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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a global public health problem, including in low- and middle-income country settings, and are associated with increased risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) during young adulthood. However, current measurement of ACEs may underestimate sequelae of different combinations, or classes, of ACEs and mask class-specific associations with adult exposure to IPV. We used data among ever-partnered young women and men aged 18–24 years from the Cambodia Violence Against Children Survey ( Nw = 369; Nm = 298). Participants retrospectively reported on seven ACEs and lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV victimization and perpetration. Latent classes comprised of ACEs were used as predictors of physical and/or sexual IPV perpetration and victimization, controlling for household wealth. Identified latent classes for women were “Low ACEs” (60%), “Community Violence and Physical Abuse” (23%), and “Physical, Sexual and Emotional Abuse” (17%). Latent classes for men were “Low ACEs” (48%) and “Household and Community Violence” (52%). Among women, those in the Physical, Sexual and Emotional Abuse class were more likely to experience and perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV in their romantic relationships compared to the reference group (Low ACEs). Women in the Community Violence and Physical Abuse class were more likely to perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV, but not experience IPV, compared to women in the Low ACEs class. Among men, those in the Household and Community Violence class were more likely to perpetrate physical and/or sexual IPV against a partner, compared to men in the Low ACEs class. Overall, patterns of ACEs were differently associated with IPV outcomes among young women and men in Cambodia. National violence prevention efforts might consider how different combinations of childhood experiences shape risk of young adulthood IPV and tailor interventions accordingly to work with youth disproportionately affected by varied combinations of ACEs.

Economic coercion is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is distinct from but often co-occurs with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV. Women’s experiences of economic coercion are understudied in low- and middle-income countries, despite increases in women’s economic opportunities in these settings. Bangladesh is a salient site to understand how women experience, interpret and give meaning to economic coercion because historical gender inequalities in access to economic opportunities and resources are changing in favor of greater participation of women in economic activities. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 24 married women aged 19–47 years to understand their experiences of economic coercion with respect to their involvement in income-generating activities in rural Bangladesh. Overall, we found that women’s experiences of economic coercion were multi-dimensional, and influenced by women’s participation in income-generating activities. In this setting, three major domains of economic coercion by husbands emerged from women’s narratives: denial of access to income-generating activities, coercive control over resources, and economic neglect. Furthermore, participant narratives reflected the continued influence of the patriarchal family system, and the gendered power relations therein, on women’s experiences of economic coercion, despite increases in women’s involvement in income-generating activities. Our results suggest that women’s experiences of economic coercion influence their participation in income-generating activities in Matlab, Bangladesh. Interventions to increase women’s economic opportunities should consider the barriers and potential repercussions of women’s involvement.

Women comprise two-thirds of the global-health (GH) workforce but are underrepresented in leadership. GH departments are platforms to advance gender equality in GH leadership. Using a survey of graduates from one GH department, we compared women's and men's post-training career agency and GH employment and assessed whether gender gaps in training accounted for gender gaps in career outcomes. Master-of-Public-Health (MPH) and mid-career-fellow alumni since 2010 received a 31-question online survey. Forty-four per cent of MPH alum and 24% of fellows responded. Using logistic regression, we tested gender gaps in training satisfaction, career agency, and GH employment, unadjusted and adjusted for training received. Women (

Applying a feminist approach to research on ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) is critical because gender inequality is an underlying driver of VAWG, and feminist research aims to empow...

