Global Public Health An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice
ISSN: 1744-1692 (Print) 1744-1706 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rgph20
‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women's responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia Rebecca Horn, Eve S. Puffer, Elisabeth Roesch & Heidi Lehmann To cite this article: Rebecca Horn, Eve S. Puffer, Elisabeth Roesch & Heidi Lehmann (2015): ‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women's responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Global Public Health, DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320
Published online: 21 May 2015.
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Date: 06 November 2015, At: 05:42
Global Public Health, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320
‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women’s responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia Rebecca Horna, Eve S. Pufferb*, Elisabeth Roeschc and Heidi Lehmannc a
Institute of International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; cInternational Rescue Committee, New York, NY, USA
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(Received 23 June 2014; accepted 14 March 2015) This paper explores the possibilities for agency in intimate partner violence (IPV) situations from the perspective of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia using focus group discussions (N groups = 14, N participants = 110) and individual interviews (N = 20). Findings identify multiple interrelated factors influencing the decisionmaking of women experiencing IPV. At the individual level, emotional factors and women’s knowledge of their rights and options influence their decision-making. At the relational level, the role of neighbours, family and friends is crucial, both for emotional support and practical assistance. At the community level, more formal structures play a role, such as chiefs and women’s groups, though their effectiveness varies. At the structural level are barriers to effective responses, including a poorly functioning criminal justice system and a social system in which children often stay with fathers following separation or divorce. Strong cultural beliefs operate to keep women in abusive relationships. We identify implications for prevention and response services and make practice recommendations. Since the desire of most women experiencing IPV was to live in peace with their husbands, interventions should respect women’s priorities by focusing more on prevention and interventions to end the violence, rather than solely assisting women to leave violent relationships. Keywords: intimate partner violence; domestic violence; Liberia; Sierra Leone; violence against women
When women in Sierra Leone and Liberia are abused by their intimate partners, what do they do? What factors influence their decision-making? What options are available and what outcomes do they seek? These are the questions addressed by this study, undertaken by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) which implements programmes supporting women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). If such interventions are to be effective, they must start where the women themselves are, and be solidly grounded in women’s needs and the circumstances of their lives. In this paper we explore women’s options and decision-making from the perspective of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Evidence suggests that in many African countries, women who experience IPV often do not tell anybody what is happening to them, and those who do tend to choose family members and close friends (e.g. Abramsky et al., 2010; Amoakohene, 2004; Andersson, *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] © 2015 Taylor & Francis
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Ho-Foster, Mitchell, Scheepers, & Goldstein, 2007; Ilika, 2005; Odera et al., 2014; UNFPA, 2005). The majority of research conducted in African contexts finds that women are reluctant to report to official authorities, including the police (e.g. Abramsky et al., 2010; Bowman, 2003; Ilika, 2005; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Multiple structural barriers to reporting IPV have been identified, with some common themes emerging. Social pressure, stemming from cultural norms and traditional gender roles, is a significant reason for women’s reluctance to report IPV (e.g. Amoakohene, 2004; Annan & Brier, 2010; Ilika, 2005; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Whilst traditional community mechanisms for responding to IPV can be an effective resource, they are often male-dominated, insensitive to the needs of women and prioritise keeping the family together over the protection of women (e.g. da Costa, 2006; Human Rights Watch, 2000). Since family members often support norms and practices that justify violence (Odera et al., 2014), their counselling and advice may take the form of pressurising the woman to remain in an abusive relationship (e.g. Fox et al., 2007; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Bowman (2003) argues that in the African context, institutions in the private sphere (e.g. family, traditional leaders) can be more intrusive and coercive than intervention by the state would be. Traditional family and community responses to IPV are less effective in communities which are changing, either due to young people moving to urban centres, creating more dispersed families (Bowman, 2003), or due to conflict and displacement (Horn, 2010a; Okello & Hovil, 2007). In both Sierra Leone and Liberia, significant social changes have occurred due to the effects of war on both countries’ economy, infrastructure, social structures and politics. When economic conditions are difficult, families may be reluctant to involve themselves in marital problems due to a fear that they might be required to repay the bride price (a payment made by a man to his wife’s parents) or that they may become responsible for their daughter and her children if she leaves her marriage. In these situations, traditional methods of dispute settlement are less effective (Bowman, 2003). The aim of this study is to explore the ways women respond to IPV in two post-conflict West African countries, focusing particularly on the factors influencing their decisionmaking and the solutions they aim to achieve. IPV in Sierra Leone and Liberia There is no recent research on the prevalence of IPV in Sierra Leone, but in a 1998 study of 144 women in Freetown and a northern province, 66.7% reported having been beaten by an intimate partner (Coker & Richter, 1998). Sierra Leone passed a domestic violence act in 2007 but implementation has been limited (Amnesty International, 2011). Studies among the Liberian population have found high levels of IPV (Allen & Devitt, 2012). A survey of 4526 mothers found an incidence rate of 40% for emotional and physical IPV combined (Sobkoviak, Yount, & Halim, 2012), and prevalence rates of 31.5–50.1% were found for physical IPV amongst subgroups of Liberian women (Johnson et al., 2008). A national multi-stage cluster survey found that 37.7% of women reported lifetime exposure to physical IPV, and 24.4% reported incidence of physical IPV over a one-year recall period (Vinck & Pham, 2013). Methodology The IRC commissioned this qualitative study to inform their advocacy work. An independent consultant (first author) led the research process, collaborating closely with
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IRC teams in both countries. The research team visited four locations in which IRC operated: Freetown and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Voinjama and Monrovia in Liberia. IRC staff were involved in planning and facilitating data collection, but not in data analysis. The term ‘domestic violence’ is commonly used in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, so was used during the data collection. However, we specified that we were asking about violence from an intimate partner, rather than from other family members. For this study, we defined ‘domestic violence’ as behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours (World Health Organisation/ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2010, p. 11). This covers violence by both current and former spouses and partners; it does not include economic abuse specifically, although this may be a factor in controlling behaviour. Participants IRC staff recruited participants for individual interviews with survivors of IPV and for focus group discussions (FGDs). Potential participants were invited by a staff member known to them, who explained the nature of the study, what participation would involve and how the information would be used, before being asked whether they were willing to participate. Participants were assured that if they declined to participate there would be no negative impact in terms of their access to IRC services. Participants in Freetown and Monrovia lived in an urban setting, and those from Voinjama and Kailahun were from a rural setting. As with all qualitative research, whilst we cannot claim that the women who participated are representative of the populations, they do reflect the diversity of those populations in terms of age, socio-economic status and ethnicity. See Table 1 for detail of number, age and location of participants and duration of participation. Women aged 18 and above were invited to participate, though one FGD included some girls aged 15–17. The decision was made to allow this since these discussions did not focus on personal experiences and the girls could receive support from IRC, if necessary. Focus group discussions For FGDs, IRC staff invited women to participate, ensuring diversity in age and socioeconomic status. Most of the women had some contact with IRC: some were members of Women’s Action Groups (WAGs), who are trained by IRC and volunteering to support Table 1. Summary of data collected.
