Toward Ending Violence Against Women: The Association of Intimate Partner Violence With Food Security Status Among Ever-Married Women in Cameroon

Abstract

Despite an extensive body of literature that explores potential mechanisms explaining the factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by women, very few studies have studied the association of food security status with women’s experience of IPV in sub-Saharan Africa countries, including Cameroon. Using data from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey ( n = 4,690), we explore the association between food security status and three distinct forms of IPV (i.e., emotional, sexual, and physical IPV) among ever-married women in Cameroon. Adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic, and attitudinal and behavioral characteristics, we found that women with severe (odds ratio [ OR] = 2.09, p < .01), moderate ( OR = 1.88, p < .05), and mild ( OR = 1.76, p < .05) food insecurity were more likely to experience sexual IPV, compared to those without any food insecurity, whereas women with severe food insecurity were more likely to experience physical IPV ( OR = 1.89, p < .001). Although women with severe ( OR = 1.51, p < .01) and moderate ( OR = 1.67, p < .001) food insecurity had a higher likelihood of experiencing emotional IPV at a bivariate level, we found that these associations became no longer significant in our adjusted model. These findings suggest that food insecurity is a critical risk factor for IPV among ever-married women in Cameroon. Addressing IPV requires a comprehensive strategy that places special emphasis on households experiencing food insecurity. There is also an urgent need to implement educational programs to increase awareness of the interconnection between food insecurity and IPV and to allocate resources to community-based initiatives that empower women both economically and socially.