Assessing progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, to achieve gender equality and to empower women, requires monitoring trends in intimate partner violence (IPV). Current measures of IPV may miss women’s experiences of economic coercion, or interference with the acquisition, use, and maintenance of financial resources. This sequential, mixed-methods study developed and validated a scale for economic coercion in married women in rural Bangladesh, where women’s expanding economic opportunities may elevate the risks of economic coercion and other IPV. Forty items capturing lifetime and prior-year economic coercion were adapted from formative qualitative research and prior scales and administered to a probability sample of 930 married women 16–49 years. An economic coercion scale (ECS) was validated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with primary data from random-split samples ( N1 = 310; N2 = 620). Item response theory (IRT) methods gauged the measurement precision of items and scales over the range of the economic-coercion latent trait. Multiple-group factor analysis assessed measurement invariance of the economic-coercion construct. Two-thirds (62.26%) of women reported any lifetime economic coercion. EFA suggested a 36-item, two-factor model capturing barriers to acquire and to use or maintain economic resources. CFA, multiple group factor analysis, and multidimensional IRT methods confirmed that this model provided a reasonable fit to the data. IRT analysis showed that each dimension provided most precision over the higher range of the economic coercion trait. The Economic Coercion Scale 36 (ECS-36) should be validated elsewhere and over time. It may be added to violence-specific surveys and evaluations of violence-prevention and economic-empowerment programs that have a primary interest measuring economic coercion. Short-form versions of the ECS may be developed for multipurpose surveys and program monitoring.

Women’s empowerment is an indicator of social change and a priority of the Sustainable Development Goals. Debate continues on what domains constitute women’s empowerment and how to measure empowerment across countries. Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) are the most widely available source of data on women’s empowerment. However, measurement invariance often is assumed, but not tested. We used DHS data from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to test factor structure and measurement invariance of women’s empowerment among married women ages 15–49. Factor analysis confirmed a three-latent-domain model of women’s empowerment in each country capturing women’s human/social assets, gender attitudes related to wife abuse, and women’s participation in household decisions. Multi-country confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) identified an invariant three-factor model of women’s empowerment and a subset of country-specific items. Our results offer a standardized, invariant measure of women’s empowerment that can be applied to monitor women’s empowerment cross-nationally in East Africa, and possibly beyond.

Sexual stigma has deleterious effects on the health and wellbeing of sexual minority women. In low- and middle-income countries, theories and research on stigma against sexual minority women largely focus on sexuality-related stigma processes, such as internalized homophobia or perceived or enacted stigma due to sexual identity, attraction or practice. Yet, there is considerable gender diversity among sexual minority women. Further, sexuality and gender identity may intersect with broader gender inequalities to influence the experience of stigma among some groups. In this study, we conducted 21 qualitative life-history interviews with self-identified toms in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, to evaluate whether and how gender identity, independent of and together with same-sex sexuality, influences experiences of stigma among gender non-conforming sexual minority women. We find that the pervasive experiences of stigma against toms derive as much from their assumed masculinity in Thai society, as from their same-sex sexuality. Notably, coercive feminization (attempts by others to orient toms toward sexual and gendered expectations of Thai femininity) and boundary policing (expressed hostility toward tom gender performance and sexual intimacy with feminine Thai women) were manifestations of concurrent gender non-conformity and sexual stigma, shaped in turn by the unique location of toms within the Thai gender/sex system. We propose that research and theories on stigma and health among sexual minorities systematically integrate a gender perspective, to elucidate the effects of gender identity and location within the gender structure on sexual minority experiences of stigma.

This systematic review of reviews synthesizes evidence on the impact of interventions to prevent violence against adolescent girls and young women 10–24 years (VAWG) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Theories of women's empowerment and the social ecology of multifaceted violence frame the review. Child abuse, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC), child marriage, intimate partner violence (IPV), and sexual violence were focal outcomes. Our review followed the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) for the systematic review of reviews, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) for a systematic review of recent intervention studies. Of 35 reviews identified between June 7 and July 20, 2016, 18 were non-duplicate systematic reviews of medium-to-high quality. Half of these 18 reviews focused on interventions to prevent IPV. Only four focused on adolescents, of which three focused on child marriage and one compared findings across early and late adolescence. None focused on interventions to prevent child abuse or sexual violence in adolescent/young women. From these 18 reviews and the supplemental systematic review of intervention studies, data were extracted on 34 experimental or quasi-experimental intervention studies describing 28 interventions. Almost all intervention studies measured impacts on one form of VAWG. Most studies assessed impacts on child marriage (n = 13), then IPV (n = 8), sexual violence (n = 4), child abuse (n = 3), and FGMC (n = 3). Interventions included 1–6 components, involving skills to enhance voice/agency (n = 17), social networks (n = 14), human resources like schooling (n = 10), economic incentives (n = 9), community engagement (n = 11) and community infrastructure development (n = 6). Bundled individual-level interventions and multilevel interventions had more favorable impacts on VAWG. Interventions involving community engagement, skill-building to enhance voice/agency, and social-network expansion show promise to reduce VAWG. Future interventions should target poly-victimization, compare impacts across adolescence, and include urban, out-of-school, married, and displaced/conflict-affected populations in LMICs, where VAWG may be heightened.

