Abstract
There are conflicting views on the impact of microfinance-only interventions on women’s economic empowerment and intimate partner violence in low and middle-income countries. Evidence suggests however that when microfinance is combined with complementary programmes (microfinance plus) it may be effective for empowering women and addressing intimate partner violence. We conducted in-depth interviews with adult women in rural South Africa who had received microfinance loans for more than a year and had recently completed gender training. We explored women’s perceptions on income generation; the effects on their relationships, including intimate partner violence; their notions of power; and perspectives on men’s reactions to their empowerment. Findings reveal that the notion of ‘power within the self’ is supported by women’s income generation, alongside a sense of financial independence and improved social support. Women reported increased happiness and reduced financial stress, although social norms and gender expectations about women subservience and male headship remain salient, particularly among older women. Furthermore, younger women appeared to tolerate abuse due to financial and caring responsibilities. These findings underpin the importance of complementary gender training programmes and of including men as participants for enhancing the effectiveness of economic strengthening interventions.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence is a major global public health challenge with one in three women ever having experienced lifetime physical and/or sexual violence (Devries et al 2013)
The study was embedded in the Intervention with Microfinance and Gender Equity (IMAGE) follow-up study whose purpose was to examine the effect of the scaled-up programme on women’s experience of intimate partner violence, ten years after the original IMAGE programme (Knight et al 2020)
The IMAGE programme combined a poverty-focused microfinance initiative implemented by the Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF), with a ten-session participatory curriculum of gender training and HIV education known as Sisters for Life (SFL)
Summary
Intimate partner violence is a major global public health challenge with one in three women ever having experienced lifetime physical and/or sexual violence (Devries et al 2013). Risk factors for intimate partner violence include women’s poverty and low education, acceptability of intimate partner violence and gender inequitable norms (Jewkes, Levin, and Penn-Kekana 2002). Research on both gender (Heise 2011) and development (Buller et al 2018) posits that one approach to addressing intimate partner violence is poverty alleviation. Governments or donors target poor women in low-middle income countries with savings groups, microfinance programmes or cash transfers (Hidrobo, Peterman, and Heise 2016) These programmes are based on the notion that women with access to earnings and enterprise are more economically empowered, with economic empowerment being defined in terms of women’s access to resources through income-generating activities (either employment or credit programmes). This includes measures such as a woman’s control over her resources, decision-making power and autonomy or her contribution to household expenses (Vyas and Watts 2009)
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