Domestic Violence against Women in Nepal

Abstract

This article aims to explore the phenomenon of women experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) at home, strategies adopted by women to manage GBV; knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among health service providers (HSPs) and law enforcers to support GBV victims and to recommend appropriate policy and program initiatives for combating GBV in Nepal. GBV is an attitudinal problem of men towards women in Nepal. Men always feel superior to women and try to keep them subservient and commit violence if women are not able to understand their sentiments and act accordingly for pleasing them and performing their reproductive and productive roles, including household chores. One-third (35 percent) of women in Nepal experience GBV at home, although most violence is unreported and unrecorded in informal or formal institutions. Psychological violence was found to be high, followed by physical, economic and sexual violence. The main reasons for perpetuating violence against women are the low educational status of women, bringing less dowry at the time of marriage, no control over resources by women and low educational status of the perpetuators. Promulgating a law to criminalize GBV perpetrators and the formulation and implementation of educational and training programs to reduce GBV are immediate needs of the country.