Background. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 prioritizes women’s empowerment, alone and to advance other SDGs. Measures of women’s empowerment have been resource focused; yet, agency (an aspect of empowerment) captures conscientization — the emergence of critical awareness and action for change. A comprehensive measure of women’s agency would capture intrinsic power within to overcome dominated consciousness, instrumental power to pursue aspirations, and collective power with others to pursue shared goals. A valid measure of women’s multidimensional agency is needed to monitor real progress toward SDG5 and women’s well-being. Methods. In this sequential, mixed-methods study, we developed and validated the Women’s Agency Scale 61 (WAS-61) in 930 married women 15–49 years and living with their husband in Matlab, Bangladesh. Using theory, qualitative research, and questionnaire reviews, we developed an item pool to capture women’s intrinsic (43 items), instrumental (23 items), and collective (17 items) agency. We performed exploratory then confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA) in random split-half samples, and estimated pairwise and factor score correlations to confirm that the dimensions of agency were distinct but related in expected ways. In future work, we will perform multiple-group CFA to assess to what extent the WAS-61 is measurement invariant across salient sub-groups of women. Results. A 29-item, three-factor CFA model measured women’s intrinsic agency as endorsement of gender equity and rights (non-justification of wife beating, gender-equitable attitudes) and confidence in capabilities (comfort expressing opinion and going places outside home) (loading: 0.35-0.93, RMSEA=0.04, CFI=0.94, TLI=0.93). Significant pairwise factor correlations (0.10–0.55) confirmed that the intrinsic-agency dimensions were distinct but related. A 27-item, three-factor CFA model measured women’s instrumental agency as use of financial services, voice with husband, and mobility/voice outside home (loading: 0.43-0.99, RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.94, TLI=0.93). Significant pairwise factor correlations (0.36–0.58) confirmed that the instrumental-agency dimensions were distinct but related. To capture women’s collective agency, an 8-item, one-factor CFA model measured leadership of others (loading: 0.52-0.84, RMSEA=0.10, CFI=0.97, TLI=0.96), and a 7-item, one-factor CFA model measured influence in their community (loading: 0.54-0.83, RMSEA=0.10, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.95). Significant, and generally higher, within-construct than cross-construct pairwise correlations suggested that the dimensions of women’s agency were distinct but related (intrinsic: 0.13–0.60; instrumental: 0.40–0.72; collective: 0.58; cross-construct: 13 of 21 correlations < 0.30). Intrinsic agency in mobility/voice outside home was strongly correlated with measures of instrumental and collective agency (0.28–0.51). Instrumental agency in use of financial services and mobility/voice outside the home were strongly correlated with measures of collective agency (0.38–0.47). Conclusions. The WAS-61 is a comprehensive measure of women’s multidimensional agency validated in married women in rural Bangladesh. These novel scales capture well-defined dimensions of intrinsic, instrumental, and collective agency that are distinct but related. Women’s intrinsic agency in voice/mobility outside the home is strongly related to their instrumental and collective agency, and women’s instrumental agency in use of financial services and voice/mobility outside the home is strongly related to their collective agency. These findings suggest that all dimensions of women’s conscientization are inter-related and necessary for women’s empowerment and well-being. We will test measurement in-variance of the WAS-61 across salient sub-groups of women, and the WAS-61 should be validated in urban women and other samples to confirm its widespread utility for impact assessment of health and development programs and national monitoring. Evidence of time in-variance of the WAS-61 would confirm its utility to monitor national and program-level changes in women’s agency and its influences on other SDGs.

