Association between food insecurity and intimate partner violence: the role of gendered asset policies.

Abstract

Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects an estimated 27% of women globally, with consequences spanning mental, physical and societal well-being. Previous research identifies individual and relational risk factors for IPV, but less is known about wider structural factors. This study examines the association between food insecurity and IPV using nationally-representative data from 156 countries, exploring gendered asset policies as a potential mediator.

Methods: We used nationally representative survey data on women's experience of IPV (1993-2019) and the Food and Agriculture Organization data on moderate to severe food insecurity. Multilevel mixed-effects generalised linear models estimated the association between standardised variables for food insecurity and IPV, accounting for country-level clustering and adjusting for gross domestic product (GDP). Mediation analysis estimated the role of gendered asset policies (Women, Business and the Law Index Score). Sensitivity analyses lagged food insecurity by at least 4 years among a subset of 59 countries.

Results: We examined data from 219 country-years representing 156 countries globally across the period of 1993-2019. After controlling for national GDP, models estimated an independent cross-sectional association between food insecurity and IPV (b=0.49; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.62). Gendered asset policies mediated 18.9% of the food insecurity-IPV relationship (indirect effect 0.099 (0.044-0.155); total effect 0.526 (0.422-0.631)). In lagged analysis, food insecurity was associated with higher IPV 2 years later (b=0.78; 95% CI 0.48 to 1.06), with a similar mediation effect (21.0%).

Conclusion: This study is among the first to harness global data to demonstrate country-level effects of food insecurity on IPV, which countries enacting more equitable asset policies were able to mitigate a substantial proportion of. Future research should prospectively pinpoint how supportive gender policies and asset ownership can amplify the benefits of food security for women's safety and longevity.