Sandrine Mesplé-Somps

Researcher in Development Economics

Research fields : Development economics, Migration, Economic history

Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)

UMR LEDa, Team DIAL, University Paris Dauphine PSL, IRD (260), CNRS (8007)

Research fellow at ICM

Member of the AFEDEV network

Director, Master 2 ADEPP (Aide à la Décision et Evaluation des Politiques Publiques), Dauphine University-IRD-ENSAE, Campus Franco-Sénégalais, Dakar 

President of the scientific commission SESG  (Sciences Economiques et Sociales et Gestion), INRAE, 2024-

Contact: 

Tel: 33 1 53 24 14 00 

email: sandrine.mesple-somps@ird.fr 

New project

BASAF "Bans of gender-based violence, social norms and well-being in Africa", 2026-2030, financed by the French Research Agency ANR, 395 k€

This interdisciplinary project investigates the persistence of gender-based violence (GBV) and its links to social norms and legal frameworks in Sub-Saharan Africa. GBV targets women and sexual minorities—particularly men who have sex with men (MSM)—and includes practices like intimate partner violence and female genital mutilation (FGM). Despite international progress, such violence remains deeply rooted in local norms and often reinforced by legal systems.

The project has two core objectives: (1) to document GBV and associated gender norms, and assess their effects on well-being and socio-economic outcomes; and (2) to identify innovative and context-sensitive interventions capable of transforming norms and reducing violence. The approach combines economics, public health, and ethnography.

Five Work Packages (WPs) structure the research:

• WP1 conducts ethnographic studies on women’s perceptions of GBV within migrant and transnational communities in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, and France, with a focus on intergenerational shifts. PI: Nehara Feldman

• WP2 explores how sexuality-based stigma affects MSM’s access to HIV care in Senegal, using medical data and perception analysis through surveys. PI: Jean-Noël Senne

• WP3 evaluates the impact of anti-FGM laws in a large sample of African countries through a difference-in-differences approach, considering law enforcement, social norms, and unintended effects like increased child marriage. Co-authors: Olivia Bertelli, Mathilde Lesueur and Sandrine Mesplé-Somps

• WP4 tests two behavioral interventions:

  • An information experiment correcting misperceived social norms about FGM. Co-authors: Olivia Bertelli, Thomas Calvo, Emmanuelle Lavallée, Marion Mercier, and Sandrine Mesplé-Somps

  • A stigma-reduction training (LILO) targeting MSM and healthcare providers, PI: Jean-Noël Senne

• WP5 investigates the effect of role models—celebrities or local figures—on changing attitudes toward GBV in Mali through a randomized film-based experiment. Co-authors: Sandrine Mesplé-Somps, Björn Nilsson and Jean-Noël Senne

The project addresses key methodological challenges in researching sensitive topics among hidden populations. It innovates by using qualitative surveys, indirect survey methods (e.g., list experiments) to mitigate response bias and randomized control trials.

Scientific contributions include filling gaps in literature on norm change, law effectiveness, role models, and GBV against MSM in Africa. The project expects to generate high-quality data, inform policy, and support organizations working on women’s rights and LGBT+ protection.

Results will be disseminated via academic publications, workshops, and policy briefs, especially in the studied countries, to maximize societal impact.