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WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN BANGLADESH: INVESTIGATING THE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2018

Saifa Binte Sanawar ,
Mohammad Amirul Islam ,
Shankar Majumder  and
Farjana Misu
Saifa Binte Sanawar
Affiliation:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammad Amirul Islam*
Affiliation:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Dhaka, Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Shankar Majumder
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Farjana Misu
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Statistics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

The aim of this study was to assess whether women’s empowerment ensures reduced intimate partner violence (IPV). The differential relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV among married women in Bangladesh was investigated using 2007 Demographic and Health Survey data. Logistic regression models were used to assess whether women’s empowerment had any influence on their likelihood of experiencing IPV while controlling for other covariates. The analyses revealed that older cohorts of women, who were more empowered, were more vulnerable to physical violence than less-empowered, younger women. The likelihood of being affected by physical violence among less-empowered, childless women was greater than that of more-empowered women with only male children. Less-empowered, uneducated women were more likely to experience physical violence than more-empowered, primary-educated women. Less-empowered women who had been married for less than 5 years were more likely to suffer from physical violence than more-empowered women who had been married for more than 19 years. The likelihood of experiencing sexual violence was not found to have any significant association with women’s empowerment. The findings suggest that although women’s empowerment in Bangladesh is gradually improving, some sub-groups of empowered women are still susceptible to IPV.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 188 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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