Freetown (N) Kailahun (N) Voinjama (N) Monrovia (N) Total (N) Age of participants Duration of participation
Individual interviews
Group discussions
5 5 4 6 20 18–49 66–88 minutes (mean = 78)
5 4 2 3 14 (110 participants) 15–70 17–68 minutes (mean = 38)
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women experiencing gender-based violence (GBV); two groups of women were professionally involved in IPV-related work; one group worked in the local market; and the others were community members who were not grouped according to any specific criteria. Participants were not selected according to whether or not they had experienced IPV themselves, although some had. The purpose of FGDs was to explore the nature of IPV in that community, beliefs about causes and effects, options available to women experiencing IPV and women’s help-seeking behaviour. Participants were asked to share their observations of the situation in their community, rather than their own personal experiences. The facilitator followed a semi-structured focus group guide.
Individual interviews Individual interviewees were selected from survivors of IPV who were receiving support from IRC. Whilst we recognise this is a specific subgroup of women who experience IPV, we chose to interview only survivors who already had access to support services for ethical reasons. Some were married and had experienced violence over many years; some were single and had been beaten by their boyfriends regularly; three were unmarried and had experienced a single severe assault from their boyfriends. The fact that all the survivors interviewed had sought help from IRC, and that the majority had left their abusive partners, should be taken into account when interpreting the findings. Twenty individual interviews explored women’s personal experiences of IPV, how they responded to the situation and the factors that affected their responses. Interviews began with a broad question which enabled women to recount their experiences in their own way (e.g. ‘tell me the story of the violence you experienced and the impact it has had on your life.’). Depending on their response, the interviewer probed to explore the issues of interest.
Ethical issues There were significant ethical considerations involved, and the safety and well-being of women was prioritised. The research was planned and conducted in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s (2001) guidelines on conducting research on domestic violence. A set of safety guidelines were developed, which included an informed consent protocol, a confidentiality protocol and systems put in place to provide additional support to participants if required. Interviews and group discussions were digitally recorded; the English content was transcribed as soon as possible by the lead researcher and then deleted. All participants were asked whether they were comfortable with the discussion or interview being recorded, and none expressed any concern. An advantage of IRC staff being involved in the data collection was that they already had a relationship with the survivors, so could provide emotional support where necessary. However, the involvement of IRC staff may have created pressure to participate for some survivors, so every effort was made to assure women that the research was separate from programme provision, and their decisions as to whether to participate would have no impact on services received from IRC or any other organisation. The original research was conducted as an internal IRC programme activity and, as a policy-related study, was not subjected to an external ethical approval process. However,
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before the research was written up for publication, ethical approval was obtained from Queen Margaret University, UK.
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Translation We followed the example of Pavlish (2005) in which the researcher asked questions in English, and a translator repeated the question in the local language. The translator in each case was the member of the IRC staff responsible for coordinating the research in that location. The participant responded in their local language, and the translator immediately translated that response into English. Analysis The data from all four locations were combined for analysis since they were broadly similar in terms of content and emphasis. Analysis was conducted by the lead researcher in two stages. Whilst in the field, a rapid analysis was conducted, in which the researcher identified key themes based on the research questions. She then reviewed the data under each of these themes, and the issues identified were summarised during debrief meetings with IRC staff, research participants and other community members. A full analysis was subsequently conducted using fully transcribed interviews. The thematic analysis undertaken for the initial analysis was used to define a set of conceptual codes, which was then systematically applied to all text using Nvivo9. New codes were added as they emerged, and the initial list of codes was revised until it accurately reflected the data-set. The data within each code were then comprehensively reviewed, and patterns between codes explored.
Findings Acute help-seeking When a woman experiences physical IPV, her immediate response is designed to stop the violence. Amongst the women we spoke to, this often meant the involvement of neighbours at the time of an assault, since they are on the scene. Whilst some neighbours do not want to involve themselves in other people’s problems – sometimes because they are afraid of the man and sometimes because they believe the woman deserves the violence – more often neighbours will try to stop the violence. They will sometimes advise the man to change his behaviour, and may also advise the woman. People from the neighbourhood came to stop him, to intervene, but he said he will not stop until he kills me. Others said, let’s go and report to the police so he does not kill her. When they talked about the police he was afraid, and he left me and I ran away. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Family mediation Once the immediate danger has passed, and the woman is concerned with the long-term well-being of herself and her children, there was almost unanimous agreement that the first place a woman would seek help was her parents/relatives, her husband’s parents/ relatives or both. If both sets of parents were available and supportive, then they would talk to both the man and the woman and try to mediate:
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They usually judge the case, and if you the woman are right, they usually beg you and ask you to please remain in that home. They get angry with the man and warn him strongly not to repeat. Then you go back home and continue. (Voinjama group)
For both families, the priority is usually to keep the couple together, especially if they have children. If the man continues to beat the woman, the woman’s family may take her back to their home for her protection. This may be a temporary solution, while discussions with the husband and his family take place, or, in more serious cases, a permanent arrangement. Some of the women we spoke to said that families will not always accept a woman back, perhaps because they feel she has created the problem by staying with an abusive man for too long, or because they cannot afford to support the woman and her children. Sometimes they may become tired of a situation that goes on for a long time and withdraw their involvement or advise the woman to report the case to the police. Participants reported that the husband’s family did not always support the woman and sometimes only advocated for the abusive man, including mediating a settlement (usually financial compensation) with the woman: They arrested him and they brought him to the station. He was there until they mediated between us. He was there for two nights. His relatives came, they begged me, they said I should forget, they met my relatives they talked to them to withdraw the case from the police. We withdrew from the police, we went home and his relatives asked him to pay for my medication, and they kind of settled between us. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Despite these challenges, the families were seen as the most effective and the preferred response for many, certainly when the violence first begins.
