‘Money is what makes you to be called a man.’: The interaction of resource access and gender norms in shaping intimate partner violence in urban slums

Abstract

Rates of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) are higher in urban slums than in other types of human settlements. Although the mitigation of both urban slums and IPVAW fall under the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, there is a paucity of work addressing the interconnection between the two. Using survey and interview data, this study examined how the environment in a Nairobi slum catalyzes IPVAW, elucidating how the slum environment, economic deprivation, cultural norms and women's economic role intersect to exacerbate IPVAW. Evidence indicates the desirability of addressing these connections in development initiatives to address both the slum-environment and IPVAW.