Preliminary Effects of a Syndemic-Focused Brief Intervention to Reduce Gender-Based Violence among Women with a History of Sex Trading and Substance Use

Women who engage in sex trading experience intersecting gender-based violence (GBV), perpetrated by intimate partners (intimate partner violence [IPV]) and nonintimate partners (nonintimate partner violence [nIPV]), and substance use risks. Yet, there remain few brief interventions to identify and address GBV among women with a history of sex trading and substance use. This article examines the preliminary effects of an adapted two-session evidence-based GBV screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) intervention on identifying and reducing GBV among women with a history of sex trading and drug use and/ or hazardous alcohol use. In partnership with multiple harm reduction organizations in Kyrgyzstan, a post-Soviet country in Central Asia, authors conducted a pre–post intervention study with 213 women between the years of 2013 and 2016. Of the 213 participants in the study, 108 reported some lifetime history of sex trading; drawing on this subsample, pre–posttest analyses on primary IPV/nIPV outcomes were conducted using random-effect logistic regression. Results showed significant declines from baseline to end line in experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional IPV and physical, sexual, and emotional nIPV. Overall, no significant changes in secondary outcomes of substance use or service utilization were observed. Findings suggest the promise of this SBIRT on GBV outcomes and offers directions for future intervention refinement and mechanistic research.