A Sustainable Approach to Addressing Gender-Based Violence. a Multi-Country Study

Introduction: Violence against women is a public health problem. According to the United Nations (UN), 70% of women experience some form of violence (UN, 2011; World Health Organization, 2013). The UN defines gender based violence (GBV) as “any act of violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life” (UN, 2011). Gender stratification theory assumes that there is an unequal distribution of power, wealth, and privileges between genders especially more so in the developing countries (Macionis, 2010). The purpose of our study is to develop a conceptual model to test the efficacy of a framework based on women’s autonomy and its effects on GBV in four geographically and culturally different countries.

Method: The data for this study are from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Kenya (2008/09), Malawi (2010), Nepal (2011), and Nigeria (2013). The survey is based on a nationally-representative probability sample of Kenya (1463), Malawi (3764), Nepal (2296), and Nigeria (9017), aged 15-54 years. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. The final model was tested using structural equational modeling (SEM).  

Result: All items related to women’s autonomy loaded significantly on the construct with slope values greater than 0.3. Goodness-of-fit (GFI) and adjusted goodness-of-fit (AGFI) were above the suggested normative value of 0.9 (GFI = 0.951, and AGFI = 0.908). The three-factor model of labor force participation, decision making and individual autonomy appeared to be a good fitting model. All the indicators of women’s autonomy dimension were mutually correlated and in the expected direction. All factor loadings were statistically significant. Similarly, GBV is a three factor model of physical, sexual, and emotional violence. For a parsimonious measurement model, a single-factor GBV Index was created. The construct validity of the measurement model yielded fit indices of Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), (GFI), and (AGFI). Cronbach’s alpha for all the items in the women’s autonomy scale was .87. Finally, the effect of women’s autonomy on GBV was tested using SEM. Decision making and individual autonomy were negatively related to GBV [(b= -.345, p<.01) and (b = -.467, p <.01)] indicating increase in autonomy in these dimensions, decreased GBV.  While labor force participation was positively related to GBV (b = .112, p<.01) indicating that increase in labor force participation may increase GBV.

Conclusion and Implications:Our results indicate that continued efforts must be made in the four countries studied here to empower women in decision making and individual autonomy. In regards to labor force participation, it might be that increase in labor force participation in these developing countries may not necessarily decrease the burden of household duties and may increase instability in the household. However, this phenomena must be studied more to understand if this is an immediate effect or a long-term association. This is particularly important in finding sustainable solutions to address GBV.