Assessing the durability of a cash transfer on physical intimate partner violence and sexual relationships among adolescent girls and young women in rural South Africa.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Cash transfers can reduce adolescent girls and young women's (AGYW) risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). In our own cash transfer intervention (HPTN 068), AGYW who received a cash transfer were less likely to experience IPV than non-recipients, in part because the cash reduced their engagement in sexual partnerships. This mixed-methods study builds on earlier findings to examine whether the protective effects were sustained after the cash ended and when the cash transfer was the most impactful. METHODS: HPTN 068 was an experimental HIV prevention intervention trial. AGYW who participated completed 3 annual surveys during the intervention and an additional survey 2.5 years post-intervention. We used log-binomial regression models to assess the durability of the cash transfer on outcomes and included an interaction term in models to examine when effects were largest. We analyzed qualitative interviews conducted after the cash ended to contextualize findings. RESULTS: Post-intervention, the relative risk of physical IPV was lower among AGYW who received it compared to those who did not, but not statistically significant (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.62, 1.10). AGYW who received the cash transfer also had a lower relative risk of ever having had sex and of having any sexual partner in the last 12 months (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.88, 1.01; RR 0.94; 95% CI 0.88, 0.99, respectively). The protective effect of the cash transfer on physical IPV was highest in Years 1 and 2 (RR 0.64; 95% CI 0.55-0.75 and RR 0.65; 95% CI 0.55-0.77, respectively). Qualitative data corroborated the quantitative findings. CONCLUSION: The cash transfer reduced AGYW's risk of IPV, though effects were attenuated after the cash ended. Provision of cash during adolescence - a period when AGYW are highly susceptible to IPV and HIV - may empower them in their current relationship and yield long term health benefits.