Background: Prior studies of the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and depressive symptoms have typically excluded economic coercion (EC), a common form of partner violence. We estimated associations of EC and other forms of IPV with depressive symptoms among women in Matlab, Bangladesh. Methods: Data were collected from cross-sectional surveys with married women 15-49 years. We examined relationships of EC, physical/psychological/sexual IPV, and depressive symptoms using structural equation models (SEM). Past-week depressive symptoms were measured using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Lifetime EC was assessed using a bi-dimensional, 36-item scale. Lifetime physical/sexual/psychological IPV was assessed with a 20-item scale. Covariates were age, age at marriage, and schooling; partner’s schooling; and household wealth. Findings: Among 929 women, 82·2% reported any past-week depressive symptoms. Lifetime experience of EC ranged from 41·9% (control over access to work, schooling, and training) to 50·0% (control over use/maintenance of economic resources), while any lifetime physical/psychological/sexual IPV was 89·5%. The standardized association of physical/psychological/sexual IPV with depressive symptoms, adjusted for covariates, was 0·350 (p < 0.0001, R2 = 0·143); when additionally adjusted for two EC measures, the association was attenuated (0.017, p = 0·817). Coercion involving the use and maintenance of economic resources had a significant, adjusted association with depressive symptoms (0·480, p < 0·001, R2 = 0·221). Interpretation: EC is prevalent and attenuates the association of physical/sexual/psychological IPV with depressive symptoms. Addressing EC with other forms of IPV may be necessary to reduce depressive symptoms in exposed women. Funding Statement: This study was supported by research grant 1R21HD093027 (PI Yount) from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development. Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Review Boards of Emory University (IRB00097428) and the International Centre for Diarrheal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) (PR17077) reviewed and approved the study protocol.

In the Asia-Pacific region, individual sexual stigma contributes to elevated rates of depression among sexual minority men. Less well understood is the role of socio-structural sexual stigma despite evidence that social context influences the experience of stigma. We use data from the United Nations Multi-country Study on Men and Violence to conduct a multilevel test of associations between individual- and cluster unit–level indicators of sexual stigma and depressive symptoms among sexual minority men ( n = 562). In the full model, individual-level sexual stigma is not associated with depressive symptoms, although there is significant variation in the association between individual stigma and depressive symptoms across clusters. Contrary to expectation, at the community level, homophobic injunctive norms are negatively associated with depressive symptoms. We discuss the implications for policies, programs, and future research to improve mental health among sexual minority men in the region.

Addressing sexual assault on university and college campuses in the United States is a national priority. To date, research on campus sexual assault overwhelmingly focuses on students as objects of study: as survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders of sexual assault. This focus has largely overlooked students who act as agents of change, mobilizing to alter campus norms around consent, prevention, survivor support, and institutional response. In this article, we encourage feminist scholars to incorporate students as advocates against sexual assault and to invite students to be collaborators in research. We discuss a student-led organization and our ongoing collaborative study with the organization to illustrate how feminist researchers can feature student engagement with campus sexual assault at the grass roots. We conclude with recommendations to expand the national research agenda on campus sexual assault.

Extant sociological theories of gendered power within marriage focus on how social forces—such as gender inequality—shape women’s power within already established partnerships and subsequently affect their risk of intimate partner violence. Yet, inequitable social forces similarly shape women’s life conditions prior to and during the marital transition, with implications for women’s power in marriage. In Myanmar, gender relations between women and men historically have been touted as equitable and advantageous to women. Rare qualitative data find that structural gender inequalities permeate Myanmar society, and intersect with other social forces, to constrain women’s marital power. In particular, we argue that women’s transition into marriage is a critical period to assess how gendered social inequalities determine the future distribution of power within marital relationships. These premarital social processes result in a “preconditioning” of relationship dynamics from the onset of marriage, with long-term effects on women’s power within the relationship, and subsequent exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). We encourage sociological work on gendered power in the family to systematically consider women’s premarital social conditions as predictors of women’s relative power in marriage, with implications for their health and well-being.

