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Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10361/9493

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    Men’s perspectives on women’s empowerment and intimate partner violence in rural Bangladesh
    (Routledge, 6/9/2017) Schuler, Sidney Ruth; Lenzi, Rachel; Badal, Shamsul Huda; Nazneen, Sohela; BRAC Institute of Governance and Development
    Intimate partner violence (IPV) may increase as women in patriarchal societies become empowered, implicitly or explicitly challenging prevailing gender norms. Prior evidence suggests an inverse U-shaped relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV, in which violence against women first increases and then decreases as more egalitarian gender norms gradually gain acceptance. By means of focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews with men in 10 Bangladeshi villages, this study explored men’s evolving views of women, gender norms and the legitimacy of men’s perpetration of IPV in the context of a gender transition. It examines men’s often-contradictory narratives about women’s empowerment and concomitant changes in norms of masculinity, and identifies aspects of women’s empowerment that are most likely to provoke a male backlash. Findings suggest that men’s growing acceptance of egalitarian gender norms and their self-reported decreased engagement in IPV are driven largely by pragmatic self-interest: their desire to improve their economic status and fear of negative consequences of IPV.
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    Women’s empowerment as a protective factor against intimate partner violence in Bangladesh: a qualitative exploration of the process and limitations of its influence
    (SAGE Publications Inc., 2017-08) Schuler, Sidney Ruth; Lenzi, Rachel; Badal, Shamsul Huda; Bates, Lisa Michelle; BRAC Institute of Governance and Development
    Literature on the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) against women and women’s empowerment is contradictory. Findings from a recent survey in rural Bangladesh suggest that empowerment is becoming protective even though IPV rates remain high. We construct qualitative case studies exploring factors and social processes underlying relationships between empowerment and IPV in four villages. Empowerment may be protective against IPV in the aggregate, but this relationship can be subverted at the micro level. Interventions are needed to reinforce the potential of empowerment to reduce IPV and counteract factors such as geographic isolation and limited employment opportunities that inhibit empowerment.