Root causes of Intimate Partner Violence
from UNICEF
Cultural
· Gender-specific socialization
· Cultural definitions of appropriate sex roles
· Expectations of roles within relationships
· Belief in the inherent superiority of males
· Values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls
· Notion of the family as the private sphere and under male control
· Customs of marriage (bride price/dowry)
· Acceptability of violence as a means to resolve conflict
Economic
· Women’s economic dependence on men
· Limited access to cash and credit
· Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, use of communal lands, and maintenance after divorce or widowhood
· Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors
· Limited access to education and training for women
Legal
· Lesser legal status of women either by written law and/or by practice
· Laws regarding divorce, child custody, maintenance and inheritance
· Legal definitions of rape and intimate partner abuse
· Low levels of legal literacy among women
· Insensitive treatment of women and girls by police and judiciary
Political
· Under-representation of women in power, politics, the media and in the
· legal and medical professions
· Intimate partner violence not taken seriously
· Notions of family being private and beyond control of the state
· Risk of challenge to status quo/religious laws
· Limited organization of women as a political force
· Limited participation of women in organized political system
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