Objectives The health and social effects of women's microfinance participation remain debated. Methods Using propensity-score methods, we assessed effects of microfinance participation on novel measures of agency; intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure; and depressive symptoms in 930 wives in Matlab, Bangladesh interviewed 11/2018–01/2019. Results Participants, versus non-participants, were married younger (16.7 vs. 17.4 years), more often Muslim (90.7% vs. 86.2%), less schooled (5.4 vs. 6.8 grades), and more often had husbands (27.0% vs. 19.6%) and mothers (63.2% vs. 50.5%) without schooling. Participants and non-participants had similar unadjusted mean scores for prior-week depressive symptoms, prior-year IPV, and intrinsic attitudinal agency (gender-equitable attitudes; non-justification of wife beating). Participants had higher unadjusted mean scores for intrinsic voice/mobility; instrumental agency (using financial services, voice with husband, voice/mobility outside home); and collective agency. Average adjusted treatment effects were non-significant for depressive symptoms, IPV, and attitudinal intrinsic agency, and significantly favorable for other agency outcomes. Conclusions Microfinance participation had no adverse health effects and favorable empowerment effects in Bangladeshi wives. Policy Implications. Microfinance can empower women without adverse health effects. Social-norms programming with men and women may be needed to change gendered expectations about the distribution of unpaid labor and the rights of women.

