Publications & NEWS - Project WINGS

April 1, 2026

New WINGS Study Demonstrates Feasibility of Combined Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Intervention for Women in Nairobi Informal Settlements

Researchers at Columbia University, in partnership with the Africa Institute of…

Publications

Published in leading journals, our research explores the links between intimate partner violence, substance use, and HIV risk among women and highlights the impact of trauma-informed, syndemic-focused interventions like Project WINGS, emphasizing empowerment-based safety planning, cultural responsiveness, and technology-driven community partnerships to improve access and outcomes.

WINGS Publications

Winter, S. C., Obara, L. M., Ndetei, D., Mutiso, V., Gilbert, L., Bellamy, S. L., Shin, G. U., Shrestha, A., & Witte, S. S. (2026). Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a combined intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health intervention (WINGS+ PM+) for women in informal settlements in Kenya. Social Science & Medicine, 119095.

Terlikbayeva, A., Primbetova, S., Gatanaga, O. S., Chang, M., Rozental, Y., Nurkatova, M., Baisakova, Z., Bilokon, Y., Karan, S. E., & Dasgupta, A. (2025). UMAI-WINGS: Evaluating the effectiveness of implementing mHealth intimate partner violence prevention intervention in reducing intimate partner violence among women from key affected populations in Kazakhstan using a community-based approach. Behavioral Sciences, 15(5), 641.

Nikitin, D, Bessonova, A, Gilbert, L, Jiwatram-Negron, T,&Terlikbayeva, A. (2025).WINGS in Kyrgyzstan: An intervention for gender-based violence prevention. In NGO involvement in drug treatment and infectious disease prevention in Central Asia and China (pp. 179-200).Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH&Co.KG.

Goddard-Eckrich D, Henry BF, Sardana S, et al. Evidence of Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Black Women Under Community Supervision in New York City: A Plea for Culturally Tailored Intimate Partner Violence Interventions. Women’s Health Reports. 2022;3(1).

Jiwatram-Negrón, T., Hunt, T., Nikitin, D., Rychkova, O., Ermolaeva, I., Sharonova, N., … Gilbert, L. (2018). An exploratory study of economic abuse among substance-involved women in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Journal of Substance Use, 23(4), 358–365.

Gilbert, L., Jiwatram-Negron, T., Nikitin, D., Rychkova, O., McCrimmon, T., Ermolaeva, I., Sharonova, N., Mukambetov, A., & Hunt, T. (2017). Feasibility and preliminary effects of a screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment model to address gender-based violence among women who use drugs in Kyrgyzstan: Project WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety). Drug and Alcohol Review, 36(1), 125–133.

Gilbert, L., Shaw, S. A., Goddard‐Eckrich, D., Chang, M., Rowe, J., McCrimmon, T., Almonte, M., Goodwin, S., & Epperson, M. (2015). Project WINGS (Women Initiating New Goals of Safety): A randomised controlled trial of a screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) service to identify and address intimate partner violence victimisation among substance‐using women receiving community supervision. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 25(4), 314–329

Selected Publications by WINGS Partners

Sarnatska, A., & Semigana, T. (2026). Addressing gender-based violence through the WINGS intervention: Experience and lessons learned from Ukraine. In T. Semigana (Ed.), Social work in wartime Ukraine: Changing the professional language (pp. 316–350). Talin, Estonia: Teadmus.

Sarnatska, A. & Semigina, T. (2026). Women and Gender-Based Violence: Interventions to Improve Safety

Jiwatram-Negrón, T., Meinhart, M., Ahmed, S., Nikitin, D., & Gilbert, L. (2025). Preliminary effects of a syndemic-focused brief intervention to reduce gender-based violence among women with a history of sex trading and substance use. Social Work Research, 49(2), 106–118.

Goddard-Eckrich, D., Marotta, P., Dsouza, N., Chang, M., Wu, E., Richer, A., Hunt, T., Davis, A., Dasgupta, A., & Hall, J. (2025). Intersections of substance use, overdose risk, and intimate partner violence: A dyadic approach to violence prevention in criminal legal settings. Research Square, rs-6676375.

Jiwatram-Negron, T., Meinhart, M., Ward, M., Michalopoulos, L., Zhan, Q., Nikitin, D., & Gilbert, L. (2024). Associations between different forms of intimate partner violence and posttraumatic stress among women who use drugs and alcohol in Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 37(2), 318–327.