Community leaders and GBV programmes It is only if families have consistently failed to assist the woman, or she has no family to assist, she will look elsewhere. Respondents said that the most common alternate sources of help are: (1) organisations that support survivors of GBV, if available, and (2) community leaders, most often Section Chiefs. The chiefs essentially play the same role as parents – advising, mediating and attempting to negotiate a settlement between the couple– but could also impose fines. However, the chiefs had no power to enforce a ruling if the man refused to accept it: Even the chief, he will admonish but the man will not change his behaviour. When he goes home he will do the same thing again, there’s no change. They give fines but that money’s nothing, they give the money and go home and do the same thing again. (Freetown group)
Their intervention, therefore, was said to be suitable only for simple cases; the more serious or intractable would be referred, often by the chiefs themselves, to the police or an NGO. The role of the chief remains important, despite their limitations, because they are accessible in even the most remote areas, have recognised authority and can facilitate access to other services. In the locations where this research was conducted, IRC GBV programmes were in place, including WAGs. One advocacy role of WAGs was to facilitate access to police assistance:
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I came to the women’s centre and they referred me to the police, and when I went, they asked for money, and I didn’t have money. I went to A [IRC staff] and she gave me a referral form, and I gave him, and they didn’t ask for any other money. (Kailahun, individual interview)
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The WAGs also seemed to have a form of power that other actors lacked – to confront the perpetrator about his behaviour in a way that often brought about change. WAG members would confront the man as a group to remind him that if he beat his partner again, they would report him to the police. Women gave a number of accounts of this preventing further violence: The WAG invited him [my husband]. When the WAG invited him, he refused to come, and they said we’ll take you to the police. When he heard that, he came, and they mediated and they told him he was wrong … And they came up with some action that he will never beat me again. They told him that if he beats again, they’ll take legal action, and he’ll be sent beyond Kailahun … Now if he starts, I tell him ‘let me run to the Women’s Centre or IRC’. Sometimes when the WAG are also passing by they’ll stop by and tell him ‘don’t beat that woman again’. That’s how they’re helping me. He’s now afraid of M from IRC’. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Criminal justice system Women said they would only report to the police when all else has failed, and some said they would not report to the police under any circumstances. This attitude applied to both the regular police and to the specialist police services established to deal with cases affecting women and children: Family Support Units in Sierra Leone and Women and Children’s Protection Units in Liberia. Respondents who said they would report to the police said they would do so in the hope that it would frighten the man into changing his behaviour: I decided to go to the police because this man he always beats me, and I thought if I go to the police and they jail him it might also help … I wanted the police to make him afraid so he wouldn’t attack me again. Some people fear the cell. (Voinjama, individual interview)
In some cases the police would require the man to pay the woman’s medical expenses or to sign a document promising not to be violent in the future, which some women saw as a positive outcome. Very few of the survivors we spoke to said they wanted their abusive partners to go to court and be imprisoned. Whilst some men did change their behaviour after being detained by the police, others were so angry at being locked up that they ended the relationship and told their partners to leave the house. Reporting to the police was, therefore, seen as a risky strategy that many were not prepared to take. Other factors which made reporting to the police an undesirable option included the money demanded by police before they would assist and other costs associated with reporting. In some cases, the police were said to blame the women and support the abusive partner, sometimes accepting bribes from the man to release him. A very small number of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia take their cases to the courts. Some women had faith that the legal system would help them, but most saw it as a corrupt, dysfunctional system that did not support women experiencing IPV. A significant barrier to women accessing legal services was the cost of the process – both legitimate costs and the bribes necessary to gets one’s case dealt with. A shortage of sitting magistrates in some places also contributed to very long delays and frequent adjournments. Women could not afford to keep taking days off work to attend court,
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and delays gave the abusive partner and his family (and sometimes the woman’s own family) plenty of time to pressurise the woman into dropping the case. In addition, courts were said to commonly support the man, especially if he had money:
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While he was in prison, whenever I went to follow up, they would say OK, we’ll judge the case, we’re going to do investigation. Every time we went, the judge would tell us ‘no, we’re going to deal with it tomorrow’ … They kept postponing the case, and his uncle also works at the court. His uncle bribed and he was set free. (Monrovia, individual interview)
What women want: ideal solutions The women we spoke to rarely wanted the abusive man to be punished, but more often wanted to be able to live their lives comfortably, without fear of violence, to be financially independent and able to move freely within their community. Most women said their ideal solution would be for their partner to change his attitude and behaviour so they can stay together peacefully: I don’t need an eye for an eye, I need something to stop what’s happening to me once and for all. (Freetown, individual interview) Even if he does not stop having his affairs with other women, let him stop mistreating me. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Although the hope can persist that the man might change, there sometimes comes a point where the woman concludes that he will not. In these cases, living apart is seen as the best option: If the man does not change at all, then the woman will just decide to leave him and forget about their marriage … If you can fend for yourself, then it is possible for a woman to stay alone. (Freetown group)
The option of living independently is only possible if the woman is able to support herself and her children financially. If this was the case, some women saw living independently as a way of achieving the freedom they want, although it also comes with challenges. Whether a woman chose to stay with an abusive husband or to leave, being financially independent was crucial to her sense of well-being and feeling in control of her life. Some women felt that if they stayed with the man but were able to earn their own money, this would give them more options and potentially decrease the violence. Further, whilst women wanted to earn their own money and not to rely on a man for their needs, some also said that part of justice for them was for the abusive man to meet his financial responsibilities to his children and to pay for the woman to receive treatment for the injuries he had inflicted. This was the case regardless of whether the woman stayed with the man or left him. Those who had been married a long time wanted a legal settlement if they were to separate, to ensure that they receive their rightful share of their property: … We should go to court, if this relationship cannot be maintained, we should share the property that we have … So I can live on my own. He and I, we’ve been together for 32 years, we’ve suffered together to build our property, but right now he’s the one enjoying it. (Monrovia, individual interview)
While this is an important aspect of justice for them, none of those we spoke to had achieved such a settlement.
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Factors in decision-making Women described the factors they took into account when deciding how to respond when they were beaten by their partners. The factors can be divided into four types: structural factors; cultural factors; financial and social resources available to a woman; and the woman’s emotional responses.
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Structural factors Structural factors include the legal and political framework in which women live. Since the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone ended, organisations have worked hard to raise awareness about women’s rights, and some of the women said that once women knew that they had the right not to be beaten, they were more likely to take action. However, the failings and limitations of the legal system already discussed often dissuade women from making formal complaints. Cultural factors Generally, both culture and religion in Sierra Leone and Liberia value the woman remaining in an abusive relationship and suppressing her needs in favour of the needs of her children: Society says it’s a curse to the children if you quit the house or you report to the police. (Freetown group)
Many women stay in abusive relationships ‘for the sake of the children’, particularly in Sierra Leone and Liberia where the custom is for children to stay with their father if the parents separate. Women are concerned that if they leave, the father may not care for the children well, and that a new wife might mistreat them. It is not always the case that the father has custody of the children after divorce, but respondents said that even if women could stay with their children, they might not be able to provide for them properly, or their new partner may resent the children. In the communities we visited, there was great value attached to a woman being married and having children and stigma associated with a woman being single, especially if she has left her husband: When women stay alone, people talk badly about her, saying she keeps changing men, she has behaviour problems. They say she is lazy, she can’t keep a man. This stigma can make a woman want to stay in an abusive relationship. (Voinjama group)
However, in some places there were many women living alone, and these examples made it easier for other women to leave if they decided this was their best option. Resources available Perhaps the most important factor influencing women’s decision-making is the resources she has – both financial and in terms of social support, particularly from relatives. Women who lack resources in these two areas have few options and tend to feel helpless to change their situation:
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Similarly, women who lack the support of relatives have limited options and must rely on more formal systems, which may not be available or accessible in some areas.
