The Social Costs of Violence Against Women and Girls on Survivors, their Families and Communities in Pakistan

Gina Alvarado Merino,Khalida Ghaus,Lila O’Brien-Milne,Stacey Scriver,Nata Duvvury,Jennifer Mueller

doi:10.46521/pjws.026.01.0013

Abstract

Past research on gender-based violence (GBV) in Pakistan discusses intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV) but lacks a comprehensive analysis of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and its wider costs and impacts. Our study on the social costs of VAWG aims to fill this gap. Through in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) in rural and urban Pakistan, we explore the types of VAWG that manifest in communities and examine the negative impacts these have on survivors, their families and communities. Our findings reveal that, in addition to the mental health impacts of VAWG on survivors (such as anxiety and suicidal ideation exacerbated by stigma and isolation), a number of social and economic impacts are borne by survivors as well as their relatives and communities. Social norms and institutions that condone and reproduce gender inequity contribute to the acceptance and normalization of VAWG. Lack of service provision and shelter for survivors and social stigma around seeking help heightens the impacts faced by survivors, their families and their communities.

Highlights

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a widespread issue in Pakistan
The qualitative research presented in this paper is part of a larger multi-country mixedmethods study investigating the social and economic costs of VAWG in Ghana, South Sudan and Pakistan led by the National University of Ireland-Galway (NUI Galway), the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and Ipsos MORI.1In Pakistan, participants in the quantitative survey were asked whether they would consent to a follow
Participants for the qualitative sample were selected based on their experiences of violence, age and location of residence and included survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and non-partner sexual violence (NPSV), as well as women who did not report experiencing violence in their lifetime and men (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) conducted in 2012-2013, 39 percent of ever-married women age 15-49 years have experienced physical or emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime; emotional IPV is more common (32 percent) than physical IPV (27 percent) (National Institute of Population Studies - NIPS/Pakistan and ICF International, 2013). Women’s experience of each type of IPV increases with age and number of children, but the reported incidence of IPV was lower among more educated and economically better-off women (National Institute of Population Studies - NIPS/ Pakistan and ICF International, 2013). One quarter of women experienced control in the form of their husbands’ jealousy or anger if they talked to other men, and 16 percent reported that their husbands insisted on knowing where the wives were at all times(National Institute of Population Studies - NIPS/Pakistan and ICF International, 2013). A rapid assessment by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) found that 85 percent of working women, 82 percent of female students and 67 percent of other female commuters experienced harassment at least once while commuting during the past 12 months in Karachi (Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), 2014)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion