Research: Cash transfers significantly decrease violence against women in polygamous households in Mali

The new paper investigates the impacts of Mali’s national cash transfer program (Jigisémèjiri) on intimate partner violence (IPV).

Given that one in three women globally is a victim of intimate partner violence (IPV) in her lifetime, it is important to find scalable interventions that reduce IPV. Cash transfer programs are a promising tool given their scalability and global relevance. While previous evidence shows that cash transfer programs reduced IPV on average, this evidence has focused on cash transfer programs targeted to women mainly in Latin America. But what about cash transfer programs that target household heads (mainly men) in other regions of the world with different household structures?

The new study by Rachel Heath (University of Washington), Melissa Hidrobo (IFPRI Senegal) and Shalini Roy (IFPRI) uses a randomized control trial design to investigate whether Mali’s national cash transfer program, Jigisémèjiri, leads to reductions in IPV. 

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Photo: Habib Kouyate/UNDP