Key Social Norms Take-aways This study highlights how deeply entrenched gender norms around male authority, women’s subservience, and family roles shape both the occurrence and acceptability of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Ghana. While the LEAP 1000 cash-plus program reduced IPV through economic security, conflict reduction, and women’s empowerment, the normative context—particularly around gender roles and the stigma of disclosing IPV—limited the program’s gender-transformative potential. Reductions in IPV were achieved largely without altering patriarchal norms, suggesting that economic interventions can reduce violence within the bounds of existing social norms, but that longer-term normative change requires more targeted efforts.

Objectives This study aimed to explore the pathways through which Ghana’s LEAP 1000 cash-plus program reduced IPV among women and assess the influence of community gender norms and the role of a complementary health insurance waiver.

Methods The researchers conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 30 women in northern Ghana who had reported a decline in physical IPV between baseline and endline in a prior impact evaluation. Thematic and narrative analysis was used to explore how cash transfers influenced IPV through established pathways—economic security, intra-household conflict reduction, and empowerment—as well as a fourth pathway related to healthcare access.

Intervention Details LEAP 1000 is a government-run unconditional cash transfer program targeting extremely poor households with pregnant women or young children. It includes bimonthly cash payments and a health insurance premium waiver. The program was designed to improve child health and nutrition but has also shown secondary effects on reducing IPV.

Results Participants consistently linked poverty to IPV, reporting that LEAP 1000 improved household food security, reduced economic stress, and lessened daily conflict with partners. Women gained a sense of autonomy and dignity, with enhanced financial decision-making and social participation. These changes, however, occurred within the bounds of traditional norms—men remained household heads, and most women did not see program participation as a reason to leave their partners. The health insurance waiver improved healthcare access but did not significantly affect IPV disclosure due to stigma, fear of repercussions, and minimal provider screening.

Conclusions LEAP 1000 reduced IPV primarily by alleviating economic stress and fostering household peace, not by transforming gender norms. While women reported increased confidence and respect, changes in male behavior and gender hierarchies were limited. For sustained, transformative change, future interventions must explicitly challenge harmful norms and engage both men and women in norm-shifting processes.