This paper examines the impact that microfinance participation has on reported domestic
violence rates among women in Bangladesh. While microfinance programs are aimed at
reducing poverty, they may have unintended consequence and contribute to domestic violence or
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Using nationally representative data from the Urban Health
Survey (2006), I study the association between microfinance participation and domestic violence
among currently married women. The outcome variable is domestic violence, which is coded as
a dummy variable, where a women either has experienced domestic violence episodes or she
hasn’t. Predictor variables include microfinance participation, community attitudes, liberal
views, labor force participation, and socioeconomic variables, such as age, marriage age,
wages, education, and religion. My results indicate that microfinance was positively associated
with incidences of domestic violence, especially among highly educated and wealthy women.
Results also indicated that participants with daughters were more susceptible to violence. On the
other hand, microfinance membership showed signs of reducing rates of IPV among participants
living in villages, even when controlling for community attitudes towards domestic violence.
Incidences of IPV also varied among different microfinance organizations.