Research finds local approaches to addressing domestic violence can guide international efforts

LAWRENCE — International policy organizations that address social problems such as domestic violence tend to provide guidance, especially to developing nations, but they could do more to learn from those on the ground. New research from the University of Kansas shows service providers in Nepal are both following international policy in their work and using local context to innovatively help people in ways that could influence lives beyond the country's borders.

Claire Willey-Sthapit, an assistant professor of social welfare at KU with family ties to Nepal, became interested in how service providers, families and communities address domestic violence while working with a Nepali nongovernmental organization.

“When I moved to Nepal, I began working with an organization that used community strategies to promote the human rights and psychosocial well-being of marginalized women and children,” Willey-Sthapit said. “Because domestic violence is often a very isolating experience for survivors, I was impressed with how such strategies could reduce isolation and build social support for domestic violence prevention and response.”

Over two summers, Willey-Sthapit partnered with local NGO Kopila Nepal to design and carry out interviews and focus groups with both government and NGO service providers working in the domestic violence field in Pokhara, Nepal. 

She discovered that many service providers saw domestic violence as a human rights issue and cited international human rights instruments including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action when discussing their work. However, service providers’ definitions often extended beyond those policies.

Both service providers and international human rights policy documents conceptualized domestic violence through patterns that included harmful actions that disproportionately disadvantage women and groups experiencing intersecting forms of oppression. However, service providers also described violence as withholding entitlements that are most often secured through the family, including:

• Economic support.
• Care and medical care.
• Social recognition as a family member.
• Support for legal documents.

Service providers indicated such forms of abuse co-exist alongside commonly recognized forms such as physical violence, sexual and emotional abuse, or surveillance. However, all forms frequently have the same goal: controlling the victim.

“This finding reveals the cultural norm and structural centrality of family life to maintain many individuals’ economic, social and legal standing,” Willey-Sthapit said. “For instance, even as service providers critiqued gender roles in which women were disproportionately involved in unpaid care work, they recognized the importance of care and the challenges of finding employment. Thus, they advocated for the longstanding practice of families to pool their money for use by all members.” 

Some service providers critiqued legal procedures in which individuals gain legal documents, including citizenship cards, when family members vouch for them. 

“Then, for family members seeking to exert control, they can do so through withholding support for documentation, such as marriage or birth certificates, saying, ‘You have no proof,’” Willey-Sthapit said.

In such circumstances, some service providers described garnering support for legal documents through the wider community.

Willey-Sthapit found that service providers were concerned with both the short-term safety and long-term security of survivors, connecting them to broader social and economic support, and support for gaining their legal rights. The KU researcher's findings strengthen the literature arguing that local context can and should be considered when forming international approaches to serving victims of domestic abuse and other societal problems.

In previous research, Willey-Sthapit showed that international development research reports about domestic violence in Nepal often took a “culturally essentialist” approach, dictating to nations the practices they should use.

“I started research examining how international organizations conceptualize social problems a long time ago,” Willey-Sthapit said. “Now, when aid to low-income countries, including food and medicines is being cut, I want people to remember how interdependent we all are. The idea that those who have resources know better than those most impacted by the social issue can so easily slide into judgments of who is and is not deserving of support.”

Written with Taryn Lindhorst and Maya Magarati of the University of Washington and Gita Neupane of the University of Idaho, the study was published in the journal Violence Against Women.

Willey-Sthapit said she plans to further research community-based organizations dedicated to preventing and responding to gender-based violence in Nepal and how their practices can be adapted beyond borders.

“It is important that scholars writing from an international lens consider how local, deeply contextualized work might apply beyond local levels,” she said. “We can see patterns across countries and similar dynamics of domestic violence in many parts of the world, including within the U.S., that have received limited recognition. I hope this will influence research and practice.”