The Impact of a Maternity Support Program on Domestic Violence: Evidence from India

Abstract There is increasing evidence that cash transfers are associated with lower domestic violence. However, there is very little understanding of how such transfers impact domestic violence during the critical period of pregnancy and post-partum. This study provides evidence on the impacts of a pilot maternity-benefit program in India, on domestic violence for pregnant and lactating women. It finds large decreases of severe physical intimate-partner violence including physical trauma. Most of the impacts are driven by lower-caste women and women with relatively fewer years of education. The main mechanisms are changes in women’s agency and intrahousehold decision making. These findings have significant policy implications, since incorporating costs and benefits of transfers to mothers could most likely change the return-on-investment calculations of such programs, thereby paving the way for a more comprehensive and cost-effective program that accounts for impacts on all stakeholders.