Domestic Violence against Women in Bangladesh: A Review of the Literature and the Gaps to fill-in by Future Interventions

Abstract

Although domestic violence against women is pervasive worldwide, there is no universally accepted definition or terminology. Unfortunately, domestic violence is a complicated and difficult issue to study and the research findings are inconsistent. There is no truly objective way to think about the issue because values, beliefs, and emotions affect how we see it or if we see it at all (Levy, 2008). For example: although women may feel that violence used against them is painful or wrong, they may not necessarily define it as a crime. On the other hand, many women do not define forced sex by the husband or intimate partner as rape (WHO, 1997). Consequently, the definitions of domestic violence or violence against women also differ in line with various perspectives and orientations, such as, the various theoretical, political, and policy responses of human rights and developmental organisations (Pickup, William & Sweetman, 2001), as well as the various local, national and time-specific perspectives shaping and influencing the definition. In addition, an act that is not treated as violence in one situation or time may be treated as violence in another situation or time (Hearn, 1998).