Background Violence against women by their intimate partners, remains a global public health concern due to its adverse health consequences to the victims. Strong empirical evidence show that intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes the largest form of violence experience by women. IPV impacts women’s physical, reproductive and mental health. The trial assessed the community level impact of the Rural Response System for preventing/reducing intimate partner violence perpetration against women in Ghana.

Method The trial is a two-arm unmatched cluster randomised controlled that was done in rural and urban communities in 4 districts located in the Central Region of Ghana. The intervention arm received the rural response system package for preventing VAW while the control arm received no intervention. The trial was conducted over a period of 36 months with prevalence of IPV perpetration by men and experience among women assessed at baseline in the 4 districts. The baseline assessment was followed by 18 months of intervention conducted in 2 districts.

Results The presentation will show if the intervention has been effective in reducing intimate partner violence against women. We anticipate significant reduction in men’s reported perpetration and/or women’s reported experience of IPV in the intervention districts. It is also anticipated that there will be positive change in men’s and women’s gender equitable attitudes, and a positive shift in community attitudes towards violence against women.

Conclusion The results will provide evidence on the effectiveness of a targeted VAW intervention in the Ghanaian society that is needed to inform the development of national policies for preventing VAW which may also be replicated in other developing countries.