Sidney Ruth Schuler

Women's empowerment revisited: a case study from Bangladesh

This article explores the changing dimensions of womens empowerment over time in three Bangladesh villages where one of the authors has been conducting research since 1991. The article discusses theoretical issues related to the measurement of womens empowerment, and describes findings from a recent study in the villages exploring the current salience of indicators developed for a 1992 survey. In the article we discuss the types of social, economic, and political change that affect the measurement of womens empowerment; propose and explain a new set of indicators for the rural Bangladesh setting; and discuss implications for measuring womens empowerment in other settings.

Developing indicators to assess women's empowerment in Vietnam

From mid‐1999 to mid‐2001, the authors carried out a qualitative study in rural Vietnam to explore relationships between gender equity and reproductive health. One of the studys objectives was to develop culturally appropriate indicators of womens empowerment, specific to the Vietnamese context. This paper describes the process of developing, testing, and refining the empowerment indicators, presents some of the findings, and discusses the methodological challenges that need to be addressed. The paper concludes by recommending a set of Vietnamspecific domains for assessing womens empowerment in the socio‐economic sphere as well as in reproductive health.

Perceived decline in intimate partner violence against women in Bangladesh: qualitative evidence.

The Bangladesh government, nongovernmental organizations, donors, and advocacy groups have attempted various interventions to promote gender equality and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) against women, but rigorous evaluations of these interventions are rare and few published studies have yet to show that any of them has had a substantial impact. This study presents qualitative evidence from four villages in central and northern Bangladesh drawn from 11 group discussions (6 with men, 5 with women), 16 open-ended interviews with men, and 62 womens life history narratives. The findings strongly suggest that IPV is declining in these villages as womens economic roles expand and they gain a stronger sense of their rights. Periodic surveys are recommended to measure trends in the incidence of IPV in settings where transitions in gender systems are under way.

Engaging male partners in women's microbicide use: evidence from clinical trials and implications for future research and microbicide introduction

Constructively engaging male partners in women‐centred health programs such as family planning and prevention of mother‐to‐child HIV transmission has resulted in both improved health outcomes and stronger relationships. Concerted efforts to engage men in microbicide use could make it easier for women to access and use microbicides in the future. This paper synthesizes findings from studies that investigated mens role in their partners’ microbicide use during clinical trials to inform recommendations for male engagement in womens microbicide use.

Justification of Wife Beating in Rural Bangladesh A Qualitative Analysis of Gender Differences in Responses to Survey Questions

Understanding attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV) in cultural context is important for developing interventions to reduce it or mitigate its effects. This article presents qualitative findings from research conducted in rural Bangladesh to understand men’s and women’s responses to attitudinal questions about IPV. Both men and women often responded as if the questions were about their personal behavior. A few women said that their opinion did not matter. Women’s responses were more sensitive than men’s to contextual nuances in the questions, and men more often than women described their own attitudes as consistent with community norms.

Limited Equality: Contradictory Ideas about Gender and the Implications for Reproductive Health in Rural Vietnam

The historical convergence of various ideologies, particularly Confucian and communist/socialist doctrines, has fostered contradictory gender norms and attitudes that affect reproductive health in contemporary Vietnam. Patriarchal ideas rooted in Confucianism coexist with the concept of gender equality. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study and preliminary results from a structured survey. It examines how contradictory norms and attitudes affect womens reproductive health by influencing reproductive decision making, family planning responsibilities, responses to reproductive health problems and couple communication.

Measuring Attitudes About Women’s Recourse After Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: The ATT-RECOURSE Scale

Attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV) against women are widely surveyed, but attitudes about women’s recourse after exposure to IPV are understudied, despite their importance for intervention. Designed through qualitative research and administered in a probability sample of 1,054 married men and women 18 to 50 years in My Hao District, Vietnam, the ATT-RECOURSE scale measures men’s and women’s attitudes about a wife’s recourse after exposure to physical IPV. Data were initially collected for nine items. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with one random split-half sample (N1 = 526) revealed a one-factor model with significant loadings (0.316-0.686) for six items capturing a wife’s silence, informal recourse, and formal recourse. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the other random split-half sample (N2 = 528) showed adequate fit for the six-item model and significant factor loadings of similar magnitude to the EFA results (0.412-0.669). For the six items retained, men consistently favored recourse more often than did women (52.4%-66.0% of men vs. 41.9%-55.2% of women). Tests for uniform differential item functioning (DIF) by gender revealed one item with significant uniform DIF, and adjusting for this revealed an even larger gap in men’s and women’s attitudes, with men favoring recourse, on average, more than women. The six-item ATT-RECOURSE scale is reliable across independent samples and exhibits little uniform DIF by gender, supporting its use in surveys of men and women. Further methodological research is discussed. Research is needed in Vietnam about why women report less favorable attitudes than men regarding women’s recourse after physical IPV.

Men’s Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence in Vietnam Gendered Social Learning and the Challenges of Masculinity

Using the survey responses of 522 married men (eighteen to fifty-one years) in Vietnam, we explored how gendered social learning in boyhood and challenges to men’s expected status in marriage may increase the risk that men perpetrate intimate partner violence (IPV) against their wives. Over one-third (36.6 percent) of the participants reported having ever perpetrated psychological, physical, or sexual IPV against their current wife. Accounting for other characteristics of men in the sample, witnessing IPV as a boy, being physically maltreated as a boy, and being the same age or younger than one’s wife were associated with almost two to three times higher odds of perpetrating any IPV. Men with thirteen to eighteen completed grades of schooling had about half the adjusted odds of ever perpetrating any IPV than men with twelve or fewer completed grades (aOR = 0.56). The determinants of men’s perpetration of physical IPV and psychological IPV were, largely, similar. Programs to prevent men’s perpetration of IPV should address the parenting practices of boys that legitimize men’s aggression and gendered status expectations in marriage, which when challenged, may lead husbands to respond with violence. Engaging men to endorse nonviolent masculinities is an important consideration for future intervention.

Violence in childhood, attitudes about partner violence, and partner violence perpetration among men in Vietnam

PURPOSE We assess the association of mens exposure to violence in childhood-witnessing physical violence against ones mother and being hit or beaten by a parent or adult relative-with their attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. We explore whether mens perpetration of IPV mediates this relationship and whether mens attitudes about IPV mediate any relationship of exposure to violence in childhood with perpetration of IPV. METHODS Five hundred twenty-two married men 18-51 years in Vietnam were interviewed. Multivariate regressions for ordinal and binary responses were estimated to assess these relationships. RESULTS Compared with men experiencing neither form of violence in childhood, men experiencing either or both had higher adjusted odds of reporting more reasons to hit a wife (aOR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.03-2.00 and aOR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.05-2.64, respectively). Mens lifetime perpetration of IPV accounted fully for these associations. Compared with men experiencing neither form of violence in childhood, men experiencing either or both had higher adjusted odds of ever perpetrating IPV (aOR, 3.28; 95% CI, 2.15-4.99 and aOR, 4.56; 95% CI, 2.90-7.17, respectively). Attitudes about IPV modestly attenuated these associations. CONCLUSIONS Addressing violence in childhood is needed to change mens risk of perpetrating IPV and greater subsequent justification of it.

Gender norms and family planning decision-making in Tanzania: a qualitative study

Experience suggests that the incorporation of gender approaches into family planning (FP) and reproductive health (RH) programs may increase their impact and sustainability, but further work is needed to examine the interactions between gender norms and family planning and to incorporate this understanding into behavior change communication (BCC) in specific social contexts. We conducted open-ended, in-depth interviews with 30 young currently married men, 30 young married women and 12 older people who influenced FP decisions. Six focus group interviews were also conducted. The interviews focused on the role of gender norms in reproductive decision-making and contraceptive use among young married men and women in Tanzania. The findings suggest that gender factors, such as mens dominance in decision-making do function as barriers to the use of modern contraceptives, but that fear of side effects, by both men and women, may be even more important deterrents. Results from this research will inform the development of BCC interventions to be tested in a subsequent intervention study in which gender factors and poor information about contraceptive methods will be addressed.