Addressing intimate partner violence, food security and nutrition in Ecuador
Context
Recent multi-country studies show that intimate partner violence (IPV) is widespread and common. One in three women globally have experienced physical, sexual and/or psychological violence by a partner during their lifetime. In Ecuador, violence and discrimination against women remains high across socio-economic groups. The lifetime prevalence of IPV is estimated at 35% for physical violence, 14.5% for sexual violence and 43.4% for psychological violence.
Many poverty alleviation programmes targeting women throughout low- and middle-income countries aim to empower women through economic means, including labour, assets, microfinance or cash transfers. However, across and within disciplines, there is no consensus on the theories and predicted association between female economic empowerment and IPV. Empirical evidence also remains mixed.
In 2011, WFP expanded its assistance to the Ecuador government to support the integration of Colombian refugees and address the food security and nutrition needs of refugees and poor Ecuadorians. The programme consisted of six monthly transfers of cash, vouchers or food to Colombian refugees and poor Ecuadorian households. The programme targeted women to receive the transfers to improve their role in household decision-making, particularly with respect to food and nutrition.
WFP collaborated with researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute in 2011 to evaluate the programme’s impacts on IPV and learn about the differential impacts of different transfer modalities.
Evidence
The evaluation found that transfers through all modalities reduced controlling behaviour amongst men and physical or sexual violence by 6 to 7 percentage points. However, women’s initial bargaining power was important in determining the magnitude of impact. Thus, existing gender norms in local cultures and contexts were important for designing social transfers. The findings suggested that reductions in IPV are due to a combination of improvement in women’s bargaining power and a decrease in poverty-related conflict. Food vouchers were shown to be a cost-effective modality to deliver food assistance and improve dietary diversity.
Evidence impacts
Type of impact: Inform the design of other programmes
Where findings from the evaluation or review inform the design of a programme(s) other than the one(s) evaluated.
This is one of 3ie’s seven types of evidence use. Impact types are based on what we find in the monitoring data for an evaluation or review. Due to the nature of evidence-informed decision-making and action, 3ie looks for verifiable contributions that our evidence makes, not attribution.
Read our complete evidence impact typology and verification approach here.
Close windowThe evaluation informed the design of a food voucher programme, Supporting Local Governments’ Capacities to Improve Food and Nutrition Security in Ecuador. WFP’s Ecuador country office also used the impact evaluation findings to improve linking of the food vouchers with local smallholder farmers by carrying out a local market analysis to identify sale points for the exchange of vouchers.
Type of impact: Inform discussions of policies and programmes
When subsequent phases of the evaluated programme or policy draw from the findings of the evaluation or review, and/or the study team participates in informing the design of a subsequent phase.
This is one of 3ie’s seven types of evidence use. Impact types are based on what we find in the monitoring data for an evaluation or review. Due to the nature of evidence-informed decision-making and action, 3ie looks for verifiable contributions that our evidence makes, not attribution.
Read our complete evidence impact typology and verification approach here.
Close windowFindings informed WFP Ecuador’s five-year country strategy plan (2017–2021). The strategy has cited the evidence to inform its approach to nutrition-sensitive programmes and those designed to assist women who have experienced IPV. A key stakeholder from WFP Ecuador is now working at WFP Colombia. According to this stakeholder, lessons from the 3ie-supported impact evaluation have also informed the design of an impact evaluation of a programme in Colombia that compared different transfer modalities.
Suggested citation
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), 2019. Addressing intimate partner violence, food security and nutrition in Ecuador (online summary), Evidence Impact Summaries. New Delhi:3ie.
Evidence impact summaries aim to demonstrate and encourage the use of evidence to inform programming and policymaking. These reflect the information available to 3ie at the time of posting. Since several factors influence policymaking, the summaries highlight contributions of evidence rather than endorsing a policy or decision or claiming that it can be attributed solely to evidence. If you have any suggestions or updates to improve this summary, please write to influence@3ieimpact.org
Last updated on 24th October 2019