Association between intimate partner violence and child nutrition status in Rwanda: Findings from recent Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2019/20

Abstract

Abstract Background Despite significant socio-economic progress and a decade of interventions aimed at improving nutrition, malnutrition remains a significant problem among children under the age of five in Rwanda. While several studies have been conducted to identify important risk factors for malnutrition in Rwanda, none have specifically assessed the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and child nutritional status. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between women's exposure to IPV and the nutritional status of their children in Rwanda.Methods The study analyzed secondary data from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2019–20 (RDHS 2019/20). Data was gathered on women's emotional, physical, and sexual IPV experiences, as well as demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Furthermore, their children’s birth outcomes were included as mediating factors. To determine the association between IPV exposure and child nutrition status, we used a series of binary logistic regression models. A total of 2,965 children, ages 6 to 59 months, born to women between the ages of 15 and 49 were studied.Results This study found that approximately 36%, 33.8%, and 14.6% of women in partnerships experienced physical, emotional, and sexual IPV, respectively. The prevalence of stunting among their children was 31.4%, and 7% were underweight. The crude analysis showed that women's experiences of sexual (OR = 1.63, 95%CI = 1.19–2.25) and emotional (OR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.01–1.65) IPV were associated with an increased likelihood of their children being stunted, while only sexual IPV was associated with underweight (OR = 1.77, 95%CI = 1.05–2.99). Even after controlling for birth outcome variables, the association between sexual IPV, and stunting (OR = 1.55, 95%CI = 1.06–2.28) and underweight (OR = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.13–3.56) remained significant. In the full model, after controlling for sociodemographic factors and birth outcome variables, sexual IPV was found to be associated with an increased risk of child stunting (OR = 1.39, 95%CI = 1.03–2.17) but not significantly associated with underweight.Conclusion Women's experience of intimate partner violence is associated with an increased likelihood of their children's malnutrition status. Therefore, prospective interventions should suppress violence against women to reduce the burden of IPV and childhood malnutrition.