Stoicescu, C., Medley, B., Wu, E., El-Bassel, N., Tanjung, P., & Gilbert, L. (2024). Synergistic effects of exposure to multiple types of violence on non-fatal drug overdose among women who inject drugs in Indonesia: Implications for broadening the scope of harm reduction services. International Journal of Drug Policy, 128, 104486.

Jiwatram-Negron, T., Peitzmeier, S., Meinhart, M., Vasiliou, N., Nikitin, D., & Gilbert, L. (2023). Associations between transactional sex and intimate and non-intimate partner violence: Findings from Project WINGS of Hope. Journal of Family Violence, 38(1), 161–173.

Gilbert, L., Stoicescu, C., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Dasgupta, A., Richer, A., N. Benjamin, S., Wu, E., & El-Bassel, N. (2023). Intervening on the intersecting issues of intimate partner violence, substance use, and HIV: A review of Social Intervention Group’s (SIG) syndemic-focused interventions for women. Research on Social Work Practice, 33(2), 178–192.

Goddard-Eckrich, D., Marotta, P., Davis, A., Hunt, T., Hall, J., Wu, E., Chang, M., Xiaoyao, M., Dasgupta, A., & Richer, A. (2023). How perpetration and experience of IPV may be associated with experiencing a non-fatal overdose among men in community supervision programs in New York City and their female intimate partners: Analysis using actor-partner interdependence. In 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation. AcademyHealth.

Goddard-Eckrich, D., Ramesh, V., Gatanaga, O., Nathaniel-DeCaires, K., Hosein, G., Ramchal, M., Johnson, J. K., Howard, D., Gilbert, L., & Guy-Cupid, G.-A. (2023). An overview of intimate partner violence and gender based violence studies and interventions in the English speaking Caribbean: Gaps, future directions—a scoping review. In 16th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation. AcademyHealth.

El-Bassel, N., Mukherjee, T. I., Stoicescu, C., Starbird, L. E., Stockman, J. K., Frye, V., & Gilbert, L. (2022). Intertwined epidemics: Progress, gaps, and opportunities to address intimate partner violence and HIV among key populations of women. The Lancet HIV, 9(3), e202–e213.

United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. (2022, March 14). NGO “Club Eney”: Continuing essential work for the most marginalized women and girls in Ukraine. UN Women.

Gilbert, L., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Chang, M., Hunt, T., Wu, E., Johnson, K., Richards, S., Goodwin, S., Tibbetts, R., & Metsch, L. R. (2021). Effectiveness of a culturally tailored HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention intervention for Black women in community supervision programs: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 4(4), e215226.

Gilbert, L., Marotta, P. L., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Richer, A., Akuffo, J., Hunt, T., Wu, E., & El-Bassel, N. (2022). Association between multiple experiences of violence and drug overdose among Black women in community supervision programs in New York City. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(23–24), NP21502–NP21524

WHRIN Administrator. (2021, November 4). WHRIN interview Club Eney. Women and Harm Reduction International Network.

Stoicescu, C., Richer, A., & Gilbert, L. (2020). Nexus of risk: The co-occurring problems of gender-based violence, HIV and drug use among women and adolescent girls. In J. Buxton, G. Margo, & L. Burger (Eds.), The Impact of Global Drug Policy on Women: Shifting the Needle. Emerald Publishing.

“WINGS” TECHNOLOGY AS A MEANS OF COUNTERACTION TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN FROM A HIGH RISK GROUP. (2020). Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Social Work, 2(4), 41-46.

El-Bassel, N., Marotta, P. L., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Chang, M., Hunt, T., Wu, E., & Gilbert, L. (2019). Drug overdose among women in intimate relationships: The role of partner violence, adversity and relationship dependencies. PLOS ONE, 14(12), e0225854.

El-Bassel, N., Marotta, P. L., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Chang, M., Hunt, T., Wu, E., & Gilbert, L. (2019). Drug overdose among women in intimate relationships: The role of partner violence, adversity and relationship dependencies. PLOS ONE, 14(12), e0225854.

