Pathways From Food Insecurity to Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Among Peri-Urban Men in South Africa

Abstract

Introduction: Although poverty is sometimes seen as a driver of intimate partner violence victimization, less is known about how it intersects with men's violence perpetration. Food insecurity is a sensitive marker of poverty that may have unique mechanisms leading to men's intimate partner violence perpetration given its association with gender roles and men "providing for the family." Methods: Using cluster-based sampling, the team conducted an audio-assisted questionnaire in 2016 among men living in a peri-urban settlement near Johannesburg, South Africa. The aim was to examine the relationship between men's food insecurity and their use of past-year intimate partner violence, and to explore the pathways linking these two conditions. Results: Among 2,006 currently partnered men, nearly half (48.4%) perpetrated intimate partner violence and more than half (61.4%) were food insecure. Food insecurity was associated with doubled odds of intimate partner violence (OR=2.15, 95% CI=1.73, 2.66). This association persisted after controlling for sociodemographics, relationship characteristics, and neighborhood clustering. In a structural equation model, food insecurity retained a direct relationship with men's violence perpetration and worked through indirect pathways of mental health and relationship quality. Conclusions: Addressing men's perpetration of intimate partner violence may require examination of broader structural challenges, such as food insecurity. Future interventions should consider livelihood strategies alongside relationship and mental health approaches.

Does intimate partner violence influence the utilization of maternal health services?

“…The study also supports that younger age and poor financial status were associated with IPV during pregnancy as observed by Doi et al (2019). Another study shows that poverty, lack of education and food security lead to IPV during and after pregnancy (29,30). Appropriate interventions can minimize and control the IPV as various experiments became successful in many countries (31).…”

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

“…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]. While some men persist in their difficult circumstances pursuing more benign patriarchal models, others are enticed by hypermasculine models of manhood that most strongly emphasise control over women, heterosexual prowess, coupled with access to resources through crime.…”

Does intimate partner violence influence the utilization of maternal health services?

“…Previous research also supports that younger age and poorer financial status were associated with IPV during pregnancy as observed by Doi et al (2019). Another study showed that poverty, lack of education and food security is associated with IPV during and after pregnancy (30,31). Appropriate interventions have been shown to help minimize and control IPV as various experiments demonstrated this in several countries (32).…”