Violence

The impact of neighborhood violence on domestic femicides in Mexico: A Demonstration of the Causal Inference Roadmap

June 4, 2026

The Social Science and Medicine has published Ndola Prata's new article that she co-authored with Alma LiliaJuárez Armenta: The Impact of Neighborhood Violence on Domestic Femicides in Mexico: A Demonstration of the Causal Inference Roadmap. Please click here to read the article.

The impact of neighborhood violence on domestic femicides in Mexico: A demonstration of the causal inference roadmap

Alma Lilia Juárez Armenta
Ndola Prata
2026
Background The incidence of femicide, the murder of a woman for gender-based reasons, has risen significantly in recent years in Mexico, going from 427 reported victims in 2015 to 797 in 2024. Although individual-level risk factors have been studied, we aimed to study neighborhood-level factors that might be more amenable to intervention. Our study delved into the impact of municipality-level violence in Mexico on the probability of occurrence of domestic femicides at the municipality level in 2024. Methods We employed the Causal Roadmap framework for causal and statistical inference. Our...

Risks of Intimate Partner Violence for Women Living with HIV Receiving Cash Transfers: A Qualitative Study in Shinyanga, Tanzania

Rebecca Hémono
Agatha Mnyippembe
Atuganile Kalinjila
Jesca Msoma
Ndola Prata
William H Dow
Claire Snell-Rood
Amon Sabasaba
Prosper Njau
Sandra I McCoy
2023

Cash transfers are increasingly used to motivate adherence to HIV care. However, evidence on cash transfers and intimate partner violence (IPV) is mixed and little is known about their safety for women living with HIV. We conducted in-depth interviews with women living with HIV who participated in a randomized trial providing 6 months of cash transfers (~$4.5 or $11 USD) conditional on HIV clinic attendance in Shinyanga, Tanzania to assess how receiving cash affects IPV and relationship dynamics. Eligible participants were 18-49 years, received cash transfers, and in a partnership at...

The intersection of traumatic childbirth and obstetric racism: A qualitative study

Amelia Dmowska
Priya Fielding-Singh
Jodi Halpern
Ndola Prata
2024

Background: Traumatic childbirth experiences are common in the United States - affecting a third to a fourth of mothers - with significant negative impacts on maternal health. Yet most research on traumatic childbirth focuses on white mothers' experiences. Drawing on a racially and ethnically diverse sample of mothers who experienced traumatic childbirth, this exploratory qualitative study examined Black, Latina, and Asian mothers' traumatic birth experiences and the role of obstetric racism in shaping these experiences.

Methods: In-depth, semi-...

The association between perceived neighborhood social cohesion and intimate partner violence in a refugee camp in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia

Rebecca Hailu Astatke
Theodros Woldegiorgis
Jennifer Scott
Ndola Prata
Kim G Harley
Negussie Deyessa
Anne Bennett
Vandana Sharma
2025

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of gender-based violence affecting women and girls worldwide and is exacerbated in humanitarian settings. There is evidence that neighborhood social processes influence IPV. Perceived neighborhood social cohesion (P-NSC)-a measure of community trust, attachment, safety, and reciprocity-may be protective against women's experience of and men's perpetration of IPV and controlling behaviors.

Methods: A quantitative social network study, comprised of individual verbally-administered...