A relational perspective on women's empowerment: Intimate partner violence and empowerment among women entrepreneurs in Vietnam

Changes in the Correlates for Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Vietnam: Evidence From the 2010 and 2019 National Prevalence Surveys

This study sought to understand whether the risk and protective factors associated with current partner violence changed in Vietnam using findings from two comparable surveys conducted in 2010 and 2019. Fifteen (2010) and 17 (2019) factors were significantly associated with violence, and the level of consistency was high-nonpartner sexual violence, respondent and partner prior abuse, men's expressions of masculinity, and indicators of low economic status continue to put women at risk. Gender-transformative approaches that address power inequalities, foster positive parenting, and promote the political and social influence of women are required and should be adapted to the Vietnam context.

Women's Empowerment Status in Menopausal Transition: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Women's empowerment status in menopausal transition is of great importance due to the increasing trend of life expectancy and population aging. This study was conducted to evaluate the empowerment status of women during the menopausal transition in Gonabad, Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Gonabad city in Northeast of Iran from April 2017 to March 2018. Cluster sampling was used for selecting 680 women who were in the menopausal transition. Demographic questionnaire and Women's Empowerment Status Questionnaire - a researcher-made questionnaire- was used for data collection. Pearson's correlation coefficient, one-way ANOVA, and linear regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 16; A p-value less than 0.05 was considered as significant.

RESULTS

The majority of the participants (510; 76.10%) had a high empowerment level. A high empowerment status in the family, economic, social, and health domains was observed in 499 (74.50%), 534 (79.70%), 523 (78.05%), and 493 (73.60%) participants, respectively. The majority of the participants had moderate empowerment status in political (427; 70.40%) and religious domains (464; 69.30%). There was a negative correlation between the total empowerment score and the participants' age (P<0.001), husband's age (P<0.001), and the number of children (P<0.001). There was a positive correlation between the total empowerment score and education (P=0.003) as well as age of marriage (P=0.03).

CONCLUSION

Overall empowerment status of women in menopausal transition in Gonabad -Iran was high. However, in political and religious domains, the status was moderate. We suggest that empowered women should be invited to share their experiences with other females. Development of social networks could provide the basis for sharing the experiences of these women and helps policy makers to develop community empowerment programs.

The influence of childhood abuse and prenatal intimate partner violence on childbirth experiences and breastfeeding outcomes

BACKGROUND

Despite the detrimental effects and life-course health consequences of violence exposure, relatively few studies have adequate capacity to investigate the evolution of violence from childhood to motherhood.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to examine the cyclical nature of childhood abuse and prenatal inter-partner violent victimization (p-IPV) and its adverse impact on childbirth trauma and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice in Vietnam.

METHOD

Using a prospective birth cohort, 150 pregnant women were recruited in the third trimester of pregnancy in Hue city in central Vietnam (Wave 1-Baseline) and re-interviewed approximately three months after delivery (Wave 2-Follow-up). The direct and indirect effects of violent victimization on subsequent childbirth experience (measured by Birth Memories and Recall Questionnaire) and EBF practice were estimated by using augmented-inverse-probability-weighted models, sensitivity analysis, and structural equation model.

RESULTS

Detrimental and prolonged effects of the inter-generational cycle of violence transverse childhood to motherhood. Women who experienced either childhood abuse or p-IPV violence were more likely to experience negative emotional childbirth memories [ARR 1.21, 95 % CI (1.04, 1.39)]. Evidence also suggested that not continuing to exclusively breastfeed at 3 months post-partum was strongly associated with prenatal depression, young age, and perceived low social status during pregnancy. Perceived strong connectedness among extended family members and social networks (i.e. nexus among family, friends, and neighborhood) provided a buffering effect by preventing EBF termination.

CONCLUSION

This research provides insights into the protective role of social connectedness in improving breastfeeding practice. It is vital to establish wholistic antenatal care and social service system to offer specialized support and response for victims of violence and mitigate the long-term sequelae of traumatic events.

