WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety) is an evidence-based program used globally to support women from key affected populations who are facing intimate partner violence (IPV) and gender-based violence (GBV). The program is highly adaptable and has been implemented in a wide range of organisations and programs, including HIV treatments, service for sex workers, harm reduction and drug treatment programs, justice settings, homeless services, refugee services, and domestic violence services.

This blog shares the main insights and lessons learned from adapting the WINGS program in Kazakhstan by the Social Fund “Center for Scientific-Practical Initiatives” with support of a Research Grant from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI). Known as Umai, the Kazakh adaptation focused on meeting the unique needs of key affected populations of women at the highest risk for experiencing IPV, including women living with HIV, women who use drugs, women involved in sex work, and transgender women.

WINGS was originally developed for women who use drugs (WWUD) and was implemented in Kyrgyzstan and India. Later, WINGS was adapted for other groups of key affected populations in Ukraine, Georgia, the United States, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia. The programme includes sessions on raising awareness about IPV and women’s rights, screening for IPV, safety planning, goal setting, motivation, social support, and referrals to services addressing needs such as substance abuse, mental health, and housing. For the adaptation in Kazakhstan, we used the Ukrainian model because of its online format and the inclusion of sex workers into the intervention.

 

The process of adapting the WINGS programme in Kazakhstan

To adapt the WINGS programme in Kazakhstan, we used the visualization tool “Deconstruction/Reconstruction Matrix” to adapt the intervention (Wu, 2010). We strengthened the existing WINGS intervention by adding information and activities for new target populations, as well as revised outcomes, new delivery modalities, and new technologies, with an emphasis on safety.

The original intervention had a screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) model with two sessions—a main session and a follow-up session in 7-10 business days, which covered review of safety planning, and HIV counselling and testing. The adaptation method was based on three domains such as theory, modality of intervention delivery, and clinical processes (Wu, 2023).

This method allowed us to adapt the intervention rapidly and rigorously while benefiting from new technologies.

• The theory focused on the main intervention session targeted at participants’ behaviour change.
• Modality was about the delivery of the intervention, which we upgraded with AI technology. We developed a female image that could talk to the participants, and the sessions were delivered online. Participants could connect through their smartphones.
• Clinical considerations covered those aspects outside of the intervention, such as logistics, engagement with the communities, NGOS, and women, building trust, and safety.

We also expanded the safety planning component during the adaptation and detailed the risks associated with social media usage and safety. Additionally, in the context of economic safety planning, we added a safety code word for situations where a partner attempts to borrow a large sum of money from friends or acquaintances. For sex workers, we proposed to form a support group on social media, allowing members to discuss clients who may exhibit violent behaviour, thereby helping to prevent encounters with them.

Moreover, we used our experience of working with these groups in previous projects: NOVA—HIV risk reduction and microfinance intervention for female sex workers who use drugs in Kazakhstan (El-Bassel, 2023), Aegida—on HIV testing among women engaged in sex work and using drugs (Cordingley, 2023), and Bridge—on stigma against people using drugs in Kazakhstan (Primbetova, 2022).

Our key learnings from adapting WINGS

1. Understanding the unique needs of key populations

To adapt WINGS effectively, our team first assessed the specific risks these groups face in Kazakhstan, including discrimination, stigma, and mental health challenges. We conducted focus groups and Community Advisory Board meetings with key stakeholders, including leaders of the communities. This understanding was vital to designing an intervention that would truly address the needs of women living with HIV, those involved in sex work, and transgender women (Collier, 2015).

Due to the high risk of violence from sex workers’ clients and following the earlier Nova project with women engaged in commercial sex work, we added community-based support methods. These included women informing each other about their locations with clients or sharing information about clients who had exhibited aggressive behaviour, effectively creating a “blacklist of potentially dangerous clients.” Later, during interviews, participants mentioned that they had become more cautious, preferring to work with clients in apartments in the presence of other women and sharing information about conflict situations.

