Social Network Influence on HIV Testing Among Urban Men in Tanzania.

Men in sub-Saharan Africa have low HIV testing rates. Social networks exert an important influence on men's HIV-related behavior. We examined associations between network factors and HIV testing among men in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data are from the baseline assessment of an HIV prevention trial with 48 primarily male networks. Among 923 sexually active men, 52 % had ever tested for HIV. In a random effects logistic regression model, men in the network core were 1.50 times more likely (p < .05) to test than those in the periphery. Percentage of women in the network was associated with men's increased HIV testing (AOR 4.24, p < .05). Perception of network HIV stigma was negatively associated with HIV testing (AOR 0.92, p < .01). Thinking at least one close friend tested for HIV was associated with increased testing (AOR 2.66, p < .001). Social network interventions are a promising approach for scaling up men's HIV testing.

Conditional cash transfers and violence against women - Does the type of violence matter?

While there is scholarly consensus that cash transfer programs can reduce intimate partner violence (IPV), there is little evidence on the effect on other forms of violence against women (VAW). This study uses a regression discontinuity design to examine the effects of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in the Philippines on three types of VAW: (i) IPV, (ii) domestic violence excluding IPV (such as own and husband's relatives), and (iii) violence outside home. Although the study finds no significant impacts on IPV or violence outside of home, it reports a measurable decline in emotional domestic violence. Suggestive evidence indicates that the impact could be driven by an increase in household wellbeing, and women's empowerment, bargaining power, and social capital. This evidence confirms the potential of CCT programs to mitigate VAW beyond IPV, such as domestic violence. At the same time, the study suggests that CCT programs' design and context in which they operate may affect their ability to mitigate IPV.