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Emotional factors Much research into IPV, and policy designed to address IPV, fails to take into account the strength of a woman’s feelings for the man who is abusing her. Difficult as it can be to understand, the woman may still love the man and value their relationship; she simply does not want to leave him, even if she has a place to go and all the support she needs. Respondents described a number of cases where women love their husbands and will not leave them regardless of how badly they are treated: I wouldn’t report to the police because I don’t want to be separated with him, I don’t want the love to end, so I prefer not to take him to the police. I would bear the consequences. (Freetown group) Another reason is love. Even if he bursts my eyes and I love him, I’ll just remain. (Monrovia group)
Some women have invested many years in the relationship and are reluctant to leave all that they have built together. This is especially true if the woman feels there is little chance that she will not be able to establish a new relationship, or that a new relationship may be no better: I intended to leave him, but … my relatives said there would be no genuine man to take on the responsibilities of another man when he is living. No man will want me again, with six children. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Severity of the violence However, regardless of these pressures to remain in abusive relationships, the factor that overrides many others when women are deciding how to respond is the nature and severity of the violence. When women fear that they may lose their lives, they are likely to seek help to end the violence: And that is why I’ve now separated with him, I’m staying with my parents. Because he works with a cutlass, and I’m just thinking he might use the cutlass one day to damage me, so I’m staying with my parents. (Kailahun group) If I continue in my relationship with him he will kill me and other men will bury me. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Discussion This study documents the ways women respond to IPV in two West African countries, the factors influencing their decision-making, and the solutions they aim to achieve. In some cases, agencies offering services targeted at women experiencing IPV have based those services on assumptions about what women want. Research has shown that, not surprisingly, women tend not to use services that they perceive do not address the priority issues; instead, they will look for alternative responses, which may not give
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adequate protection (Horn, 2010b). This study explores the views of an under-researched population to provide information that service providers can use to develop intervention approaches. A key finding of this study is that women in Sierra Leone and Liberia place great value on their intimate partnerships and are very reluctant to abandon them, even in the face of significant violence. The desire of most women in IPV situations in this context is to remain in the relationship, but for their partners to change their behaviour. In some cases the woman loves the man despite his behaviour and does not want to leave him. Closely related are the strong cultural, social and financial ties which bind a woman to her partner. Of the findings discussed above, the two main factors prevented women from leaving abusive partners that were mentioned most consistently in FGDs and by women who had experienced IPV were: (1) financial dependence on the partner and (2) fear that the mother would lose custody of her children, leaving them to be mistreated by a future step-mother. Several factors emerged as contributing to the decision of some women to end the relationship or at least to move out of the home for periods of time, including fear of death or serious injury, having financial independence or supportive families of origin, having support of WAGs, achieving successful settlements through the justice system for women resulting in fair division of property and examples in the community of women living alone without stigma. However, it is important to note that many women – even those with resources allowing them to leave – still preferred to find a solution that allowed them to stay in the relationship. Results revealed factors that allowed some women to find successful solutions to the violence that allow them to stay in their relationships. However, these were few, and our findings reaffirm the need for efforts to focus on helping women to do this. They included successful compromise and mediation by the families, monitoring by the WAGs and the deterrent effects of threats from mediators (family, chief, police or courts). One of the unique roles performed by WAGs was collective and consistent monitoring of the perpetrator’s behaviour, which in some cases enabled the woman to stay with the man. The WAGs also facilitated women’s access to other services, enhancing connections between the different levels of response. Such forms of collective agency may play a particularly important role in protecting women who do not have their extended families around them. However, we must also consider that, in many settings, community structures have been found to perpetuate beliefs about roles of women that can actually contribute to IPV (e.g. Odera et al., 2014), meaning that such bodies responding to IPV is not necessarily protective. Although strengthening the legal response to IPV is important, this research found that a legal response is not a priority for the majority of women experiencing IPV, especially those who have children with the abusive partner. As in other settings (e.g. Odera et al., 2014), poverty and family pressures are barriers to pursuing a legal course of action, and imprisoning a man was seen as providing no benefit to the woman or her children. The focus on punishment and ‘just desserts’ is perhaps not appropriate in this context, and reflects external values rather than women’s needs. In addition, as noted by Allen and Devitt (2012), it may be counterproductive to encourage women to use the criminal justice system in locations where the police are not likely to respond in a helpful manner, as was found to be the case in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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Recommendations and implications for practice and future research The power of a collective, community-level response to IPV emerged strongly from this study, with family members and neighbours as key actors, as well as more formal structures such as WAGs and community leaders. For those engaged in providing prevention and/or response services for women at risk of IPV and for researchers building the evidence base on which to base new intervention approaches, we recommend the following: . Given the key role played by neighbours, work in communities focusing on awareness raising or informing about referral systems could be effective. Further research to gather case studies describing factors in neighbours’ decision-making around how to intervene would be useful for guiding these efforts. . Community-level interventions to teach specific skills and strategies for familylevel mediation and problem-solving could help families to respond more effectively, especially if these reach the male leaders of the families. In addition, organisations could develop ways to integrate some of their services into the family mediation process rather than operating exclusively separate parallel responses often not accessed until the family-based processes have failed. Rigorous evaluations of any such programming should be conducted to ensure efficacy, refine procedures for maximum effectiveness and to inform programming across contexts. . Work to strengthen Section Chiefs’ understanding of and response to IPV, focusing on specific skills and revising systems so that Chiefs are better able to support women, is likely to be effective. For example, their powers to enforce behaviour change in men could be increased, or fines levied by Chiefs in IPV situations could go directly to the woman. As above, organisations may also consider how to work much more closely with these community leaders to offer integrated responses. . Forms of collective action, such as that demonstrated by WAGs, could be usefully facilitated by organisations, although it is essential that the group members themselves take responsibility for supporting each other and other women, rather than relying on the organisation to provide services. . Further work is required to strengthen relationships between the police and women experiencing violence. . It would be helpful for legal systems to focus on ordering the man to financially support the woman, as well as issuing injunctions to deter the man from future violence. There is also a need to improve the functioning of legal systems, so that they are more viable options for women. Given the small numbers of women who pursue a legal course of action, research is difficult. However, efforts to set up ongoing data collection may be worthwhile to, at minimum, gather a diverse set of case studies that illuminate some of the specific challenges and that capture any examples of success. . Interventions designed to enhance women’s ability to earn an income would enable them to leave abusive relationships if they chose to do so, and our findings suggest that women’s financial independence may also prevent IPV in some cases. Programme developers and researchers should consider evaluations of interventions that combine current IPV responses with economic interventions. . Organisations providing services to women experiencing IPV must recognise the influence of women’s emotions, and that they may still love the man who is
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abusing them and feel a sense of investment and attachment to their life together. These feelings influence decision-making, and services that do not take them into account are unlikely to meet women’s needs effectively. Couples-level interventions focusing on relationship skills, such as conflict resolution and positive communication, may have a place in responses to IPV, perhaps particularly those for whom the violence is less severe and those who do not yet have violent relationships, but are at high risk. However, research is needed to develop such interventions based on evidence-based practices and to evaluate potential positive and negative effects carefully before any such programmes are delivered at scale. Whilst it is important for women experiencing IPV to be empowered and supported to make decisions, our findings make clear that we need to move beyond interventions that facilitate agency at the individual level, towards facilitating agency at a more collective level, and addressing the structural barriers to effective responses. However, since family and community structures can perpetuate the norms which create the conditions for violent relationships, any intervention must involve a community-level strategy designed to challenge the beliefs and norms which condone IPV, as well as working more directly with couples, families, community leaders and other community members. Since the desire of most women experiencing IPV was to live in peace with their partners, efforts should focus on preventing of IPV and on interventions designed to end the violence, rather than solely assisting women to leave violent relationships. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the contributions of IRC staff who worked on this project, specifically: Amie Kandeh (IRC’s GBV Coordinator in SL at the time of data collection), Gertrude Garway (IRC’s GBV Coordinator, Liberia) and Esther Karnley (IRC Advocacy Manager, Liberia) and also the other members of WPE team: Kristin Kim Bart (the West Africa Technical Advisor during data collection) and Karin Wachter (the Senior Technical Advisor for IRC during the data collection).
