A global comprehensive review of economic interventions to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV risk behaviours

ABSTRACT

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV are co-occurring global epidemics, with similar root causes of gender and economic inequalities. Economic interventions have become a central approach to preventing IPV and HIV.Objective/Methods: We undertook a comprehensive scoping review of published evaluations of economic interventions that sought to prevent IPV and/or HIV risk behaviours.Results: Forty-five separate analyses of interventions met our criteria. Broadly, unconditional cash transfer interventions showed either flat or positive outcomes; economic strengthening interventions had mixed outcomes, with some negative, flat and positive results reported; interventions combining economic strengthening and gender transformative interventions tended to have positive outcomes.Conclusions: The review highlighted a number of gaps. Specifically, there were limited studies evaluating the impact of economic interventions on female sex workers, young women, and men. In addition, there were missed opportunities, with many evaluations only reporting either IPV- or HIV-related outcomes, rather than both, despite overlaps.

KEYWORDS:

• Globalisation
• health information
• health determinants
• health intervention
• population health

Responsible Editor Isabel Goicolea, Umeå University, Sweden

Responsible Editor Isabel Goicolea, Umeå University, Sweden

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Charlotte Watts (LSHTM, DfID) for input on the original research and report on which this paper is based.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics and consent

Not required.

Paper context

Intimate partner violence and HIV are co-occuring global epidemics. Reviews have not explored the impact of economic interventions on both of these. We undertook a comprehensive review of these interventions. The review highlights that economic interventions combined with gender transformative components have stronger outcomes than economic interventions alone; there is a lack of meaningful inclusion of sex workers, young women and men in evaluations; and there are missed opportunities for measuring HIV risk and intimate partner violence.

Additional information

Funding

This document is an output from What Works to Prevent Violence? A Global Programme, which is funded by UK Aid from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. A version of this paper was presented at the Greentree II Consultation (May 2015), a high-level meeting in New York, USA on GBV and HIV, with support by UK Aid from the DfID, through the STRIVE research consortium. However, the views expressed and information contained in it are not necessarily those of or endorsed by DFID, which can accept no responsibility for such views or information or for any reliance placed on them.

Notes on contributors

Andrew Gibbs

AG, AKW and JJ conceptualised the study. AG conducted the study and wrote the first draft. AKW and JJ contributed sections, revised sections for intellectual content and edited the paper. All authors approved the paper for publication.