Can drama-based and gamified chatbot interventions help girls identify and navigate unhealthy relationships in South Africa? A randomized controlled trial

South Africa has one of the highest rates of violence against women with a prevalence five times the global average. Our project leverages WhatsApp chatbots to deliver behaviorally-informed interventions aimed at helping South African young women navigate unhealthy relationships. Drawing on a review of relevant intimate-partner violence (IPV) and behavioral science literature, we designed ChattyCuz, an interactive intervention to develop attitudes and skills deemed protective of IPV among young adults in South Africa. Given the strong correlation between positive power equity beliefs and lower IPV prevalence among our target demographic, the primary goals of our intervention are to improve attitudes and beliefs about power equity in relationships and to reduce exposure to unhealthy relationship behaviors. We aim to do this through content inviting participants to reflect on healthy relationships and to practice useful skills, such as identifying unhealthy relationship behaviors, seeking help from a trusted person, and planning for safety. The content has been developed and contextualized through qualitative work in South Africa. Our experimental design will also enable us to compare two promising interaction designs to deliver our content strategies: Gamification and Narratives.