Hitting home: ‘Education needed to reduce domestic violence’

Study says birth of male children lowers chances of domestic violence.

LAHORE:

A gender-based study conducted in six districts of the country found a direct link between financial situation of a family and domestic violence. The study also recommended the promotion of education to deal with violence against women.

The study titled “Maternal Health and Domestic Violence: Impact of Personal and Social Factors” was carried out in Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts. The survey was conducted by the Research and Development Solutions and Rutgers-WPF. It was shared with the media on Thursday.

A total of 48 focused group discussions and 120 interviews were conducted during the study.

According to the study, participants unanimously reported that victims of gender based violence were always women. The definition of violence varied among participants with some terming a single slap as violence, while others considering it violence only if the practice was repeated or when the victim required medical treatment.

Economic and financial pressures were mostly cited as triggering domestic disputes which escalated into violence. Jobless men, who were more frustrated, usually vented out their frustration on the family members who demanded money.

Most of the study participants felt that increased education was associated with lowering of violence. However, most of these views were found to be inspired by the media.

The participants reported that the joint family system as “a major cause for violence”. “Involvement of in-laws escalated violence. Couples felt that this affected their privacy and increased economic burden on the household,” the study said.

The study also said that domestic violence was directly proportional to the number of women in a household. Older women, who were once themselves subjected to domestic violence, instigated violence against daughters-in-law. In some cases, women reported direct violence from mothers-in-law.

The number of children a family also lowered their financial standing.

According to the study, women from minorities told of ‘drunken’ husbands beating their wives. In some cases, this ended with complications in pregnancies.

Many female participants admitted that sexual abuse existed and “any resistance to the sexual demands of their husband led to violence”.

According to the study, interviews with women and men showed a clear preference for male children. “A male child not only ensured the permanency of the woman in the household, but also enhanced her status in the family,” the study said, adding that the husband’s temperament significantly softened on the news of a male child. In cases where ultrasound revealed the sex of the child to be a girl, the occurrence of violence increased.

The study did not find cases of exchange marriage in Punjab. However, the custom still prevails in Sindh and Balochistan. Domestic violence was most apparent in early marriages. This was mostly due to a lack of maturity, more vulnerability to being manipulated by elders and the age difference between the husband and wife.

Most exchange marriage cases in Sindh and Balochistan were done in order to placate an aggrieved family. In such cases, the need for vengeance was vented on the woman.

Some of participants in Punjab said they were assaulted for asking for their share of inheritance. Cases like these were even more pronounced in Balochistan.

Another common finding in the study was the universal understanding that seeing domestic violence adversely affects children. However, this did not decrease violence.

The study recommended the need for education for women to enhance their autonomy and to decrease the chances of domestic violence.

The study at the household level also recommended more communication between the spouses.

At a community level, the study recommended recognition of domestic violence as a communal matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2014.