Miserable and sick: what happens with various areas of life after intimate partner violence?

Título: Miserable and sick: what happens with various areas of life after intimate partner violence?

Ponente: Santiago Budría (Universidad Antonio de Nebrija)

Organizador: Carlos Gutiérrez Hita

Fecha: Martes 13 de junio 2023 a las 13:00 horas

Lugar: Sala de Seminarios del CIO

Abstract: This paper examines the effects on well-being of a particular form of violence: intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is generally regarded as any “physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020) and is currently object of deep scrutiny and concern in modern societies. Unlike other forms of crime, IPV is rarely an isolated episode and occurs within the family, impacting its inner structure and frequently being concomitant with economic uncertainty, child abuse, witnessing abuse and even homelessness. This study fills a large gap in the literature by examining whether IPV leads to changes in well-being. Moreover, it pays particular attention to gender differences, insofar as the prevalence rate of IPV and its impact are expected to differ largely between men and women. To provide some perspective, the paper also considers the effects of non-domestic violence. We take the data from an unique Australian dataset, the Journeys Home (JH), a micro survey drawn from a broad spectrum of a disfavored population in Australia, accumulating disadvantages along all standard economic and social dimensions, including education, employment, income, health, social and cognitive resources. The paper considers a panoply of well-being indicators, including self-assessed satisfaction with various life domains (health, housing, neighborhood, financial situation, safety and overall life satisfaction) and psychological distress. This approach is motivated by the convenience of testing, under a common framework, what areas of life are most severely affected after a violent episode and to what extent these effects differ between genders.