What do food insecurity, nutrition, and domestic violence have to do with each other? A study on reducing domestic violence, came out of a study on nutrition in Bangladesh, run by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Did women who were given food (or cash to buy food) improve their household's health when they were also educated on healthy diets? Yes! But the women's status also were improved.
This article is not solely about nutrition and food but empowerment of women, is especially tied into their roles in feeding the family.
Highlights from the article:
- women who received both cash for food and education — were "noticeably more confident, outspoken," .
- Having more cash or food in the household can reduce stress and conflict that leads to abuse.
- The women made friends through the nutrition program, and they also became local experts on eating better — so much so that their neighbors, who had previously looked down on them for being very poor, began asking for their advice on nutrition.
- The researchers suggest that perhaps the women [in the nutrition program] developed stronger social ties, an improved status in the community and more confidence – and thus have a greater ability to negotiate improvements in a violent home situation or are more willing to walk out.
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