2. Engaging the community is essential to adapting programs effectively

Our Community Advisory Board (CAB), made up of community leaders, domestic violence providers, police, health care providers, and representatives from key populations, was essential to this adaptation. CAB members offered valuable feedback on how to address the gaps in existing IPV support services for women from key affected populations, helping us make the intervention more relevant. Transgender women participants provided insights in terms of terminology and relevance of the referrals to mammologists and gynaecologists that enhanced the program’s design (Sevelius, 2023).

For instance, our transgender (TG) community reflected on piloting the intervention on topics such as gender identity and violence due to transphobia. Thus, they asked us to delete “men” and “TG men” from the list of potential genders they might identify themselves with and asked us to leave only 2 options: TG woman and nonbinary person. To the question of the types of violence among transgender people, they asked to add clarifying questions—violence due to gender identity or due to transphobia.

3. Training for cultural sensitivity builds trust and understanding

A major part of our process was cultural competency training, led by community members for our team and the CAB. This training included education on gender identity, respectful language, and the specific barriers that transgender women face. This knowledge was key to fostering a supportive, welcoming environment for programme participants (Logie, 2022).

 

 

4. Tailoring content and deliverables makes interventions more relatable

To make WINGS resonate with our participants, we customised the program’s language, examples, and scenarios to reflect their real-life experiences. We also updated referral resources to include NGO shelters that accept women in sex work and transgender women, as government-funded shelters currently exclude these groups.

5. Advocating for policy change helps expand access to services

CAB members worked on policy advocacy to push for the inclusion of marginalised populations in crisis centres. For example, the Union of Crisis Centers in Kazakhstan along with the Association of Women Living with HIV, raised the discussion through the document “The Standard for Providing Special Social Services to Victims of Domestic Violence in Kazakhstan”, adding representatives of our beneficiaries from the marginalized groups, such as women living with HIV. This was the main agenda of several of our CAB meetings, and we managed to include WLWH into the list of eligible state crisis centres for up to 6 months, with their children receiving social, psychological, medical, legal, and educational services for women and their children. We continue to advocate for other groups of women. While this is an ongoing effort, these steps are crucial for broader access to healthcare, legal protection, and gender-affirming care.

6. Building a strong support network ensures sustainability and community alignment

Collaborating with local health and social services, community groups, and advocacy organisations has been instrumental in creating a robust support system that can sustain and reinforce the intervention. For instance, all these service providers in both Almaty city and the Almaty region—including Konaev and Taldykorgan towns—were invited and actively involved in the CAB, where individual cases were discussed during meetings.

Furthermore, service providers working in the GBV field established a “911” WhatsApp group with more than 100 specialists all over the country. This platform enabled rapid communication, where any shelter or crisis center could report a case, and it was collectively resolved by the group. For example, this was the case of a woman who appeared at the crisis centre in Almaty city at night with no ID. The staff was able to reach social services and the police through this platform of communication to find out if her case of violence was registered with the police and if she had an order against the aggressor. In the case of women using drugs, state crisis centres refer them to NGO-led shelters serving PLWH and PWUD, NGO Revansh, which were one of our data collection project sites. These partnerships not only strengthen the intervention but also ensure the program remains community-driven and responsive to the evolving needs of the population. These partnerships also ensure that the program remains community-focused and responsive.

 

Conclusion

The adaptation of WINGS in Kazakhstan shows the value of a community-centred approach. By prioritising cultural competency, community feedback, and policy advocacy, we’ve taken steps toward a more inclusive support system for women facing violence. This model offers a framework for similar efforts elsewhere.

 

 

This blog was written by Sholpan Primbetova, Co-Principal Investigator and Vice President of Social Fund “Center for Scientific-Practical Initiatives”, Assel Terlikbayeva, Local Principal Investigator and President of Social Fund “Center for Scientific-Practical Initiatives”, and Louisa Gilbert, Co-investigator, professor, Social Intervention Group, Columbia University School of Social Work. The main findings of the project were presented at the SVRI Forum 2024 by Shoplan Primbetova.

 

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