Disclosure statement The lead author (Rebecca Horn) was hired as an external paid consultant for this work, and the other authors were or are currently affiliated with the IRC. Eve Puffer was a former Research and Evaluation Advisor for the IRC, Elisabeth Roesch is a former Advocacy Officer with the IRC and Heidi Lehman is the Director of the Women’s Protection and Empowerment technical unit. While this type of partnership does sometimes lead to a conflict of interest, such as in programme evaluations, in this case, the goal of the IRC was to collect data that was as objective as possible to look for both sources of risk and resilience of the women in these communities. The priority was to gather accurate information that was as unbiased as possible, which motivated the hiring of a consultant and the use of rigorous qualitative methods. Further, while Dr Horn was paid for the consultancy, to our knowledge, it is unlikely that the organisation may gain financially from publication of this manuscript. The only possibility may be increased visibility of the organisation to an academic audience, but this is unlikely to lead to funding. In sum, we do not believe these factors influenced data analysis or results presentation.
References Abramsky, T., Francisco, L., Kiss, L., Michau, L., Musuya, T., Kaye, D., & Watts, C. (2010). SASA! Baseline Report. London and Kampala: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Raising Voices. Allen, M., & Devitt, C. (2012). Intimate partner violence and belief systems in Liberia. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27, 3514–3531. doi:10.1177/0886260512445382
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Amnesty International. (2011). Annual Report 2011: The state of the world’s human rights. London: Author. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/sierra-leone/ report-2011 Amoakohene, M. I. (2004). Violence against women in Ghana: A look at women's perceptions and review of policy and social responses. Social Science and Medicine, 59, 2373–2385. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.001 Andersson, N., Ho-Foster, A., Mitchell, S., Scheepers, E., & Goldstein, S. (2007). Risk factors for domestic physical violence: National cross-sectional household surveys in eight southern African countries. BMC Women’s Health, 7, 11. doi:10.1186/1472-6874-7-11 Annan, J., & Brier, M. (2010). The risk of return: Intimate partner violence in Northern Uganda’s armed conflict. Social Science and Medicine, 70, 152–159. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.027 Bowman, C. G. (2003). Domestic violence: Does the African context demand a different approach? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 26, 473–491. doi:10.1016/S0160-2527(03)00082-7 Coker, A., & Richter, D. (1998). Violence against women in Sierra Leone: Frequency and correlates of intimate partner violence and forced sexual intercourse. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 2(1), 61–72. da Costa, R. (2006). The administration of justice in refugee camps: A study of practice. Geneva: UNHCR. Fox, A. M., Jackson, S. S., Hansen, N. B., Gasa, N., Crewe, M., & Sikkema, K. J. (2007). In their own voices: A qualitative study of women's risk for intimate partner violence and HIV in South Africa. Violence against Women, 13, 583–602. doi:10.1177/1077801207299209 Horn, R. (2010a). Exploring the impact of displacement and encampment on domestic violence in Kakuma refugee camp. Journal of Refugee Studies, 23, 356–376. doi:10.1093/jrs/feq020 Horn, R. (2010b). Responses to intimate partner violence in Kakuma refugee camp: Refugee interactions with agency systems. Social Science and Medicine, 70, 160–168. doi:10.1016/j. socscimed.2009.09.036 Human Rights Watch. (2000). Seeking protection: Addressing sexual and domestic violence in Tanzania’s refugee camps. New York: Author. Ilika, A. L. (2005). Women's perception of partner violence in a rural Igbo community. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 9(3), 77–88. doi:10.2307/3583414 Johnson, K., Asher, J., Rosborough, S., Raja, A., Panjabi, R., Beadling, C., & Lawry, L. (2008). Association of combatant status and sexual violence with health and mental health outcomes in postconflict Liberia. Journal of the American Medical Association, 300, 676–690. Kim, J., & Motsei, M. (2002). “Women enjoy punishment”: Attitudes and experiences of genderbased violence among PHC nurses in rural South Africa. Social Science and Medicine, 54, 1243– 1254. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00093-4 Odera, M., Hatcher, A. M., Bryant, C., Onono, M., Romito, P., Bukusi, E. A., & Turan, J. M. (2014). Responses to and resources for intimate partner violence: Qualitative findings from women, men and service providers in rural Kenya. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29, 783– 805. doi:10.1177/0886260513505706 Okello, M. C., & Hovil, L. (2007). Confronting the reality of gender-based violence in northern Uganda. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 1, 433. doi:10.1093/ijtj/ijm036 Pavlish, C. (2005). Action responses of Congolese refugee women. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 37(1), 10–17. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2005.00010.x Sobkoviak, R. M., Yount, K. M., & Halim, N. (2012). Domestic violence and child nutrition in Liberia. Social Science & Medicine, 74(2), 103–111. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.10.024 UNFPA. (2005). Gender based violence in Sierra Leone: A case study. New York, NY: Author. Vinck, P., & Pham, P. (2013). Association of exposure to intimate-partner physical violence and potentially traumatic war-related events with mental health in Liberia. Social Science and Medicine, 77, 41–49. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.10.026 World Health Organisation. (2001). Putting women first: Ethical and safety recommendations for research on domestic violence against women. Geneva: Author. World Health Organisation/London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. (2010). Preventing intimate partner and sexual violence against women: Taking action and generating evidence. Geneva: Author.
ISSN: 1744-1692 (Print) 1744-1706 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rgph20
‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women's responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia Rebecca Horn, Eve S. Puffer, Elisabeth Roesch & Heidi Lehmann To cite this article: Rebecca Horn, Eve S. Puffer, Elisabeth Roesch & Heidi Lehmann (2015): ‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women's responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Global Public Health, DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320
Published online: 21 May 2015.
