Intimate Partner Violence in Pakistan

Intimate partner violence is defined as any behavior that causes physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual harm to individuals involved in a relationship. Analyzing the current state of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Pakistan is crucial since it can lead to long-term consequences such as physical disability and even death. Furthermore, IPV has a significant effect on the victim's mental health, increasing the likelihood of depression and anxiety. IPV not only negatively affects the victim, but it can also cause short- and long-term emotional, behavioural, and developmental issues in children. These issues might include depression and PTSD.

The table below mentions the types of intimate partner violence reported in the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) 2017-18.

Source: DHS 2017-18

40.64 percent of women in Pakistan reported experiencing one or more forms of intimate partner violence listed above. This number might be an underrepresentation because some women might not report intimate partner violence due to fear of their husbands finding out or fear of judgment from others. Additionally, some may be so brainwashed that they fail to recognize intimate partner violence, particularly emotional and psychological, where “controlling behavior” is perceived as “caring behavior.” Some might even downplay these experiences or refuse to acknowledge that they were abused because they believe they were at fault.

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A significant proportion of women reported intimate partner violence in FATA, followed by NWFP and Baluchistan. However, it is worth noting that FATA’s sample size was smaller than that of Punjab and Sindh. In comparison, women in Sindh reported a lower percentage of intimate partner violence of around 21%. 

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The highest percentage of intimate partner violence is observed among women aged 15-17, with percentages ranging from 57 to 65%. This is concerning because Pakistan has the world’s sixth-largest number of women who marry under the age of 18 (UN-Women 2020).

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There is a positive relationship between women’s or husband’s education and intimate partner violence as shown in figures 4 and 5.

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Native Baluchi-speaking women reported intimate partner violence at 64.4%. In contrast, 20.4% of native Sindhi-speaking women reported experiencing intimate partner violence. Though the percentage of intimate partner violence recorded by native English speakers in Pakistan is zero, we only have one such observation. As a result, it is possible that it may not accurately reflect all native English-speaking women in Pakistan.

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Poverty appears to be a significant factor contributing to intimate partner violence. Women from the “richer or richest” households reported far fewer incidents of intimate partner violence than women from “poorer or poorest” households. This is alarming because 38.3 percent of Pakistan's population suffers from multidimensional poverty (UNDP, 2023).

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There appears to be a negative correlation between intimate partner violence and phone ownership. Approximately 35.8% of women who owned a phone reported intimate partner violence, compared to 44.7% of women who did not own one.

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43.2% of women in rural areas reported intimate partner violence compared to 37.9% of women in urban areas. This result leaves readers with a question to explore and investigate: is there a slight reduction in intimate partner violence in urban areas due to factors such as more educated men and women, or access to technology like phones?

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To assess whether we still live in an era where women are subjected to torture if the gender of the child is female due to a societal preference for sons and girls being viewed as second-class individuals, I investigated intimate partner violence among women with all daughters vs. women with all sons. Women with all sons and all daughters both reported experiencing approximately an equal percentage of intimate partner violence, with slightly more women with all daughters reporting intimate partner violence.

I have omitted women with children of mixed genders, as this raises further questions, such as whether there is a disparity in intimate partner violence between women with more sons compared to those with more daughters.

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The findings in this article provide a foundation for economists and policymakers to study whether encouraging and investing in education, increasing access to technology (phones), particularly in rural areas, and tightening child marriage laws can help reduce intimate partner violence in Pakistan.

References

United Nations Development Programme. (2023). Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023: Unstacking global poverty: Data for high impact action: Briefing note for countries on the 2023 Multidimensional Poverty Index: Pakistan. UNDP.

UN-Women, National Commission on the Status of Women, “Costing Study on Child Marriage: A Country Level Report 2020-21”

By Sarah Maham