Williams Anaise, Wamue-Ngare Grace, Malelu-Gitau Abigael, Heise Lori, Glass Nancy, Edeh Cynthia, Aiura Yurie, Gitahi Tabitha, Rakuomi Joan, Decker Michele R
Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Johns Hopkins Center for Global Women's Health and Gender Equity, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
BMJ Glob Health. 2025 Apr 23;10(4):e016851. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-016851.
Women's economic empowerment is a longstanding strategy for reducing violence against women and girls (VAWG). Microfinance, the provision of credit and savings opportunities to low-resourced populations, is often delivered in combination with other types of programming, such as gender training, making it hard to assess impact alone and/or in combination with other programming. We assess the effectiveness of diverse forms of microfinance intervention delivery on VAWG.
The systematic review covered nine databases and grey literature sources for articles published between January 2015 and August 2023. Eligible studies were English language experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations of microfinance programming with a VAWG outcome conducted within a low- or middle-income country. Study members reviewed in Covidence and extracted summary data. A parallel qualitative scoping review was conducted.
A total of 3288 studies were reviewed, of which 16 were eligible, with an additional nine grey literature sourced studies (n=25). Most assessed group microfinance (n=16) in relation to intimate partner violence (n=20). Across studies, there were 38 trial arm comparisons, of which 30 were from low-bias studies, inclusive of 15 that identified economic impact. Only 24% (n=9) of comparisons assessed impacts of microfinance programming delivered alone; six null and three protective. Impacts of adding supplemental non-economic programming to microfinance (n=14) and delivering microfinance with non-economic programming (n=15) had mixed results. Qualitative synthesis highlighted the benefits and harms of microfinance.
Microfinance can reduce VAWG in some cases; however, overall results are mixed with the majority being null results. Several complexities emerged: variability in both microfinance programme delivery, often involving supplementary programming, and measurement of economic impact on the pathway to reducing VAWG. Both reflect the expanded programming underway and must be considered for a nuanced understanding of microfinance's VAWG impact. The review identifies a small but important evidence base of VAWG increasing due to programming. Varied supplemental non-economic programming was not consistently found to enhance the effectiveness of microfinance in reducing VAWG. Actionable gaps for future programmatic and evaluation work include examining differences across supplemental programming, populations, and outcomes.
增强妇女经济权能是减少暴力侵害妇女和女童行为（VAWG）的一项长期战略。小额金融服务是向资源匮乏人群提供信贷和储蓄机会，通常与其他类型的项目（如性别培训）结合实施，因此难以单独评估其影响，也难以评估其与其他项目结合后的影响。我们评估了多种形式的小额金融干预措施对暴力侵害妇女和女童行为的有效性。
系统评价涵盖了九个数据库和灰色文献来源，搜索2015年1月至2023年8月发表的文章。符合条件的研究是在低收入或中等收入国家进行的关于小额金融服务项目且有暴力侵害妇女和女童行为结果的英文语言实验性和准实验性评估。研究人员在Covidence中进行文献筛选并提取汇总数据。同时进行了一项平行的定性范围综述。
共检索了3288项研究，其中16项符合条件，另有9项来自灰色文献来源的研究（共25项）。大多数研究评估了团体小额金融服务（16项）与亲密伴侣暴力行为（20项）的关系。在各项研究中，共有38个试验组比较，其中30个来自低偏倚研究，包括15个确定了经济影响的研究。只有24%（9项）的比较评估了单独提供小额金融服务项目的影响；6项无影响，3项有保护作用。在小额金融服务中添加补充性非经济项目（14项）以及将小额金融服务与非经济项目结合提供（15项）的影响结果不一。定性综合分析突出了小额金融服务的益处和危害。
小额金融服务在某些情况下可以减少暴力侵害妇女和女童行为；然而，总体结果不一，多数为无影响结果。出现了几个复杂情况：小额金融服务项目实施方式存在差异，通常涉及补充性项目，以及在减少暴力侵害妇女和女童行为的途径中对经济影响的衡量。这两者都反映了正在进行的项目扩展情况，对于细致理解小额金融服务对暴力侵害妇女和女童行为的影响都必须加以考虑。该综述发现了一小部分但很重要的因项目导致暴力侵害妇女和女童行为增加的证据。并未始终发现各种不同的补充性非经济项目能提高小额金融服务在减少暴力侵害妇女和女童行为方面的有效性。未来项目和评估工作的可行差距包括研究补充性项目、人群和结果之间的差异。
