Does Empowering Victim to Earn a Living Reduces the Risk of Domestic Violence Severity? A Narrative Review and A Pilot Study

Authors

  • Keng Sheng Chew Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
  • Shirly Siew-Ling Wong
  • Ke Lin Siew
  • Vanitha Kandasamy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.5150.2023

Keywords:

domestic violence, economic empowerment. Transtheoretical model of change, Walker’s cycle of abuse

Abstract

Defined as the act of causing or attempting to cause physical, psychological or sexual harm to a person by another person who is either a spouse, former spouse, adult child, parent or any other family members, domestic violence is a global public health issue including in Malaysia. One way to mitigate the risk of domestic violence is through the ability of a domestic violence victim to earn her own income. Unfortunately, although some studies have shown that the higher the income level of victim, the lesser the risk of domestic violence severity, other studies did not demonstrate this relationship. Additionally, different past studies have used different indicators in analyzing the impact of income level on domestic violence severity. Some studies used household income levels, whilst other studies used the victims’ individual income levels. This paper will discuss on the impact of economic empowerment to mitigate the severity of domestic violence including some conflicting findings in recent literature.  Using the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Walker’s cycle of abuse, this paper will also highlight the importance of creating awareness that domestic violence is not acceptable, adopting a non-judgmental attitude to minimize stigmatization and secondary traumatization as well as rendering social support in helping victims toward a journey of sustained change.  

References

1. Abramsky, T., Lees, S., Stöckl, H., Harvey, S., Kapinga, I., Ranganathan, M., . . . Kapiga, S. (2019). Women’s income and risk of intimate partner violence: secondary findings from the MAISHA cluster andomized trial in North-Western Tanzania. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1108.
2. Alexander, P. C., Tracy, A., Radek, M., & Koverola, C. (2009). Predicting Stages of Change in Battered Women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(10), 1652-1672.
3. Atkinson, M. P., Greenstein, T. N., & Lang, M. M. (2005). For Women, Breadwinning Can Be Dangerous: Gendered Resource Theory and Wife Abuse. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5), 1137-1148.
4. Awang, H., & Hariharan, S. (2011). Determinants of Domestic Violence: Evidence from Malaysia. Journal of Family Violence, 26(6), 459-464. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9380-6
5. Bornstein, R. F. (2006). The complex relationship between dependency and domestic violence: converging psychological factors and social forces. American Psychologist, 61(6), 595-606.
6. Brown, J. (2014). Factors Related to Domestic Violence in Asia: The Conflict between Culture and Patriarchy. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 24(7), 828-837.
7. Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. Lancet, 359(9314), 1331-1336.
8. Chang, J. C., Dado, D., Hawker, L., Cluss, P. A., Buranosky, R., Slagel, L., . . . Scholle, S. H. (2010). Understanding turning points in intimate partner violence: factors and circumstances leading women victims toward change. J Womens Health (Larchmt), 19(2), 251-259.
9. Domestic Violence Act (DVA). (1994). Act 521 – Domestic Violence Act, 1994. Retrieved from www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=89547
10. Domestic Violence Act (DVA). (2012). Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act 2012. Retrieved from http://ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=89544&p_country=MYS&p_count=199
11. Domestic Violence Act (DVA). (2017). Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act 2017. Retrieved from https://learningpartnership.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Malaysia-Domestic-Violence-%28Amendment%29-Act-2017-%28Act%20A1538%29-English.pdf
12. Eggers del Campo, I., & Steinert, J. I. (2020). The effect of female economic empowerment interventions on the risk of intimate partner violence: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1524838020976088.
13. Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H. A., Heise, L., Watts, C. H., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2008). Intimate partner violence and women’s physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence: an observational study. Lancet, 371(9619), 1165-1172.
14. Farmer, A., & Tiefenthaler, J. (1997). An Economic Analysis of Domestic Violence. Review of Social Economy, 55(3), 337-358.
15. Feder GS, Hutson M, Ramsay J, Taket AR. Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: Expectations and Experiences When They Encounter Health Care Professionals: A Meta-analysis of Qualitative Studies. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2006;166(1):22-37.
16. García-Moreno C, Hegarty K, d’Oliveira AFL, Koziol-McLain J, Colombini M, Feder G. The health-systems response to violence against women. The Lancet. 2015;385(9977):1567-79.
17. Gibbs, A., Jacobson, J., & Kerr Wilson, A. (2017). A global comprehensive review of economic interventions to prevent intimate partner violence and HIV risk behaviours. Global Health Action, 10(sup2), 1290427.
18. Ho CK. An Analysis of Domestic Violence in Asian American Communities. Women & Therapy. 1990;9(1-2):129-50.
19. Landenburger K. A Process of Entrapment in and Recovery from an Abusive Relationship. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 1989;10(3-4):209-27
20. Nybergh, L., Taft, C., & Krantz, G. (2012). Psychometric properties of the WHO Violence Against Women instrument in a male population-based sample in Sweden. BMJ Open, 2(6).
21. Othman, S., Yuen, C. W., Mohd Zain, N., & Abdul Samad, A. (2021). Exploring Intimate Partner Violence Among Women Attending Malaysian Primary Care Clinics. J Interpers Violence, 36(15-16), 7920-41.
22. Peterman, A., Palermo, T. M., & Ferrari, G. (2018). Still a leap of faith: microfinance initiatives for reduction of violence against women and children in low-income and middle-income countries. BMJ Glob Health, 3(6), e001143.
23. Pleck, J. H. (1995). The gender role strain paradigm: An update. In A New Psychology of Men. Basic Books/Hachette Book Group.
24. Prochaska, J. O., & Velicer, W. F. (1997). The Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 38-48.
25. Reisenhofer, S., & Taft, A. (2013). Women’s journey to safety – the Transtheoretical model in clinical practice when working with women experiencing Intimate Partner Violence: a scientific review and clinical guidance. Patient Educ Couns, 93(3), 536-548.
26. Walker, L. E. (1979). The battered woman / Lenore E. Walker (1st ed. Ed.). Harper & Row.
27. Wilson, J. K. (2022). Cycle of Violence. In The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime (pp. 1-5). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118929803.ewac0083
28. World Health Organization (WHO). (2005). WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women: initial results on prevalence, health outcomes and women's responses World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43309
29. World Health Organization (WHO). (2021). Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240022256
30. Yut-Lin, W., & Othman, S. (2008). Early detection and prevention of domestic violence using the Women Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) in primary health care clinics in Malaysia. Asia Pac J Public Health, 20(2), 102-116.

Downloads

Published

2023-06-29

How to Cite

Chew, K. S., Wong, S. S.-L. ., Siew, K. L., & Kandasamy, V. (2023). Does Empowering Victim to Earn a Living Reduces the Risk of Domestic Violence Severity? A Narrative Review and A Pilot Study. Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan, 9(1), 26–35. https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.5150.2023