Associations Between Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a Microfinance Plus Program in Rural North West Province, South Africa

Ranganathan, N.; Knight, Louise; Abramsky, Tanya; Muvhango, Lufuno; Ngwato, Tara Polzer; Mbobelatsi, Mpho; Ferrari, Giulia; Watts, Charlotte; Stöckl, Heidi

doi:10.1177/0886260519836952

Cited by 43 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…In addition, several of the women and men mentioned cooperation and stronger social relationships, both within the household and with other community members, as a way of feeling powerful. This aligns with research findings from Southern Africa that strong social capital and relationships contributes to increased household harmony and raises women's self-confidence (Brody et al 2015;Ranganathan et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Women’s economic empowerment and health related decision-making in rural Sierra Leone

Cornish

Walls

Ndirangu³

et al. 2019

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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Maternal mortality rates during childbirth in Sierra Leone are amongst the highest globally, with 1360 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Furthermore, the country's neonatal mortality rate is estimated at 39 deaths per 1000 live births. There is growing recognition of the health consequences of gender inequality, but challenges in addressing it. Gendered power dynamics within households affect health outcomes, with men often controlling decisions about their family's health, including their family's use of health services. The Government's Free Health Care Initiative, which abolished user fees for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five is promising, however this reform alone is insufficient to meet health goals. Using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with men and women, this study explores women's economic empowerment and health decisionmaking in rural Sierra Leone. Findings show the concept of power related to women's income generation, financial independence and being listened to in social relationships. Whilst women's economic empowerment was reported to ease marital tensions, men remained household authority figures, including regarding health decision-making. Economic interventions play an important role in supporting women's economic empowerment and in influencing gender norms, but men's roles and women's social empowerment, alongside economic empowerment, needs consideration.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Women’s economic empowerment and health related decision-making in rural Sierra Leone

Cornish

Walls

Ndirangu³

et al. 2019

Culture, Health & Sexuality

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“…Those rooted in patriarchy and an entitlement and expectation to dominate and control women, enacted through exploitative sexual behaviours and relationships, are most commonly associated with IPV [2,3]. Peri-urban settlements in sub-Saharan Africa have much higher rates of IPV than seen elsewhere [4,5]. In contexts of high unemployment, informal housing, food insecurity and other forms of poverty, epitomised by peri-urban, largely informal settlements, men find it very difficult to achieve successful manhood, as constructed by their wealthier peers emphasising providing for a home and having material possessions, and instead may enact models of masculinity characterised by dominance [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of a multi-level intervention to reduce men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Christofides

Hatcher

Rebombo

et al. 2020

Trials

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Background: Men's perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) limits gains in health and wellbeing for populations globally. Largely informal, rapidly expanding peri-urban settlements, with limited basic services such as electricity, have high prevalence rates of IPV. Evidence on how to reduce men's perpetration, change social norms and patriarchal attitudes within these settings is limited. Our cluster randomised controlled trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Sonke CHANGE intervention in reducing use of sexual and/or physical IPV and severity of perpetration by men aged 18-40 years over 2 years. Methodology: The theory-based intervention delivered activities to bolster community action, including door-to-door discussions, workshops, drawing on the CHANGE curriculum, and deploying community action teams over 18 months. In 2016 and 2018, we collected data from a cohort of men, recruited from 18 clusters; nine were randomised to receive the intervention, while the nine control clusters received no intervention. A self-administered questionnaire, using audio-computer assisted software, asked about sociodemographics, gender attitudes, mental health, and the use and severity of IPV. We conducted an intention-to-treat analysis at the cluster level comparing the expected risk to observed risk of using IPV while controlling for baseline characteristics. A secondary analysis used latent classes (LCA) of men to see whether there were differential effects of the intervention for subgroups of men.

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“…Cash transfer projects have shown success across settings in reducing IPV [127]; with qualitative research in some settings finding that part of that success was due to the program operating within acceptable gender norms (i.e., providing women money to spend on food for their children) [24]. Microfinance and entrepreneurship programs, however, have a weaker empirical literature base to date, with studies finding mixed results on IPV outcomes (e.g., [128]), potentially due to the increased stressors of taking on financial risks inherent in running a business, or women spending less time in the home. Explicitly addressing the role of perceived infidelity and RJ in the context of economic empowerment work may be an important factor to buoy the effectiveness of such programs that shift the economic power dynamic in a family or facilitate women engaging in the labour force.…”

Section: Programing Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review: Infidelity, Romantic Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence against Women

Pichon

Treves-Kagan

Stern

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Infidelity and romantic jealousy (RJ) are commonly cited relational level drivers of intimate partner violence (IPV) but remain undertheorized and underutilized in IPV research and prevention. This global systematic review aims to characterize the existing research on real or suspected infidelity and RJ in relation to IPV and inform future research and programming. We systematically searched 11 databases for peer-reviewed research, published between April 2009 and 2019, that provided data on the prevalence or a measure of association (quantitative), or pathway (qualitative), between real or suspected infidelity or RJ, and IPV. Fifty-one papers from 28 countries were included and the evidence showed a consistent association between real or suspected infidelity, RJ and IPV. Our findings identify three overarching mechanisms and six pathways between infidelity, RJ and IPV. These provide support for prominent theories in the field related to patriarchal culture, threatened masculinities and femininities and a lack of emotional regulation and conflict resolution skills, but not evolutionary theories. Our findings suggest that researchers should use standardized measurement tools that make the distinction between RJ and suspected, confirmed and accusations of infidelity. Policy and programming should aim to transform traditional gender roles, accounting for infidelity and RJ and improving couple’s communication and trust.

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Associations Between Women’s Economic and Social Empowerment and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings From a Microfinance Plus Program in Rural North West Province, South Africa

Cited by 43 publications

References 40 publications

Women’s economic empowerment and health related decision-making in rural Sierra Leone

Women’s economic empowerment and health related decision-making in rural Sierra Leone

Effectiveness of a multi-level intervention to reduce men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence: a cluster randomised controlled trial

A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review: Infidelity, Romantic Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence against Women

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