Measurement of women's agency in specific sociocultural conditions, particularly in Middle Eastern settings, has received limited attention, making its usefulness as an outcome or predictor of gender equality unclear.This study aimed to construct and validate a multidimensional and context-specific scale of women's agency in rural Minya, Egypt.Using data from 608 ever-married women in 2012, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis were used to construct a scale measuring women's agency in rural Minya. The scale was validated through exploratory structural equation models.The 21-item model consisted of three factors (decision-making, freedom of movement and gender role attitudes), each corresponding to a previously-theorized domain of women's agency. The three factors were positively correlated, supporting women's agency as a multidimensional, context-specific construct. The strongest correlation was between decision-making and freedom of movement (0.410), and then between freedom of movement and gender attitudes (0.307); the weakest correlation was between decision-making and gender attitudes (0.211). Although we hypothesized that each domain would be positively associated with age, only decision-making was significantly and positively associated with women's age.Similarities between the items used here and a study at the national level in Egypt suggest these indicators could be used in various Egyptian settings to monitor progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on empowering women and girls, and to assess the effect of policies and programmes. Future research should build on the findings to identify the best observable indicators of women's agency in Egypt and elsewhere.تمكين المرأة في مصر: إنشاء مقياس متعدد الأبعاد والتحقُّق منه في ريف محافظة المنيا.رانيا سالم، يوك فاي شونج، ستيفاني ميديما، كاثرين يونت.هناك أبحاث محدودة أُجريت لقياس تمكين المرأة في ظل أوضاع اجتماعية وثقافية محددة، لا سيما في السياقات الشرق أوسطية.هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى إنشاء مقياس متعدد الأبعاد ومحدد السياق حول تمكين المرأة في المناطق الريفية بالمنيا، في مصر، والتحقُّق منه.باستخدام بيانات تعود لعام 2012 مستمدة من 608 سيدة سبق لها الزواج، أُجري تحليل عاملي توكيدي واستكشافي لإنشاء مقياس يتيح قياس تمكين المرأة في ريف المنيا. وتم التحقق من المقياس من خلال نماذج معادلات تركيبية استكشافية.تألف النموذج المكون من 21 بنداً من ثلاثة عوامل (صُنع القرار، وحرية التنقل، والمواقف إزاء الدور الجندري)، والتي توافقت مع واحد من مجالات تمكين المرأة سبق وأن وُضعت له نظرية. وظهرت علاقة ارتباطية إيجابية بين العوامل الثلاثة، ما يدعم تمكين المرأة باعتباره مفهوماً متعدد الأبعاد ومحدد السياق. وكانت العلاقة الارتباطية الأقوى بين صنع القرار وحرية التنقل (0.410)، يتبعها العلاقة الارتباطية بين حرية التنقل والمواقف إزاء الدور الجندري (0.307)؛ بينما كانت العلاقة الارتباطية الأضعف بين صنع القرار والمواقف إزاء الدور الجندري (0.211). وبالرغم من وضع افتراض بوجود علاقة ارتباط إيجابية بين عمر المرأة وكل مجال من المجالات الثلاثة على حدة، فقد كان صنع القرار هو العامل الأوحد الذي ارتبط بصورة جوهرية وإيجابية بعمر المرأة.توحي أوجه التشابه بين البنود المستخدمة هنا والمستخدمة في دراسة أخرى جرت على المستوى الوطني بأن تلك المؤشرات يمكن استخدامها في سياقات مصرية عديدة لرصد التقدم المحرز بشأن الهدف الخامس من أهداف التنمية المستدامة المتعلق بتمكين المرأة والفتيات، وكذلك تقييم الأثر المترتب على السياسات والبرامج في هذا المضمار. وينبغي على الأبحاث القادمة البناء على هذه النتائج من أجل تحديد أفضل المؤشرات القابلة للملاحظة حول تمكين المرأة في مصر وفي غيرها من البُلدان.Le pouvoir d’agence des femmes en Égypte : établissement et validation d’une échelle multidimensionnelle dans la région rurale de Minya.La mesure du pouvoir d’agence des femmes dans des conditions socioculturelles spécifiques, en particulier au Moyen-Orient, n’a fait l’objet que de peu d’attention ; de ce fait, son utilité en tant que résultat ou que facteur prédictif n’est pas claire.La présente étude avait pour objectif d’établir et de valider une échelle multidimensionnelle et spécifique au contexte du pouvoir d’agence des femmes dans la région rurale de Minya en Égypte.Sur la base de données recueillies en 2012 auprès de 608 femmes mariées ou l’ayant été, des analyses factorielles confirmatoire et exploratoire ont été utilisées pour mettre au point une échelle permettant d’évaluer le pouvoir d’agence des femmes dans la région rurale de Minya. L’échelle a été validée à l’aide de modèles d’équations structurelles exploratoires.Le modèle constitué de 21 items comprenait trois facteurs (prise de décisions, liberté de mouvement et attitudes sexospécifiques) qui correspondaient chacune à un domaine précédemment théorisé se rapportant au pouvoir d’agence des femmes. Les trois facteurs étaient corrélés positivement, confirmant le pouvoir d’agence des femmes en tant que concept multidimensionnel et spécifique au contexte. La corrélation la plus forte était celle entre la prise de décisions et la liberté de mouvement (0,410), puis entre la liberté de mouvement et les attitudes sexospécifiques (0,307) ; la corrélation la plus faible étant celle entre la prise de décisions et les attitudes sexospécifiques (0,211). Bien que l’on ait émis l’hypothèse que chaque domaine serait positivement associé à l’âge, seule la prise de décisions a été corrélée de manière significative et positive à l’âge des femmes.Les similitudes entre les items utilisés ici et une étude menée au niveau national en Égypte laissent penser que ces indicateurs pourraient être utilisés dans divers contextes égyptiens pour suivre les progrès de la réalisation de l’Objectif 5 du développement durable sur l’autonomisation des femmes et des filles, et évaluer l’impact des politiques et des programmes. Les recherches futures devraient s’appuyer sur ces conclusions pour identifier les meilleurs indicateurs observables du pouvoir d’agence des femmes en Égypte et ailleurs.

