Common risk factors

Four risks factors are the most common that drive the intersections of VAW and VAC: gender inequality, male dominance in households, partner conflict and harmful consumption of alcohol.

• Gender inequality drive power dynamics between adults and children and creates the possibility for violence to occur.
   
• Male dominance underpin controlling behaviour and drives violence at home.
   
• Partner conflict was associated with IPV and increased risk of children experiencing emotional, physical and sexual violence.
   
• Harmful use of alcohol was associated with increased risk for IPV.

Click on the headings below for resources on the common risks:

 

• Gender inequality

  Gender inequality manifests in multiple ways such as women’s social positioning.  Evidence has shown an association between VAW with low literacy, poor economic status and limited decision-making autonomy all underpinned by gender inequality.[1, 2, 3] Gender inequality also influences the normative constructions of gendered relations and power dynamics between adults and children and adult rights over children, which creates the possibility for violence to occur. 

  1. Atteraya MS, Gnawali S, Song IH. Factors associated with intimate partner violence against married women in Nepal. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2015 Apr;30(7):1226-46
      
  2. Castro RJ, Cerellino LP, Rivera R. Risk factors of violence against women in Peru. Journal of family violence. 2017 Nov;32(8):807-15.
      
  3. Atiqul Haque M, Janson S, Moniruzzaman S, Rahman AF, Islam SS, Mashreky SR, Eriksson UB. Children’s exposure to physical abuse from a child perspective: A population-based study in rural Bangladesh. PLoS one. 2019 Feb 19;14(2):e0212428.
• Male dominance

  Male dominance is a risk factor for VAW and VAC to occur within the household through the use of controlling behaviour and the desire to maintain a gendered order driven by patriarchal ideals [1-4 ]. The use of power and control can be coercive and lead to experiences of physical, psychological and sexual intimate partner violence amongst women as well as harsher parenting practices towards children

  1. Ogum Alangea D, Addo-Lartey AA, Sikweyiya Y, Chirwa ED, Coker-Appiah D, Jewkes R, Adanu RM. Prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence among women in four districts of the central region of Ghana: Baseline findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial. PloS one. 2018 Jul 19;13(7):e0200874.
      
  2. Garoma S, Fantahun M, Worku A. Maternal intimate partner violence victimization and under-five children mortality in Western Ethiopia: A case-control study. Journal of tropical pediatrics. 2012 Dec 1;58(6):467-74.
      
  3. Gautam S, Jeong HS. Intimate partner violence in relation to husband characteristics and women empowerment: evidence from Nepal. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2019 Jan;16(5):709.
      
  4. Hayes BE, van Baak C. Risk factors of physical and sexual abuse for women in Mali: findings from a nationally representative sample. Violence against women. 2017 Oct;23(11):1361-81.
      
  5. Jewkes R, Flood M, Lang J. From work with men and boys to changes of social norms and reduction of inequities in gender relations: a conceptual shift in prevention of violence against women and girls. The Lancet. 2015 Apr 18;385(9977):1580-9.
• Partner conflict

  Partner conflict manifests in aggressive and coercive behaviour and is associated with the experience of VAW and VAC. [1] A strong association exist between a child witnessing IPV with experiences of other forms of violence in the home that includes emotional, physical, and sexual violence. [2-4] 

  1. Chirwa ED, Sikweyiya Y, Addo-Lartey AA, Ogum Alangea D, Coker-Appiah D, Adanu RM, Jewkes R. Prevalence and risk factors of physical or sexual intimate violence perpetration amongst men in four districts in the central region of Ghana: Baseline findings from a cluster randomised controlled trial. PLoS One. 2018 Mar 9;13(3):e0191663.
      
  2. Mathews S, Jewkes R, Abrahams N. ‘I had a Hard Life’ Exploring Childhood Adversity in the Shaping of Masculinities among Men Who Killed an Intimate Partner in South Africa. The British Journal of Criminology. 2011 Nov 1;51(6):960-77.
      
