Subjective Well-Being and Domestic Violence Among Ultra-Poor Women in Rural Bangladesh: Findings from a Multifaceted Poverty Alleviation Program

We evaluated a poverty-reduction program that targeted ultra-poor women in rural Bangladesh to promote economic and social improvement through income-generating activities and strengthening socio-political awareness. We hypothesized that ultra-poor women participating in the program would have lower domestic violence and depressive symptoms and higher subjective well-being, household economic status, and food security than non-participants. A quasi-experimental design with program and comparison arms and assessments at two times (i.e., baseline and end-line) was used. Analysis of covariance with linear multilevel random-intercept models adjusted for available baseline variables was used to estimate program-comparison differences at end-line for economic status, perceived economy, food insecurity, domestic violence, depressive symptoms, and subjective well-being. We also estimated the benefits attributable to the program for subjective well-being, food insecurity, and domestic violence. Women in the program arm had greater subjective well-being with a decrease in negative affect of life by 33.5% and dissatisfaction with life by 42.5%. The women in the program arm encountered 12% or fewer incidences of domestic violence than did the women in the comparison arm. Food insecurity reduced by an average of 14% due to the program. This poverty-reduction program helped in improving women’s access to and control of resources and their social awareness, thus empowering them and promoting economic, social, and psychological well-being. Poverty-reduction programs that acknowledge and address the social complexity of extreme poverty have the potential to effectively reach the ultra-poor who otherwise are often missed by traditional microcredit programs.