In patriarchal settings like Bangladesh, men’s use of coercive control to sustain male dominance may increase their life satisfaction if such behavior is widely accepted and internalized. Yet, the influence of men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) on their life satisfaction is unknown. We assess the associations of controlling behavior and IPV perpetration with life satisfaction using data from the Bangladesh component of the UN Multi-country Study on Men and Violence. This survey was conducted from January to June, 2011 in a multistage, random sample of men from urban Dhaka and rural Matlab sub-district of Chandpur district. Analyses included ever-partnered men (N = 1,572). In unadjusted structural equation models, men who reported controlling behavior had higher average life satisfaction; whereas, those reporting psychological IPV perpetration had lower life satisfaction. Adjusting for covariates, men’s controlling behavior remained positively associated with their life satisfaction, while psychological and physical IPV perpetration were negatively associated with life satisfaction. In Bangladesh, men’s controlling behavior may be so central to normative masculinity that it is internalized, and its instrumental success enhances men’s life satisfaction. Yet, the adverse influence of IPV perpetration on life satisfaction supports social-psychological theories of self-determination, whereby behaviors that are normative but not internalized undermine men’s psychological needs, contributing to lower life satisfaction. In settings like Bangladesh, integrated theories of masculinity under patriarchy and self-determination may be needed to understand men’s coercive control, IPV perpetration, and well-being.

There is a growing body of research on family relationships and the nature of family violence in Muslim-majority countries of Asia. However, patterns and trends around family dynamics and violence do not remain static. Despite the diversity of South Asian societies, all are being influenced by a constellation of globalized social, economic, political and religious forces that manifest in unique ways in different contexts. To date, there is little written about the implications for women’s rights and gendered violence when globalization remolds religious, cultural, geographic and other social realities. This critical review presents a review of feminist literature on gender, family and violence in Asian Muslim-majority countries – notably Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh – from a feminist globalization theoretical perspective. The article uses the Maldives as a case study to map how globalized socio-economic and political trends are changing the terrain of family and society in ways that both advance and retract women’s rights and contribute to their increased risk of violence. This paper advances the literature on feminist perspectives on family relationships by demonstrating the importance of considering localized problems within a global sphere. This approach will allow researchers to systematically assess the influence of global processes on changing family relations and implications for family structures. The paper concludes with applications for feminist approaches to globalization, gender and violence. In particular, an increased focus on global processes and the shifting dynamics of family relationships will better inform global feminist activism, and feminist activism in Asian Islamic communities.

Globalization theories have proliferated over the past two decades. However, global developments have yet to be systematically incorporated into theories around violence against women. This article proposes to add a global level to the existing ecological model framework, popularized by Lori Heise in 1998, to explore the relationships between global processes and experiences of violence against women. Data from the Maldives and Cambodia are used to assess how globalized ideologies, economic development and integration, religious fundamentalisms, and global cultural exchange, as components of a larger globalization process, have affected men and women’s experiences and perceptions of violence against women.

In this essay, we discuss the under-representation of women in leadership positions in global health (GH) and the importance of mentorship to advance women's standing in the field. We then describe the mentorship model of GROW, Global Research for Women. We describe the theoretical origins of the model and an adapted theory of change explaining how the GROW model for mentorship advances women's careers in GH. We present testimonials from a range of mentees who participated in a pilot of the GROW model since 2015. These mentees describe the capability-enhancing benefits of their mentorship experience with GROW. Thus, preliminary findings suggest that the GROW mentorship model is a promising strategy to build women's leadership in GH. We discuss supplemental strategies under consideration and next steps to assess the impact of GROW, providing the evidence to inform best practices for curricula elsewhere to build women's leadership in GH.

