Improved cookstoves as a pathway between food preparation and reduced domestic violence in Uganda

• Published in: World development perspectives Vol. 18; p. 100202
• Main Authors: Guzmán, Juan Carlos, Khatiwada, Lila Kumar, Guzmán, Danice Brown
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Clean cookstoves; Food preparation; Gender-based violence; Uganda; Uganda; Gender-based violence; Clean cookstoves; Food preparation
• ISSN: 2452-2929; 2452-2929
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2020.100202

•Examines the link between food preparation and domestic violence in Uganda.•Clustered randomized trial of clean cookstoves on air quality and fuel consumption.•Found improved quality of food and reduced food preparation time.•Found reductions in self-reported domestic violence in cookstove households.•Adds to research on violence related to gender roles as food preparers. Women experiencing domestic violence make tradeoffs and negotiations within their constrained environments to reduce the risk they and their children face. In societies where failure to fulfill domestic duties is considered justification for abuse, women may reduce their risk by ensuring adequate and quality food is available when needed. Improved cookstoves can help women prepare quality food at lower cost and in a timely manner. When food preparation is a trigger for domestic violence, use of improved cookstoves could be one personal coping strategy which women employ to reduce their risk of exposure to domestic violence. This paper examines the pathway between improved cookstoves and prevalence of domestic violence in Uganda. We follow a program that offered improved cookstoves to randomly selected villages in northern Uganda. The cookstoves project aimed at reducing the biomass used and improving the air breathed during cooking so to improve the health of mothers and children. As a consequence of the cookstoves project, we find reduced level of domestic violence in the households that received improved cookstoves. We present this evidence as a support to the argument that there is a link between abuse and food preparation in societies where women are expected to fulfill this domestic role.