Perpetrating Economic Abuse across the Globe: Results from the U.N. Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific

ABSTRACT

Using the United Nations (U.N.) Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific, this study aims to identify the prevalence of men’s use of intimate partner violence (IPV) with a focus on economic abuse and its association with food scarcity and other variables. The U.N. Study took place between 2010 and 2013 in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used to obtain a representative sample (n = 8,380) of households. The results found that over 1 in 5 men have perpetrated economic abuse at least once in their lifetime. Men reporting food scarcity, drinking problems, depressive symptoms, and gender inequality beliefs toward their partners were more likely to perpetrate economic abuse. Interventions aimed at reducing food insecurity, addressing men’s drinking problems and depression, and changing attitudes toward gender inequality may be effective at decreasing economic abuse.

KEYWORDS:

• Economic abuse
• depression
• food scarcity
• global
• perpetration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ According to the Center on Disease Control (2018), binge drinking is defined as consuming six and more drinks for men; heavy drinking is defined as consuming 15 and more drinks per week. See: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm