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Good practice Imported

Masculinity, Faith and Peace (MFP) — Faith-Based Norms-Shifting Programme, Plateau State, Nigeria

Nigeria · Jos · See the Nigeria profile

Evidence: Randomised controlled trial Top 26% 85/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

A faith-based, norms-shifting curriculum for Christian and Muslim congregations in Plateau State, Nigeria, led by a Tearfund consortium. An 18-month trial in 20 congregations found a significant 61% reduction in the odds of women reporting intimate partner violence.

-61 %
Reduction in odds of women reporting IPV, MFP congregations vs controls (2019-2021 (18-month trial))
-64 %
Reduction in odds of IPV, Christian participants specifically (2019-2021)
-44 %
Reduction in odds of IPV, across MFP congregations overall (2019-2021)

Details

Promoter
Tearfund-led consortium
Period
2019–2021
Keywords
gender-based violence prevention, faith-based programming, masculinity & social-norms change

Context

Masculinity, Faith and Peace (MFP) is a faith-based, norms-shifting curriculum that engages Christian and Muslim religious leaders and congregations to challenge harmful concepts of masculinity linked to gender-based violence, drawing on each faith's own texts and role models. It was implemented by a Tearfund-led consortium across local government areas of Plateau State, Nigeria, including Bassa, Barkin Ladi and Riyom, with a hub in the state capital, Jos.

Objectives

To reduce intimate partner violence and shift harmful masculinity and gender norms within Christian and Muslim congregations through an interfaith curriculum.

Activities

An 18-month, community-based, two-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial evaluated MFP across 20 Christian and Muslim congregations, surveying 350 women and 281 of their male partners at baseline and endline.

Results

The trial found a statistically significant 61% reduction in the odds of women reporting any intimate partner violence in MFP congregations compared to controls, with a 64% reduction among Christian participants specifically and a 44% reduction across MFP congregations overall. The study also documented parallel improvements in gender attitudes, relationship quality and community cohesion.

Conclusions

Tearfund's own project reporting describes local partners going on to develop strategies to expand MFP's interfaith elements and geographic coverage in Plateau State, suggesting some post-trial continuity, though this review did not find independent confirmation of the scale or funding of that expansion.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Multi-district, consortium-delivered curriculum across three local government areas; no published unit-cost figures.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — 18-month curriculum and trial period, 2019-2021.
Staffing & skills
Tearfund-led consortium; Christian and Muslim religious leaders serve as programme facilitators

Conditions for success

  • Drawing on each faith's own texts and role models to build legitimacy across both Christian and Muslim congregations
  • Sustained 18-month engagement across 20 congregations, enabling measurable norms change

Common failure modes

  • Post-trial expansion of the programme is described only in the implementer's own reporting, without independent confirmation of its scale or funding

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

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