Cash plus programming and intimate partner violence: A qualitative evaluation of the benefits of group-based platforms for delivering activities in support of the Ethiopian government’s Productive Safety Net Programme

This qualitative study explores how delivering plus activities through group-based platforms — specifically Village Economic and Social Associations (VESAs) — within Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) influences pathways to reducing intimate partner violence (IPV). While prior research shows that cash and cash-plus interventions can reduce IPV by easing economic stress and conflict, less is known about the role of the delivery mechanism. Drawing on Kabeer’s concept of agency and theories of social capital, the study examines how group-based approaches may empower women, enhance social networks, and foster community-level change. In the context of the USAID-funded Strengthen PSNP4 Institutions and Resilience (SPIR) program, which integrates livelihood, nutrition, and gender-focused plus activities, this research focuses on the added value of delivering these interventions through VESAs. It seeks to understand how this modality contributes to intermediate outcomes such as increased agency, social capital, and collective action that can shift the underlying dynamics contributing to IPV.