The Effect of Women’s Empowerment on Intimate Partner Violence and Child Nutrition Outcomes in India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Inamdar, Vedika; Tagat, Anirudh; Parekh, Aneree

doi:10.1177/09731741221142356

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…However, this approach cannot adequately capture the association within individual countries, given the distinct cultural, religious and racial aspects that differentiate LMICs. Another recent study by Inamdar et al 29 explored the association between IPV driven by women’s empowerment and its impact on child stunting. However, a comprehensive and direct association was not adequately explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and child stunting: a secondary analysis of the Demographic Health Surveys of four South Asian countries

Lakhdir,

Ambreen,

Sameen

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesTo determine the association between maternal exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child stunting using the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data comparing four South Asian countries.DesignA secondary analysis.SettingData from the seventh round of the DHS data of four South Asian countries; Pakistan, Nepal, India and Maldives.ParticipantsMarried women of reproductive age (15–49 years) from each household were randomly selected, having at least one child less than 5 years of age for whom all anthropometric measures were available.Outcome measureThe exposure variable was maternal IPV including, sexual violence, physical violence or both. The outcome variable was moderate or severe stunting, measured based on the height-for-age Z-score of children aged 6–59 months old . Multiple Cox proportional regression analyses were used separately on each country’s data to determine the association between maternal IPV and child stunting.ResultsThe prevalence of IPV among women ranged from 10.17% in the Maldives to 31% in India. The burden of child stunting was the lowest in the Maldives at 14.04% and the highest in Pakistan at 35.86%. The number of severely stunted children was the highest in Pakistan (16.60%), followed by India (14.79%). In India, children whose mothers were exposed to IPV showed a 7% increase in the prevalence of moderate to severe child stunting (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14). Additionally, in Nepal, severe stunting was strongly associated with the prevalence of physical IPV (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.87).ConclusionOur study findings suggest that maternal exposure to IPV is associated with child stunting. Further research investigating the relationship between IPV and child outcomes using improved and advanced statistical analyses can provide substantial evidence to enhance public awareness and potentially reduce the burden of child stunting in South Asian countries.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and child stunting: a secondary analysis of the Demographic Health Surveys of four South Asian countries

Lakhdir,

Ambreen,

Sameen

et al. 2024

BMJ Open

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Exploring the linkage between TV shows and women's empowerment in a metropolitan city of Pakistan

Hussain,

Aslam,

Manzoor

2024

Cities

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Impact of laws prohibiting domestic violence on wasting in early childhood

Bhuwania,

Raub,

Sprague

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects an estimated 641 million women and girls globally with far-reaching consequences for the health of women and children. Yet, laws that prohibit domestic violence (DV) are not universal. Countries actively debate the effectiveness of DV laws in improving conditions given the inconclusive evidence on deterrent effects within households particularly in low- and middle-income countries that have limited infrastructure, and fewer resources to implement and enforce policy changes. This is the first study to rigorously examine the impact of DV laws on women’s health decision-making and the intergenerational impact on children’s wasting, a key predictor of mortality. We used the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data collected between 2000–2020 across 23 African countries. Exploiting the staggered adoption of laws, we used a difference-in-differences study design to estimate the impact of DV laws in the treated countries compared to countries without such laws. We find that DV laws increased women’s decision-making autonomy in healthcare by 16.7% as well as other measures of women’s autonomy that matter for health such as financial autonomy by 6.3% and social mobility by 11.0%. The improvements in women’s autonomy translated into reductions in the probability of wasting among children aged 0–23 months by 5.4% points, a 30.9% reduction from the mean. DV laws also reduced wasting among older children aged 24–59 months by 3.6% points, a 38.7% reduction from the mean. The laws were effective in all 6 countries analyzed individually that criminalized DV. A civil prohibition in the seventh country was not found to be effective. The effect was positive and significant for all wealth and geographical categories. Our findings demonstrate the value of enacting criminal laws that prohibit domestic violence as one important tool to reducing the profound health impacts of IPV, a critical health and human rights issue.

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The Effect of Women’s Empowerment on Intimate Partner Violence and Child Nutrition Outcomes in India, Nepal, and Pakistan

Cited by 3 publications

References 57 publications

Association between maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and child stunting: a secondary analysis of the Demographic Health Surveys of four South Asian countries

Association between maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and child stunting: a secondary analysis of the Demographic Health Surveys of four South Asian countries

Exploring the linkage between TV shows and women's empowerment in a metropolitan city of Pakistan

Impact of laws prohibiting domestic violence on wasting in early childhood

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