Session: Consequences of Women’s Empowerment On Their Well-Being: A Comparison of Results From Nepal, Azerbaijan and Democratic Republic of Congo (Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference: Emerging Horizons for Social Work Research)

Purpose: All three studies focused on the predictors of women and/or children's wellbeing. The first study, from Nepal, examined the relationship between women's empowerment and their utilization of health services for themselves and for their children. The second study from Azerbaijan examined the correlation between women's empowerment and its outcome on child health. The last study examined the predictors of domestic violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Methods: Each study utilized a nationally representative survey sample of adult women. The sample came from three different countries: Nepal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Azerbaijan. Analyses involved using univariate, bi-variate and multiple logistic regression techniques. Results: Multivariate results showed some very interesting findings across countries. Women's empowerment had mixed consequences. Several indicators of women's empowerment variables were significantly associated with various women and child well-being variables. The Nepal study showed that women's empowerment related variables (e.g., education and access to health related information) were significantly and positively associated with use of health services for themselves or for their children. Moreover, the study from Azerbaijan showed that mothers' empowerment was significantly and negatively associated with their experience of child mortality. In contrast, the study from Congo documented that empowered women were more likely to experience domestic violence.

Implications: The three studies conducted in, geographically, very different countries arrived at different and somewhat troubling findings. While empowered women were more likely to use health services for themselves and for their children and experienced lower level of child mortality, these women were more likely to experience domestic violence. Additional research is needed to understand power dynamics that expose empowered women to a higher level of domestic violence.