followed by ‘Source of GBV
prevention information.’ In terms of the
highest increase observed, it was
During the qualitative study, some of the
challenges teachers faced were mentioned
by interviewees from the Government
stakeholders.
The Government respondents of the
qualitative study also said that to address
this challenge, UNFPA arranged an
awareness program for these teachers with
the financial support of Bangladesh
Government. With the presence of
honorable Minister, UNFPA initiated the
campaign and it was highly successful.
5.2.3 Perception about gender-based
appointment of teachers for gender and
ASRHR
The school and madrasah teachers were
specially asked to opine about their
perception on ‘whether the appointment of
teachers for teaching about gender and
ASRHR should be based on their sex for the
male and female students separately’.
While analyzed by sex of the respondent
teachers, it was found that, 66.7 percent
male teachers and 57.6 percent female
teachers of GB arm schools were in favor
of such concept whereas it was 87.0 percent
of male and 84.9 percent of female teachers
of GEMS arm who agreed with the
statement: ‘Appointment of teachers for