Pilot Testing of the VAW Survey Module in

Pilot Testing of the VAW Survey Module in Georgia: Preliminary Results Geneva, November 18 -19, 2010

Pilot Objectives Testing of : • Methodological and training materials • Sensitivity of topic (openness of respondents) • Questions (which worked and which did not) by means of conducting 200 interviews of the VAW pilot survey in urban and rural areas, 100 interviews in each area

Stages of Pilot Process 1. Preparatory Activities q Translation and streamlining of survey materials q Sampling of i) urban and rural areas and ii) households q Training of interviewers 2. Fieldwork 3. Debriefing of Interviewers 4. Data entry and database cleaning 5. Formation of the database

1. Preparatory Activities A. Translation and Streamlining of materials : • Survey questionnaire and instructions for interviewers (including the Power. Point training presentation) were translated • Working group worked on all translated survey materials

1. Preparatory Activities B. Sampling • 200 households were selected • 100 households in Tbilisi (urban) and 100 households in Kakheti region (rural) • In Kakheti 6 villages were selected from 2 municipalities • Due to expected non-response the interviewers were given additional 140 households to contact.

1. Preparatory Activities B. Sampling (continued) • Selected households have already participated in the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) • Each of the sampled households included at least one women aged 15 and above

1. Preparatory Activities C. Training of Field Staff • 8 interviewers and 2 supervisors were selected for 2 regions • 1 -day training by working group members • Power. Point Presentation was used for training • After going through the questionnaire and interviewers’ manual, interviewers were asked to fill in questionnaires themselves • The practical work was monitored by the working group members

1. Preparatory Activities Conclusions and Findings • Statistical sampling methods were not used for the pilot testing • 2 -day training is considered to be optimal • It would be useful to translate and use the Question-by-question description of Violence against Women Module during training

2. Field work • Field work was conducted in 8 days • After 2 days of field work the regional supervisors met interviewers reviewing 2 -day work • In order to conduct 200 interviews, the total of 250 households were contacted • Average length of an interview was 20 -30 minutes

2. Field work Main Reasons of Non-response: i) Household members were not at home, or ii) Dwellings were closed and no one lived there • Just a few refusals – the largest part of which not related to the specific topic • Only 2 women (both above 60) refused to participate after finding out about the nature of the survey

3. Debriefing of Interviewers Sensitivity • No significant problems in terms of establishing communication – unexpected not only for interviewers, but also for working group members • The title of the pilot survey presented to women – “Survey of women’s conditions” – worked well to establish initial contact with the respondents • In general interviewers feel that women spoke openly, but there were some opposite cases

3. Debriefing of Interviewers Sensitivity (continued) • Divorced women and widows were more open in discussing their ex-partners • The survey topic unexpected for women • Women positively surprised that someone/some organization would be interested in such questions

3. Debriefing of Interviewers Privacy/Confidentiality • A number of cases where other household members tried to attend the interview • Interviewers mainly coped with the pressure • In one case, information spread by a respondent among other village members was to a certain extent positive

3. Debriefing of Interviewers Questionnaire • In general, the interviewers and respondents found the questionnaire relevant • Some questions were too general for respondents (e. g. V 04 a) or unimaginable to them (V 08) • Recall difficulties – e. g. number of violence acts on the part of ex-partners

3. Debriefing of Interviewers Questionnaire (continued) • Non-physical violence was present quite often in respondents’ answer • A significant number of cases where respondents named psychological violence from other nonpartner members of the household – issue that was not on the questionnaire • Mother-in-laws – specific example of such nonpartner violence

Pilot Testing of the VAW Survey Module Domestic Violence in Georgia Thank You For Attention