Can Transfers and Behavior Change Communication Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Four Years Post-program? Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

IFPRI Discussion Paper 1869, September 2019

71 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2019

See all articles by Shalini Roy

Shalini Roy

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Melissa Hidrobo

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

John Hoddinott

Cornell University

Bastien Koch

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Akhter U. Ahmed

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Date Written: October 2, 2019

Abstract

Little is known about whether reductions in intimate partner violence (IPV) from cash transfer programs persist over the longer term. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we show that a program providing poor women in rural Bangladesh with cash or food transfers, alongside nutrition behavior change communication (BCC), led to sustained reductions in IPV 4 years after the program ended. Transfers alone showed no sustained impacts on IPV. Evidence suggests cash and BCC led to more sustained impacts on IPV than food and BCC – through persistent increases in women’s bargaining power, men’s costs of perpetrating violence, and poverty-related emotional well-being.

Keywords: social protection, cash transfer, gender, sustainability, domestic violence

Suggested Citation

Roy, Shalini and Hidrobo, Melissa and Hoddinott, John and Koch, Bastien and Ahmed, Akhter U., Can Transfers and Behavior Change Communication Reduce Intimate Partner Violence Four Years Post-program? Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh (October 2, 2019). IFPRI Discussion Paper 1869, September 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3467612

Shalini Roy (Contact Author)

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Melissa Hidrobo

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

John Hoddinott

Cornell University ( email )

Ithaca, NY 14853
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.cornell.edu/

Bastien Koch

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

Akhter U. Ahmed

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ( email )

1201 Eye St, NW,
Washington, DC 20005
United States

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