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Date: 06 November 2015, At: 05:42
Global Public Health, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2015.1032320
‘I don’t need an eye for an eye’: Women’s responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia Rebecca Horna, Eve S. Pufferb*, Elisabeth Roeschc and Heidi Lehmannc a
Institute of International Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; cInternational Rescue Committee, New York, NY, USA
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(Received 23 June 2014; accepted 14 March 2015) This paper explores the possibilities for agency in intimate partner violence (IPV) situations from the perspective of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia using focus group discussions (N groups = 14, N participants = 110) and individual interviews (N = 20). Findings identify multiple interrelated factors influencing the decisionmaking of women experiencing IPV. At the individual level, emotional factors and women’s knowledge of their rights and options influence their decision-making. At the relational level, the role of neighbours, family and friends is crucial, both for emotional support and practical assistance. At the community level, more formal structures play a role, such as chiefs and women’s groups, though their effectiveness varies. At the structural level are barriers to effective responses, including a poorly functioning criminal justice system and a social system in which children often stay with fathers following separation or divorce. Strong cultural beliefs operate to keep women in abusive relationships. We identify implications for prevention and response services and make practice recommendations. Since the desire of most women experiencing IPV was to live in peace with their husbands, interventions should respect women’s priorities by focusing more on prevention and interventions to end the violence, rather than solely assisting women to leave violent relationships. Keywords: intimate partner violence; domestic violence; Liberia; Sierra Leone; violence against women
When women in Sierra Leone and Liberia are abused by their intimate partners, what do they do? What factors influence their decision-making? What options are available and what outcomes do they seek? These are the questions addressed by this study, undertaken by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) which implements programmes supporting women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV). If such interventions are to be effective, they must start where the women themselves are, and be solidly grounded in women’s needs and the circumstances of their lives. In this paper we explore women’s options and decision-making from the perspective of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Evidence suggests that in many African countries, women who experience IPV often do not tell anybody what is happening to them, and those who do tend to choose family members and close friends (e.g. Abramsky et al., 2010; Amoakohene, 2004; Andersson, *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] © 2015 Taylor & Francis
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Ho-Foster, Mitchell, Scheepers, & Goldstein, 2007; Ilika, 2005; Odera et al., 2014; UNFPA, 2005). The majority of research conducted in African contexts finds that women are reluctant to report to official authorities, including the police (e.g. Abramsky et al., 2010; Bowman, 2003; Ilika, 2005; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Multiple structural barriers to reporting IPV have been identified, with some common themes emerging. Social pressure, stemming from cultural norms and traditional gender roles, is a significant reason for women’s reluctance to report IPV (e.g. Amoakohene, 2004; Annan & Brier, 2010; Ilika, 2005; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Whilst traditional community mechanisms for responding to IPV can be an effective resource, they are often male-dominated, insensitive to the needs of women and prioritise keeping the family together over the protection of women (e.g. da Costa, 2006; Human Rights Watch, 2000). Since family members often support norms and practices that justify violence (Odera et al., 2014), their counselling and advice may take the form of pressurising the woman to remain in an abusive relationship (e.g. Fox et al., 2007; Kim & Motsei, 2002). Bowman (2003) argues that in the African context, institutions in the private sphere (e.g. family, traditional leaders) can be more intrusive and coercive than intervention by the state would be. Traditional family and community responses to IPV are less effective in communities which are changing, either due to young people moving to urban centres, creating more dispersed families (Bowman, 2003), or due to conflict and displacement (Horn, 2010a; Okello & Hovil, 2007). In both Sierra Leone and Liberia, significant social changes have occurred due to the effects of war on both countries’ economy, infrastructure, social structures and politics. When economic conditions are difficult, families may be reluctant to involve themselves in marital problems due to a fear that they might be required to repay the bride price (a payment made by a man to his wife’s parents) or that they may become responsible for their daughter and her children if she leaves her marriage. In these situations, traditional methods of dispute settlement are less effective (Bowman, 2003). The aim of this study is to explore the ways women respond to IPV in two post-conflict West African countries, focusing particularly on the factors influencing their decisionmaking and the solutions they aim to achieve. IPV in Sierra Leone and Liberia There is no recent research on the prevalence of IPV in Sierra Leone, but in a 1998 study of 144 women in Freetown and a northern province, 66.7% reported having been beaten by an intimate partner (Coker & Richter, 1998). Sierra Leone passed a domestic violence act in 2007 but implementation has been limited (Amnesty International, 2011). Studies among the Liberian population have found high levels of IPV (Allen & Devitt, 2012). A survey of 4526 mothers found an incidence rate of 40% for emotional and physical IPV combined (Sobkoviak, Yount, & Halim, 2012), and prevalence rates of 31.5–50.1% were found for physical IPV amongst subgroups of Liberian women (Johnson et al., 2008). A national multi-stage cluster survey found that 37.7% of women reported lifetime exposure to physical IPV, and 24.4% reported incidence of physical IPV over a one-year recall period (Vinck & Pham, 2013). Methodology The IRC commissioned this qualitative study to inform their advocacy work. An independent consultant (first author) led the research process, collaborating closely with
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IRC teams in both countries. The research team visited four locations in which IRC operated: Freetown and Kailahun in Sierra Leone and Voinjama and Monrovia in Liberia. IRC staff were involved in planning and facilitating data collection, but not in data analysis. The term ‘domestic violence’ is commonly used in both Sierra Leone and Liberia, so was used during the data collection. However, we specified that we were asking about violence from an intimate partner, rather than from other family members. For this study, we defined ‘domestic violence’ as behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours (World Health Organisation/ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2010, p. 11). This covers violence by both current and former spouses and partners; it does not include economic abuse specifically, although this may be a factor in controlling behaviour. Participants IRC staff recruited participants for individual interviews with survivors of IPV and for focus group discussions (FGDs). Potential participants were invited by a staff member known to them, who explained the nature of the study, what participation would involve and how the information would be used, before being asked whether they were willing to participate. Participants were assured that if they declined to participate there would be no negative impact in terms of their access to IRC services. Participants in Freetown and Monrovia lived in an urban setting, and those from Voinjama and Kailahun were from a rural setting. As with all qualitative research, whilst we cannot claim that the women who participated are representative of the populations, they do reflect the diversity of those populations in terms of age, socio-economic status and ethnicity. See Table 1 for detail of number, age and location of participants and duration of participation. Women aged 18 and above were invited to participate, though one FGD included some girls aged 15–17. The decision was made to allow this since these discussions did not focus on personal experiences and the girls could receive support from IRC, if necessary. Focus group discussions For FGDs, IRC staff invited women to participate, ensuring diversity in age and socioeconomic status. Most of the women had some contact with IRC: some were members of Women’s Action Groups (WAGs), who are trained by IRC and volunteering to support Table 1. Summary of data collected.
Freetown (N) Kailahun (N) Voinjama (N) Monrovia (N) Total (N) Age of participants Duration of participation
Individual interviews
Group discussions
5 5 4 6 20 18–49 66–88 minutes (mean = 78)
5 4 2 3 14 (110 participants) 15–70 17–68 minutes (mean = 38)
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women experiencing gender-based violence (GBV); two groups of women were professionally involved in IPV-related work; one group worked in the local market; and the others were community members who were not grouped according to any specific criteria. Participants were not selected according to whether or not they had experienced IPV themselves, although some had. The purpose of FGDs was to explore the nature of IPV in that community, beliefs about causes and effects, options available to women experiencing IPV and women’s help-seeking behaviour. Participants were asked to share their observations of the situation in their community, rather than their own personal experiences. The facilitator followed a semi-structured focus group guide.
Individual interviews Individual interviewees were selected from survivors of IPV who were receiving support from IRC. Whilst we recognise this is a specific subgroup of women who experience IPV, we chose to interview only survivors who already had access to support services for ethical reasons. Some were married and had experienced violence over many years; some were single and had been beaten by their boyfriends regularly; three were unmarried and had experienced a single severe assault from their boyfriends. The fact that all the survivors interviewed had sought help from IRC, and that the majority had left their abusive partners, should be taken into account when interpreting the findings. Twenty individual interviews explored women’s personal experiences of IPV, how they responded to the situation and the factors that affected their responses. Interviews began with a broad question which enabled women to recount their experiences in their own way (e.g. ‘tell me the story of the violence you experienced and the impact it has had on your life.’). Depending on their response, the interviewer probed to explore the issues of interest.
