Domestic Violence and its Economic Costs

Abstract

Domestic violence is a growing concern for Albanian society. Gender-based violence-oriented studies have focused on physical, sexual, and psychological manifestations or their consequences. There is still no study to refer to the socioeconomic cost of violence against women in Albania. Knowledge of the economic causes and consequences of the problem is important to enable society to deal with it constructively and correctly. It should be noted that the financial / economic costs that accompany the phenomenon of domestic violence, result as one of the factors that lead the family to deepen poverty and also limit women’s opportunities for development. The purpose of this study is to describe the economic cost of violence against women. This study seeks to draw attention to the economic aspect of this phenomenon – the economic cost of violence experienced by women. Although the socio-economic cost of domestic violence requires a very complex and advanced study and especially an efficient statistical system (administrative resources), it is important to clarify that this study is an attempt to present how much it costs a family, violence against women in marital relationships. An important finding of this study is the fact that there is a cause-and-effect relationship in the relationship between domestic violence and the economic situation of the family. So in a family in which violence is present in many forms, its economic situation is significantly affected. In addition to the individual consequences of the psychosocial cost of pain and suffering, interpersonal violence has a number of economic effects at the population level, including reduced credibility in economic, legal and social structures.