Causes and consequences of njaa (hunger) in the household

Food insecurity goes hand in hand with poverty, crowded living, undeveloped infrastructure, sub-standard housing, and infectious disease in the informal settlements or “slums” of urban Kenya; addressing its causes requires an anthropological approach that recognizes risk at multiple scales. Using data gathered over 15 months through participant observation, focus-group discussions, and in-depth interviews, this chapter provides an ethnographic account of the relationship between everyday food practices and intimate partner violence. In informal settlements money, food, gender, risk, and violence are closely connected to domestic power relations and experiences of household food insecurity; hunger following intimate partner violence contributes to feelings of domestic uncertainty, adding further friction to relationships, thereby creating cycles of abuse and food insecurity. In addition to being a powerful medium of expression, food also represents a potential instrument of abuse, thus assuming exaggerated significance for intimate relationships within households that struggle (and often fail) to make ends meet.