Ethical issues There were significant ethical considerations involved, and the safety and well-being of women was prioritised. The research was planned and conducted in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s (2001) guidelines on conducting research on domestic violence. A set of safety guidelines were developed, which included an informed consent protocol, a confidentiality protocol and systems put in place to provide additional support to participants if required. Interviews and group discussions were digitally recorded; the English content was transcribed as soon as possible by the lead researcher and then deleted. All participants were asked whether they were comfortable with the discussion or interview being recorded, and none expressed any concern. An advantage of IRC staff being involved in the data collection was that they already had a relationship with the survivors, so could provide emotional support where necessary. However, the involvement of IRC staff may have created pressure to participate for some survivors, so every effort was made to assure women that the research was separate from programme provision, and their decisions as to whether to participate would have no impact on services received from IRC or any other organisation. The original research was conducted as an internal IRC programme activity and, as a policy-related study, was not subjected to an external ethical approval process. However,
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before the research was written up for publication, ethical approval was obtained from Queen Margaret University, UK.
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Translation We followed the example of Pavlish (2005) in which the researcher asked questions in English, and a translator repeated the question in the local language. The translator in each case was the member of the IRC staff responsible for coordinating the research in that location. The participant responded in their local language, and the translator immediately translated that response into English. Analysis The data from all four locations were combined for analysis since they were broadly similar in terms of content and emphasis. Analysis was conducted by the lead researcher in two stages. Whilst in the field, a rapid analysis was conducted, in which the researcher identified key themes based on the research questions. She then reviewed the data under each of these themes, and the issues identified were summarised during debrief meetings with IRC staff, research participants and other community members. A full analysis was subsequently conducted using fully transcribed interviews. The thematic analysis undertaken for the initial analysis was used to define a set of conceptual codes, which was then systematically applied to all text using Nvivo9. New codes were added as they emerged, and the initial list of codes was revised until it accurately reflected the data-set. The data within each code were then comprehensively reviewed, and patterns between codes explored.
Findings Acute help-seeking When a woman experiences physical IPV, her immediate response is designed to stop the violence. Amongst the women we spoke to, this often meant the involvement of neighbours at the time of an assault, since they are on the scene. Whilst some neighbours do not want to involve themselves in other people’s problems – sometimes because they are afraid of the man and sometimes because they believe the woman deserves the violence – more often neighbours will try to stop the violence. They will sometimes advise the man to change his behaviour, and may also advise the woman. People from the neighbourhood came to stop him, to intervene, but he said he will not stop until he kills me. Others said, let’s go and report to the police so he does not kill her. When they talked about the police he was afraid, and he left me and I ran away. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Family mediation Once the immediate danger has passed, and the woman is concerned with the long-term well-being of herself and her children, there was almost unanimous agreement that the first place a woman would seek help was her parents/relatives, her husband’s parents/ relatives or both. If both sets of parents were available and supportive, then they would talk to both the man and the woman and try to mediate:
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They usually judge the case, and if you the woman are right, they usually beg you and ask you to please remain in that home. They get angry with the man and warn him strongly not to repeat. Then you go back home and continue. (Voinjama group)
For both families, the priority is usually to keep the couple together, especially if they have children. If the man continues to beat the woman, the woman’s family may take her back to their home for her protection. This may be a temporary solution, while discussions with the husband and his family take place, or, in more serious cases, a permanent arrangement. Some of the women we spoke to said that families will not always accept a woman back, perhaps because they feel she has created the problem by staying with an abusive man for too long, or because they cannot afford to support the woman and her children. Sometimes they may become tired of a situation that goes on for a long time and withdraw their involvement or advise the woman to report the case to the police. Participants reported that the husband’s family did not always support the woman and sometimes only advocated for the abusive man, including mediating a settlement (usually financial compensation) with the woman: They arrested him and they brought him to the station. He was there until they mediated between us. He was there for two nights. His relatives came, they begged me, they said I should forget, they met my relatives they talked to them to withdraw the case from the police. We withdrew from the police, we went home and his relatives asked him to pay for my medication, and they kind of settled between us. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Despite these challenges, the families were seen as the most effective and the preferred response for many, certainly when the violence first begins.
Community leaders and GBV programmes It is only if families have consistently failed to assist the woman, or she has no family to assist, she will look elsewhere. Respondents said that the most common alternate sources of help are: (1) organisations that support survivors of GBV, if available, and (2) community leaders, most often Section Chiefs. The chiefs essentially play the same role as parents – advising, mediating and attempting to negotiate a settlement between the couple– but could also impose fines. However, the chiefs had no power to enforce a ruling if the man refused to accept it: Even the chief, he will admonish but the man will not change his behaviour. When he goes home he will do the same thing again, there’s no change. They give fines but that money’s nothing, they give the money and go home and do the same thing again. (Freetown group)
Their intervention, therefore, was said to be suitable only for simple cases; the more serious or intractable would be referred, often by the chiefs themselves, to the police or an NGO. The role of the chief remains important, despite their limitations, because they are accessible in even the most remote areas, have recognised authority and can facilitate access to other services. In the locations where this research was conducted, IRC GBV programmes were in place, including WAGs. One advocacy role of WAGs was to facilitate access to police assistance:
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I came to the women’s centre and they referred me to the police, and when I went, they asked for money, and I didn’t have money. I went to A [IRC staff] and she gave me a referral form, and I gave him, and they didn’t ask for any other money. (Kailahun, individual interview)
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The WAGs also seemed to have a form of power that other actors lacked – to confront the perpetrator about his behaviour in a way that often brought about change. WAG members would confront the man as a group to remind him that if he beat his partner again, they would report him to the police. Women gave a number of accounts of this preventing further violence: The WAG invited him [my husband]. When the WAG invited him, he refused to come, and they said we’ll take you to the police. When he heard that, he came, and they mediated and they told him he was wrong … And they came up with some action that he will never beat me again. They told him that if he beats again, they’ll take legal action, and he’ll be sent beyond Kailahun … Now if he starts, I tell him ‘let me run to the Women’s Centre or IRC’. Sometimes when the WAG are also passing by they’ll stop by and tell him ‘don’t beat that woman again’. That’s how they’re helping me. He’s now afraid of M from IRC’. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Criminal justice system Women said they would only report to the police when all else has failed, and some said they would not report to the police under any circumstances. This attitude applied to both the regular police and to the specialist police services established to deal with cases affecting women and children: Family Support Units in Sierra Leone and Women and Children’s Protection Units in Liberia. Respondents who said they would report to the police said they would do so in the hope that it would frighten the man into changing his behaviour: I decided to go to the police because this man he always beats me, and I thought if I go to the police and they jail him it might also help … I wanted the police to make him afraid so he wouldn’t attack me again. Some people fear the cell. (Voinjama, individual interview)
