The pathways between female garment workers’ experience of violence and development of depressive symptoms

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) is high (54%) in Bangladesh. Moreover, female garment workers report higher rates of IPV and are also vulnerable to workplace violence (WPV). Experience of violence puts women at increased risk of developing depressive symptoms, which are related with low self-esteem, lower life satisfaction and lower productivity. To our knowledge, there has been no previous research on depression among female garment workers and its connections to IPV and WPV in Bangladesh. This paper aims to address this gap by studying the relationship of IPV, WPV and depression among female garment workers.MethodsThe data for this paper comes from a cross-sectional survey of female garment workers (n = 800) conducted as baseline survey of a quasi-experimental study known as HERrespect. Survey data were collected during September-December, 2016 among randomly selected female garment workers from eight garment factories in and around Dhaka city. Structural equation modelling was conducted to explore the relationship among IPV, WPV and depression.ResultsThe findings show high rates of any IPV (69%); WPV (73%, experienced or witnessed) and depressive symptomatology (40%) among female garment workers. The analysis of pathways shows that IPV impacts a woman’s experience of WPV and work related stress leading to the development of depression; while WPV had direct and mediated pathways to depression. Experience of controlling by their husband leads to WPV and increased work related stress, and thus leads to depression. It also reveals that a worker’s ability to mobilize resources in emergency, however, increased self-esteem and reduced work related stress.ConclusionThis study shows the pathways through which experience of IPV and WPV lead to development of depressive symptoms among female garment workers. The link between women’s ability to mobilize resources with self-esteem and work related stress indicates the need for socio-economic empowerment of women and may suggest that combined intervention to address IPV and women’s empowerment could be successful in dealing with WPV and mental health.

Sufferings in silence: Violence against female workers in the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh: A qualitative exploration

“…16 However, while building safety (structural integrity, fire and electrical safety) has improved, the internal working atmosphere and relations among workers and supervisors remain problematic, especially the issue of violence towards the female workforce who are the backbone of the industry. 19 , 20…”

Trapped in the prison of the mind: Notions of climate-induced (im)mobility decision-making and wellbeing from an urban informal settlement in Bangladesh

“…Bhola Slum captured a long line of mental ill-health descriptions, such as anxiety and acute stress reaction to the eviction risk, depression and apathy due to the loss of identity and belonging, or trauma and PTSD in relation to physical and psychological abuse. The lack of wellbeing often related to new urban (and gendered) risks such as the work conditions in the garment factories, or the living conditions in the slum (Ezeh et al, 2017;Parvin et al, 2018;Fitch et al, 2017Fitch et al, , 2018. The study clearly illustrated how people's, and in particularly women's, immobility go far beyond economic constraints.…”

“…In the context of slums in Bangladesh, there is a strong focus on female experiences linking garment factories, violence, depression and PTSD (Akhter et al, 2017;Parvin et al, 2018;De and Murshid, 2018;Fitch et al, 2017Fitch et al, , 2018. People living in slums here, and particularly women, adolescents and children, report struggling more with mental health issues and lower quality of life than people in other urban areas (Islam et al, 2003;Mullick and Goodman, 2005;Izutsu et al, 2006;Khan and Flora, 2017).…”

Female Garment Workers’ in Bangladesh: Violence, Gender and HIV/AIDS

“…The same report mentioned that in Bangladesh women recognized the workplace as the 2nd most possible place to experience violence after the household (BBS, 2016). Another study also suggest that with FGWs, there could be a higher level of IPV (53%) in the past one year compared to the overall income earning women with 33% in the past one year (Parvin, Al Mamun, Gibbs, Jewkes, & Naved, 2018). IPV is also documented to affect women's efficiency and work (Crowne et al, 2011;Gupta et al, 2018) Workplace violence (WPV) against FGWs is also ignored and understudied.…”

“…Another study revealed that among FGWs high rates of any IPV was 69%; WPV 73% and depressive symptomatology 40% (Parvin et al, 2018). There is indication of adverse consequences of WPV on workers' physical as well as mental health (De Puy et al, 2015;Hansen et al, 2006) and job performance (Lin et al, 2015).…”