India has the highest number of people living in extreme poverty; one out of every five people in India lives below the poverty line. A 2002 study conducted by the World Health Organization found that poverty was significantly related to violence against women. While microfinance programs have a positive effect on women’s poverty and improves women’s empowerment, it can also result in increased instances of domestic violence against women in some instances. The present study researched the effect microfinance programs have on women experiencing domestic violence in rural India. Past literature suggests women with lower socioeconomic status who live in rural areas and participate in microfinance programs will have a lower risk of experiencing intimate partner violence than women with higher socioeconomic status living in urban areas who participate in microfinance programs. Cross-sectional data collected during the fourth round of the National Family Health was used for analysis. The survey captures data from 601,509 household interviews across all 640 Indian regions. The final sample size (n = 24,141) is restricted to ever-married women aged between 15 – 49 years who were randomly selected to participate in the domestic violence module and who have participated in a microfinance program. Using a binary logistic regression analysis, the present study found the results consistent with the hypothesis that microfinance participants experience more domestic violence than women who did not participate in a microfinance program. However, there were some discrepancies between variables. The mixed results are consistent with literature, and indicate that further research needs to be conducted in order to implement efficient microfinance-related poverty alleviation programs for vulnerable populations.
by Dayana Meza, '21