Currently married women’s present experiences of male intimate partner physical violence in Bangladesh: An intercategorical intersectional approach

Abstract

In Bangladesh, one in five currently married women (CMW) presently experience male intimate partner physical violence (MIPPV). While previous studies analysed women's individual-level multiple locationsyounger age, lower education, income, and poverty in an additive manner, we took an intersectional approach to look at the effects of their multiple intersectional locations on MIPPV. Using McCall's intercategorical intersectional approach, we examine how women's intersectional locations are associated with their odds of experiencing MIPPV. Our sample from a 2015 nationally representative survey comprised 14,557 CMW living with their spouses. Thirty-four percent of CMW are young, 49% below primary educated, 19% income earning, 23% poor, and 25% experience MIPPV. We found that CMW in their dual disadvantaged younger age-lower education and single disadvantaged higher educationpoor locations have 13.57% (95% CI, 9.25, 17.89) and 12.02% (95% CI, 6.87, 17.17) (respectively) higher probabilities of experiencing MIPPV than their counterparts in the corresponding dual privileged older age-higher education and higher education-nonpoor locations. Consistent with intersectionality theory, instead of prioritising a few groups over others (i.e. Oppression Olympics), we recommend building intersectional solidarity with women, men and communities to disrupt the underlying socio-economic-educational-legal-political structures and processes that have sustained these marginalised locations. ARTICLE HISTORY

Intersectional inequalities in younger women’s experiences of physical intimate partner violence across communities in Bangladesh

“…Unexpectedly, we did not find support for Hypothesis 1, i.e., younger, lower educated or poor women's IPV probabilities did not exacerbated in disadvantaged compared to advantaged communities. As expected, younger, lower educated women compared to older, higher educated women had higher probabilities of experiencing IPV in most communities, confirming the findings of an earlier study, although the authors did not examine variation across communities [14]. However, in poor communities, the hypothetically privileged, older, higher educated women did not occupy an advantaged location, rendering no difference between poor and nonpoor communities.…”

“…Individual-level independent variables included younger age, lower education, and poor. We used binary coding to manage complexity and coding decisions were made using previous literature examples [4,7,14,45]. Younger age was coded 1, if women were 15 to 29 years old; and 0 if they were 30 years and older.…”

“…Using an intersectional analysis, a recent study has shown that younger, lower educated women had higher probabilities of experiencing physical IPV than older, higher educated women [14]. Although poverty is an important risk factor [4,15] and communities in which women live affect their experiences of physical IPV [13,16], this study did neither examine this outcome at women's intersecting social locations of younger age and poverty, nor did it examine how these intersectional locations vary across communities.…”

“…Theoretically, education may also equip women with higher bargaining power and greater ability to resolve conflict, in turn, motivating them not to accept violence either as a patriarchal norm or an instrument of conflict resolution [15,40,61]. Considering this, one would expect educated women to achieve a higher social status and standard of living and be more equipped to manage stress and conflict with a concomitant reduction in experiencing IPV [14,40]. In this study, although the social processes were not examined, it is plausible that the protective effect of education played a positive role for older and higher educated women in nonpoor communities, but not in poor communities.…”

“…Indeed, an anthropological study conducted in Bangladeshi villages revealed that access to education created younger women's ability to work, improving their family income, consequently, contributing to a decline in IPV in poor communities [61]. It is, therefore, plausible that the promise of education falls flat when it does not lead, at the same time, to a reduction in poverty; even with a higher education, poverty related stress and conflicts may lead to higher rates of IPV [14,61].…”