Augmenting women empowerment: a systematic literature review on microfinance-led developmental interventions

Purpose

This study aims to explore economic, social, psychological and political empowerment and dis-empowerment of women caused by microfiance interventions. Women tend to face the brunt of societal discrimination created by economic, social, psychological and political disempowerment. This led to the emergence of the microfinance model for the rural poor and specifically focused on women as an agency for social change.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a systemic literature review to examine microfinance-led women empowerment to reduce the ambiguity in theoretical and empirical underpinning.

Findings

The study’s findings suggest that even though microfinance as a developmental model is not a runaway success, it did make some positive impact on the status of women.

Originality/value

This study shows that the microfinance program empowers women and reduces societal inequalities to some extent, but literature also suggests that microfinance as a model has failed to make the requisite socio-economic change, and in some cases, there is adverse impact.

HIV serostatus disclosure to sexual partner: a survey among women in Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND

Disclosure of HIV-positive status in women is associated with many factors. Consequently, status disclosure remains a challenge for Iranian women living with HIV. This study aimed to assess the prevalence, related factors, and reflections of HIV-positive status disclosure to a sexual partner(s) among Iranian women living with HIV.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 170 HIV-seropositive women. Participants were selected from patients registered in the largest HIV clinic and HIV-positive club of Iran. The "HIV disclosure" questionnaire had 38-items and all the interviews were administered by the researcher. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 software. We used a logistic regression method to calculate the crude odds ratio (COR) and the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for self-disclosure as the independent predictor variable and the dependent variable, respectively.

RESULTS

One hundred and seventy HIV-positive women were enrolled. Most of them had disclosed their HIV status to at least one person (94.1%) and their sexual partners (86.5%). In the univariate analysis, being married (COR = 18.66, 95% CI 5.63-61.87), living with a sexual partner (COR = 4.72, 95% CI 1.92-11.62), being aware of sexual partners' HIV status (COR = 6.20, 95% CI 1.79-21.49), and gaining the support of sexual partner (COR = 9.08, 95% CI 3.48-23.64) were associated with higher odds of HIV status disclosure. In the multivariate analysis, being aware of sexual partners' HIV status, and gaining the support of sexual partners remained associated with HIV status disclosure. Most women reported a positive reflection from their sexual partners after disclosure, however, negative reflections from society were more common compared to sexual partners and family members.

CONCLUSION

This study shows high overall HIV disclosure proportions. It should be noted that a large number of women were infected by their sexual partners, especially by their spouses. The high rate of transmission in married people indicates an urgent need for more emphasis on appropriate prevention behaviors by infected partners.

Revisiting Women Empowerment Through a Cultural Lens a In-Depth Analysis of Empowerment Methodologies in Horticulture in Rural Ethiopia

As previous research in international development has clearly demonstrated (see Banerjee and Prasad, 2008 for an overview), cultural values have an impact on the conceptualization of empowerment. In this paper we explore the implications of Power Distance as a cultural dimension for the use of participatory methodologies toward achieving women empowerment in rural areas in the Global South. Our critical analysis of cultural differences between the intervention facilitator (a Western-based NGO) and a rural community in SNNPR (Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regions) in Ethiopia reveals how discrepancies in the perception of cultural values impacted the different stages of the intervention. These discrepancies ranged from the principles of facilitation (facilitation from the back and its paradoxical effects in such hierarchical contexts) to the focus on tools (on equality between individuals rather than focus on the family as the smallest unit). Discrepancies also surfaced from the selection criteria of participants (highly vulnerable groups; one spouse per family; number of participants from one community all of which prevented the impact of the intervention to be more powerful in the long run) and from how the participants are organized during trainings (the ratio of mixed vs. segregated groups and the criteria of group segregation – this can play a large role in regard to the potential openness of conversations and the creation of safe spaces to explore new identities which are the key to empowerment). Through all the stages of the intervention, we make suggestions on how to better implement such methodologies in the future, in a context-sensitive manner, by considering the cultural differences in assumptions and practices.