Employment & Domestic Violence

Chapter One

Introduction

1. Introduction

The idea that the home is a holy shelter for harmony and rest of the mind has become a myth. Domestic violence, in truth, does not fit into this ideal picture and realistically does not co-operate with this conception of the home. Violence ruins the image of the peaceful and safe home. In this light, on the basis of available examples, we can understand the nature of violence all throughout the world and in different nations and cultures. Domestic violence is a world phenomenon.

Violence against women is a sort of violence that occurs in the private sphere and generally occurs between individuals in a close relationship, connected to each other through law or through blood. Considering the issue from an unbiased point of view, domestic violence, almost always, is a crime related to a specific gender—men inflict the violence on women. If it occurs in the reverse, and women become violent towards men, this is never in accordance with the relevant statistics on the natural tendencies of the specific gender. In every circumstance, it is more common that a woman tries to defend herself from the physical aggressions of the man. According to witnesses in the courts of justice of the United States, women are eleven times more likely to be victims of domestic violence.(The Annual Report on Violence Against Women in Bangladesh, 2001. )

Domestic violence in its most complicated form is a strong tool of oppression. Acts of violence against women generally and domestic violence specifically form basic components of the society and oppress women. Because acts of violence against women comes from the behavior of the prevailing gender in society, this is in the meantime the cause of its continuance and a means of controlling women in the only space that traditional practice can prevail—the home. (The Annual Report on Violence Against Women in Bangladesh, 2001).

Violence against women is a common and insidious phenomenon in Bangladesh. In the last two decades violence against women, (gender-based violence) has emerged as the most pressing and intractable social problem across regional, social and cultural boundaries.  Violence against women is recognized as a serious human rights violation and a pervasive public health problem that concerns all sectors of society. Irrespective of a nation’s level of development, women are susceptible to exploitation, oppression and other types of demining violence from men in all societies where cultural norms, tradition and the legal system endorse women’s subordination to men. (Tania Wahed & Abbas Bhuiya)

Most of the people of our country think that women violence is caused by lack of women empowerment in the context of education, raising skillness, earnings and so on. Moreover other people think that domestic violence is the cause of women employment. Women's social and economic circumstances may influence their risk of domestic violence in complex and contradictory ways.

In an effort to show the different types and various dimensions of violence at home, these findings describe domestic violence in the very violent way that it occurs at home, and how women, in the role that they play in the home, get affected by this violence. It also attempts to understand the forms of violence that aim to create a direct negative impact on women themselves that exist in the sphere of the home. People and material factors, both general and specific, can explain domestic violence. These findings put aside the explanations of traditional forms of domestic violence—violence between individuals who are mahram to each other or the physical and verbal abuse of women—and gives an explanation of more complicated forms. These findings are mostly based on a statement of the United Nations about eliminating violence against women. The second subject addressed by the statement paints a picture of physical, sexual, and psychological violence that occurs in the home, but this is not limited to the sorts of violence explained before, but also physical and verbal violence, molestation of female children in the home, violence related to dowry and gifts of marriage, aggression within matrimony, mutilation of women and other traditions that are harmful to women, violence out of the home and violence related to exploitation are included.”  (Report of the United Nations on Violence Against Women, 1995, E/CN. 4/1996/53).

Most of the cases, women are less powerful than men. They have no voice in decision making in family. For this reason, the rate of domestic violence is high. Taking into consideration this matter, this study was conducted to see the role of women employment on domestic violence. The primary focus of this study was on women employment which was addressed as a parameter to reduce domestic violence. It is also used as a composite measure of seven different indices like ownership and control of women over household assets, their participation in household decision making process, their perception on gender awareness, freedom of mobility and so on. Besides, the empowerment by employment condition of women who possess the same socio-economic condition but also face domestic violence. Hence, it provides a better understanding regarding the explicit influence of women employment and domestic violence.