Gilbert, L., Sarvet, A. L., Wall, M., Walsh, K., Reardon, L., Wilson, P., Santelli, J., Khan, S., Thompson, M., & Hirsch, J. S. (2019). Situational contexts and risk factors associated with incapacitated and nonincapacitated sexual assaults among college women. Journal of Women’s Health, 28(2), 185–193.

Parkhomenko, V., & Sarnatska, A. (2018). Adaptation and studying the utility in Ukraine of innovative screening of gender-based violence and short interference with the WINGS methodology. NGO “Club” Eney; Eurasian Key Populations Health Network.

Johnson, K., Gilbert, L., Hunt, T., Wu, E., Metsch, L., Goddard-Eckrich, D., Richards, S., Tibbetts, R., Rowe, J. C., & Wainberg, M. L. (2018). The effectiveness of a group-based computerized HIV/STI prevention intervention for Black women who use drugs in the criminal justice system: Study protocol for E-WORTH (Empowering African-American Women on the Road to Health), a Hybrid Type 1 randomized controlled trial. Trials, 19(1), 486.

Weaver, T. L., Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Resnick, H. S., & Noursi, S. (2015). Identifying and intervening with substance-using women exposed to intimate partner violence: Phenomenology, comorbidities, and integrated approaches within primary care and other agency settings. Journal of Women’s Health, 24(1), 51–56.

Gilbert, L., Raj, A., Hien, D., Stockman, J., Terlikbayeva, A., & Wyatt, G. (2015). Targeting the SAVA (substance abuse, violence, and AIDS) syndemic among women and girls: A global review of epidemiology and integrated interventions. JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 69, S118–S127.

Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Wu, E., & Chang, M. (2007). Intimate partner violence and HIV risks: A longitudinal study of men on methadone. Journal of Urban Health, 84(5), 667–680

Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Manuel, J., Wu, E., Golder, S., Seewald, R., & Sanders, R. (2006). An integrated relapse prevention and relationship safety intervention for women on methadone: Testing short-term effects on intimate partner violence and substance use. Violence & Victims, 21(5), 657–672.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Go, H., & Hill, J. (2005). Relationship between drug abuse and intimate partner violence: A longitudinal study among women receiving methadone. American Journal of Public Health, 95(3), 465–470.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Wu, E., Go, H., & Hill, J. (2005). HIV and intimate partner violence among methadone-maintained women in New York City. Social Science & Medicine, 61(1), 171–183.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Golder, S., Wu, E., Chang, M., Fontdevila, J., & Sanders, G. (2004). Deconstructing the relationship between intimate partner violence and sexual HIV risk among drug-involved men and their female partners. AIDS and Behavior, 8(4), 429–439.

El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Witte, S., Wu, E., Gaeta, T., Schilling, R., & Wada, T. (2003). Intimate partner violence and substance abuse among minority women receiving care from an inner-city emergency department. Women’s Health Issues, 13(1), 16–22.

Gilbert, L., El-Bassel, N., Rajah, V., Foleno, A., & Frye, V. (2001). Linking drug-related activities with experiences of partner violence: A focus group study of women. Violence and Victims, 16(5), 517–536.

NEWS

Club Eney's WINGS-Ukraine Program Wins 2026 CEB Award for Social Cohesion

March 19, 2026

In March, Ukrainian NGO Club Eney received the Council of Europe Development Bank’s 2026 Award for Social Cohesion for their implementation of WINGS. WINGS-Ukraine, which was established in 2018, supports women facing violence, exclusion, poverty, and substance abuse in the context of war. Their work spans 16 regions of Ukraine, allowing thme to stand alongside women who are often left without access to even the most basic services.

Antonina Denisova, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at NGO Club Eney, said of the award: “Our work is about the power of community and about the changes that become possible when a woman is heard. When she has the right to choose and access to the resources she needs, dignity, safety, and the chance for a new beginning emerge. This award is a reminder that care, empathy, and systemic work truly can change reality. We are grateful to our partners, our team, and above all, to the women who entrusted us with their stories. Without you, none of this would have been possible. We are deeply grateful to Louise Gilbert and Columbia University for their support and trust — for the opportunity to adapt and pilot the WINGS tool in Ukraine for the first time in 2018, and for their continued support along the way.”

Congratulations to Club Eney and WINGS-Ukraine.

Read the full announcement from CEB