In the global South—as in the global North—men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) is a leading form of crime faced by women. At the local level, women’s status, gender norms, practices and ideologies are key predictors of when, where and why IPV occurs. Yet, globalization has fundamentally shifted (and continues to shift) women’s lives and status in the global South. In this article, we propose a systematic integration of global forces into theoretical frameworks of IPV in order to enhance extant (Northern-derived) theories of IPV. This approach centers the lived experiences of women in the global South, as these experiences are shaped by globalization, in order to develop criminological analysis of IPV that accounts for and reflects trends across the global periphery.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development prioritizes women's empowerment in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #5: to achieve gender equality and empowerment among all women and girls. Research on the relationships of women's empowerment and nutrition has focused on the child's nutrition. Less is known about how women's empowerment influences their own nutritional status. We examined the pathways by which three domains of women's empowerment (WE)-assets, intrinsic agency, and instrumental agency-may influence women's nutritional status (WNS) in East Africa. We used data from 42,721 married non-pregnant women, 15-49 years old interviewed in Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from five east Africa countries (2011-2016). WNS was operationalized through body mass index (BMI) and altitude-adjusted blood-hemoglobin level (Hb). A latent factor for women's human/social assets (assets) measured women's enabling resources. Two additional latent factors measured women's intrinsic agency (power within; women's non-justification of intimate partner violence (IPV) against wives) and instrumental agency (power to; influence in household decision-making). We used structural equation models with latent variables to estimate the strength of the hypothesized pathways from women's assets to WNS through measures of intrinsic and instrumental agency. All three domains of WE had direct, positive associations with women's BMI [(estimate (95% CI) (Assets: [0.17 (0.14,0.20)]; Intrinsic Agency: [0.25 (0.22,0.27)]; Instrumental Agency [0.08 (0.03,0.10)])]. Women's instrumental agency was positively associated with women's Hb [0.12 (0.09,0.14)]. Total associations, including direct and indirect effects, with women's BMI were positive through intrinsic agency & instrumental agency. Total associations with women's Hb were positive through instrumental agency. Direct and indirect effects from assets through both components of agency to BMI were higher in magnitude by household wealth category. Domains of WE were positively associated with WNS. Findings indicate that the process of women's empowerment may be an important driver of their nutritional status.

Women's empowerment is associated with improved child nutrition, and both underpin the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We examined pathways by which women's empowerment influences child nutritional status. We pooled nationally representative data from Demographic and Health Surveys (2011–2016) collected from married women with children aged 6–24 months in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda (n = 13,780). We operationalized child nutritional status using anemia, height-for-age z-score (HAZ), and weight-for-age z-score (WHZ). We operationalized women's empowerment using a validated measure comprised of three latent domains: social/human assets (“assets”), intrinsic agency (attitudes about intimate partner violence), and instrumental agency (influence in household decision making). We used structural equation models with latent constructs to estimate hypothesized pathways from women's empowerment to child nutritional status with further mediation by maternal body mass index (BMI) and stratification by wealth. Women's empowerment domains were directly and positively associated with maternal BMI (estimate±SE: assets, 0.17 ± 0.03; intrinsic agency, 0.23 ± 0.03; instrumental agency, 0.03 ± 0.01). Maternal BMI was directly and positively associated with child HAZ (0.08 ± 0.04) and child WHZ (0.35 ± 0.03). Assets were indirectly associated with child HAZ and WHZ through intrinsic agency and maternal BMI. In the lowest wealth category, the direct effects from women's empowerment to child nutritional status were significant (assets and instrumental agency were associated with anemia; intrinsic agency associated with HAZ). In the highest wealth category, direct effects from women's empowerment on child nutritional status were significant (intrinsic and instrumental agency associated with WHZ). Improving women's empowerment, especially intrinsic agency, in East Africa could improve child nutrition directly and via improved maternal nutrition. These findings suggest that efforts to realize SDG 5 may have spillover effects on other SDGs. However, strategies to improve nutrition through empowerment approaches may need to also address household resource constraints., Highlights • Empowerment domains associated differently with child nutrition in East Africa. • Paths from empowerment to child nutrition differ by household wealth. • Assets and Intrinsic agency more relevant for anthropometric status.

Men's perpetration of gender-based violence remains a global public health issue. Violence prevention experts call for engagement of boys and men to change social norms around masculinity in order to prevent gender-based violence. Yet, men do not comprise a homogenous category. Drawing on probability estimates of men who report same-sex practices and preferences captured in a multi-country gender-based violence prevention survey in the Asia-Pacific region, we test the effects of sexuality-related factors on men's adverse life experiences. We find that sexual minority men face statistically higher risk of lifetime adversity related to gender-based violence, stemming from gender inequitable norms in society. Sexuality is thus a key axis of differentiation among men in the Asia-Pacific region, influencing health and wellbeing and reflecting men's differential engagement with dominant norms of masculinity. Integrating awareness of male sexual diversity into gender-based violence prevention interventions, particularly those that work with boys and men, and bridging violence prevention programming between sexual minority communities and women, are essential to tackle the root drivers of violence.