Food insecurity is a critical global health issue. In Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the unsettled social and economic situation has led to a disruption of adequate access to food sources. Ivorian women, especially those living in conflict-affected areas, also experience a higher prevalence of intimate partner violence.
In a new study, Sarah Fong, an MPH student graduating this summer, worked with Jhumka Gupta, assistant professor of global and community health and principal investigator of the study, to explore the relationship between food insecurity and intimate partner violence among urban Ivorian women. The study, which represents a collaboration between Gupta and the International Rescue Committee, is published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
“We analyzed survey data from women in select Abidjan-based neighborhoods about their access to food during the previous four weeks and their experiences with intimate partner violence during the previous year,” Fong said, who now is involved in federal food assistance programs as a food technologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The survey served as a pilot of a larger randomized controlled trial that I led in rural regions of Côte d’Ivoire that focused on a socioeconomic empowerment program to reduce violence against women,” Gupta said.
Of the 80 women surveyed, 68 responded to the food insecurity and intimate partner violence questions. Nearly 25% of those women had experienced severe food insecurity, while 28% reported intimate partner violence.
“Women who reported more severe food insecurity were found to be more than eight times more likely to report intimate partner violence in the past year,” Gupta said.
“While the work is preliminary and more research with larger samples are needed, our results suggest a relationship between food insecurity and intimate partner violence,” Fong said. “New programs to address food insecurity may have the potential to decrease intimate partner violence in the Ivory Coast and other crisis-affected settings.”
The other study authors were Denise Kpebo of Innovations for Poverty Action and Kathryn Falb, co-principal investigator of the study, of the International Rescue Committee.
This work was funded by the United States Institute of Peace.