  3. Devries KM, Knight L, Allen E, Parkes J, Kyegombe N, Naker D. Does the Good Schools Toolkit reduce physical, sexual and emotional violence, and injuries, in girls and boys equally? A cluster-randomised controlled trial. Prevention science. 2017 Oct;18(7):839-53.
      
  4. Usta J, Farver JM, Danachi D. Child maltreatment: the Lebanese children's experiences. Child: care, health and development. 2013 Mar;39(2):228-36.
• Harmful alcohol use

  Harmful alcohol drives both VAW and VAC. [1, 2, 3] Excessive alcohol and substance use impacts an individual’s normal cognitive and physical functioning. It is also associated with facilitating aggression and increasing the risk of experiencing IPV and VAC. [4-12]. Harmful consumption of alcohol also increases the risk of dating violence during adolescence and highlights this as a risk period. [13]

  1. 1.    Kiss L, Schraiber LB, Heise L, Zimmerman C, Gouveia N, Watts C. Gender-based violence and socioeconomic inequalities: Does living in more deprived neighbourhoods increase women’s risk of intimate partner violence?. Social science & medicine. 2012 Apr 1;74(8):1172-9.
      
  2. Abrahams N, Jewkes R, Laubscher R, Hoffman M. Intimate partner violence: prevalence and risk factors for men in Cape Town, South Africa. Violence and victims. 2006 Apr 1;21(2):247-64.
      
  3. Gass JD, Stein DJ, Williams DR, Seedat S. Gender differences in risk for intimate partner violence among South African adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2011 Sep;26(14):2764-89.
      
  4. Clark CJ, Ferguson G, Shrestha B, Shrestha PN, Batayeh B, Bergenfeld I, Chang S, McGhee S. Mixed methods assessment of women’s risk of intimate partner violence in Nepal. BMC women's health. 2019 Dec;19(1):1-8. 
      
  5. Barchi F, Winter S, Dougherty D, Ramaphane P. Intimate partner violence against women in northwestern Botswana: the Maun women’s study. Violence against women. 2018 Dec;24(16):1909-27.
      
  6. Mulawa M, Kajula LJ, Yamanis TJ, Balvanz P, Kilonzo MN, Maman S. Perpetration and victimization of intimate partner violence among young men and women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2018 Aug;33(16):2486-511.
      
  7. Flake DF. Individual, family, and community risk markers for domestic violence in Peru. Violence against women. 2005 Mar;11(3):353-73.
      
  8. Jeyaseelan L, Kumar S, Neelakantan N, Peedicayil A, Pillai R, Duvvury N. Physical spousal violence against women in India: some risk factors. Journal of biosocial science. 2007 Sep 1;39(5):657. 
      
  9. Onigbogi MO, Odeyemi KA, Onigbogi OO. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence among Married Women in an Urban Community in Lagos State, Nigeria. African journal of reproductive health. 2015;19(1):91-100.
      
  10. Valdez-Santiago R, Híjar M, Martínez RR, Burgos LÁ, Monreal MD. Prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence in women living in eight indigenous regions of Mexico. Social Science & Medicine. 2013 Apr 1;82:51-7.
       
  11. Shamu S, Gevers A, Mahlangu BP, Jama Shai PN, Chirwa ED, Jewkes RK. Prevalence and risk factors for intimate partner violence among Grade 8 learners in urban South Africa: baseline analysis from the Skhokho Supporting Success cluster randomised controlled trial. International health. 2016 Jan 1;8(1):18-26.
       
  12. Patrikar S, Basannar D, Bhatti V, Chatterjee K, Mahen A. Association between intimate partner violence & HIV/AIDS: Exploring the pathways in Indian context. The Indian journal of medical research. 2017 Jun;145(6):815.
       
  13. Shamu S, Gevers A, Mahlangu BP, Jama Shai PN, Chirwa ED, Jewkes RK. Prevalence and risk factors for intimate partner violence among Grade 8 learners in urban South Africa: baseline analysis from the Skhokho Supporting Success cluster randomised controlled trial. International health. 2016 Jan 1;8(1):18-26.