In some cases the police would require the man to pay the woman’s medical expenses or to sign a document promising not to be violent in the future, which some women saw as a positive outcome. Very few of the survivors we spoke to said they wanted their abusive partners to go to court and be imprisoned. Whilst some men did change their behaviour after being detained by the police, others were so angry at being locked up that they ended the relationship and told their partners to leave the house. Reporting to the police was, therefore, seen as a risky strategy that many were not prepared to take. Other factors which made reporting to the police an undesirable option included the money demanded by police before they would assist and other costs associated with reporting. In some cases, the police were said to blame the women and support the abusive partner, sometimes accepting bribes from the man to release him. A very small number of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia take their cases to the courts. Some women had faith that the legal system would help them, but most saw it as a corrupt, dysfunctional system that did not support women experiencing IPV. A significant barrier to women accessing legal services was the cost of the process – both legitimate costs and the bribes necessary to gets one’s case dealt with. A shortage of sitting magistrates in some places also contributed to very long delays and frequent adjournments. Women could not afford to keep taking days off work to attend court,
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and delays gave the abusive partner and his family (and sometimes the woman’s own family) plenty of time to pressurise the woman into dropping the case. In addition, courts were said to commonly support the man, especially if he had money:
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While he was in prison, whenever I went to follow up, they would say OK, we’ll judge the case, we’re going to do investigation. Every time we went, the judge would tell us ‘no, we’re going to deal with it tomorrow’ … They kept postponing the case, and his uncle also works at the court. His uncle bribed and he was set free. (Monrovia, individual interview)
What women want: ideal solutions The women we spoke to rarely wanted the abusive man to be punished, but more often wanted to be able to live their lives comfortably, without fear of violence, to be financially independent and able to move freely within their community. Most women said their ideal solution would be for their partner to change his attitude and behaviour so they can stay together peacefully: I don’t need an eye for an eye, I need something to stop what’s happening to me once and for all. (Freetown, individual interview) Even if he does not stop having his affairs with other women, let him stop mistreating me. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Although the hope can persist that the man might change, there sometimes comes a point where the woman concludes that he will not. In these cases, living apart is seen as the best option: If the man does not change at all, then the woman will just decide to leave him and forget about their marriage … If you can fend for yourself, then it is possible for a woman to stay alone. (Freetown group)
The option of living independently is only possible if the woman is able to support herself and her children financially. If this was the case, some women saw living independently as a way of achieving the freedom they want, although it also comes with challenges. Whether a woman chose to stay with an abusive husband or to leave, being financially independent was crucial to her sense of well-being and feeling in control of her life. Some women felt that if they stayed with the man but were able to earn their own money, this would give them more options and potentially decrease the violence. Further, whilst women wanted to earn their own money and not to rely on a man for their needs, some also said that part of justice for them was for the abusive man to meet his financial responsibilities to his children and to pay for the woman to receive treatment for the injuries he had inflicted. This was the case regardless of whether the woman stayed with the man or left him. Those who had been married a long time wanted a legal settlement if they were to separate, to ensure that they receive their rightful share of their property: … We should go to court, if this relationship cannot be maintained, we should share the property that we have … So I can live on my own. He and I, we’ve been together for 32 years, we’ve suffered together to build our property, but right now he’s the one enjoying it. (Monrovia, individual interview)
While this is an important aspect of justice for them, none of those we spoke to had achieved such a settlement.
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Factors in decision-making Women described the factors they took into account when deciding how to respond when they were beaten by their partners. The factors can be divided into four types: structural factors; cultural factors; financial and social resources available to a woman; and the woman’s emotional responses.
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Structural factors Structural factors include the legal and political framework in which women live. Since the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone ended, organisations have worked hard to raise awareness about women’s rights, and some of the women said that once women knew that they had the right not to be beaten, they were more likely to take action. However, the failings and limitations of the legal system already discussed often dissuade women from making formal complaints. Cultural factors Generally, both culture and religion in Sierra Leone and Liberia value the woman remaining in an abusive relationship and suppressing her needs in favour of the needs of her children: Society says it’s a curse to the children if you quit the house or you report to the police. (Freetown group)
Many women stay in abusive relationships ‘for the sake of the children’, particularly in Sierra Leone and Liberia where the custom is for children to stay with their father if the parents separate. Women are concerned that if they leave, the father may not care for the children well, and that a new wife might mistreat them. It is not always the case that the father has custody of the children after divorce, but respondents said that even if women could stay with their children, they might not be able to provide for them properly, or their new partner may resent the children. In the communities we visited, there was great value attached to a woman being married and having children and stigma associated with a woman being single, especially if she has left her husband: When women stay alone, people talk badly about her, saying she keeps changing men, she has behaviour problems. They say she is lazy, she can’t keep a man. This stigma can make a woman want to stay in an abusive relationship. (Voinjama group)
However, in some places there were many women living alone, and these examples made it easier for other women to leave if they decided this was their best option. Resources available Perhaps the most important factor influencing women’s decision-making is the resources she has – both financial and in terms of social support, particularly from relatives. Women who lack resources in these two areas have few options and tend to feel helpless to change their situation:
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Similarly, women who lack the support of relatives have limited options and must rely on more formal systems, which may not be available or accessible in some areas.
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Emotional factors Much research into IPV, and policy designed to address IPV, fails to take into account the strength of a woman’s feelings for the man who is abusing her. Difficult as it can be to understand, the woman may still love the man and value their relationship; she simply does not want to leave him, even if she has a place to go and all the support she needs. Respondents described a number of cases where women love their husbands and will not leave them regardless of how badly they are treated: I wouldn’t report to the police because I don’t want to be separated with him, I don’t want the love to end, so I prefer not to take him to the police. I would bear the consequences. (Freetown group) Another reason is love. Even if he bursts my eyes and I love him, I’ll just remain. (Monrovia group)
Some women have invested many years in the relationship and are reluctant to leave all that they have built together. This is especially true if the woman feels there is little chance that she will not be able to establish a new relationship, or that a new relationship may be no better: I intended to leave him, but … my relatives said there would be no genuine man to take on the responsibilities of another man when he is living. No man will want me again, with six children. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Severity of the violence However, regardless of these pressures to remain in abusive relationships, the factor that overrides many others when women are deciding how to respond is the nature and severity of the violence. When women fear that they may lose their lives, they are likely to seek help to end the violence: And that is why I’ve now separated with him, I’m staying with my parents. Because he works with a cutlass, and I’m just thinking he might use the cutlass one day to damage me, so I’m staying with my parents. (Kailahun group) If I continue in my relationship with him he will kill me and other men will bury me. (Kailahun, individual interview)
Discussion This study documents the ways women respond to IPV in two West African countries, the factors influencing their decision-making, and the solutions they aim to achieve. In some cases, agencies offering services targeted at women experiencing IPV have based those services on assumptions about what women want. Research has shown that, not surprisingly, women tend not to use services that they perceive do not address the priority issues; instead, they will look for alternative responses, which may not give
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adequate protection (Horn, 2010b). This study explores the views of an under-researched population to provide information that service providers can use to develop intervention approaches. A key finding of this study is that women in Sierra Leone and Liberia place great value on their intimate partnerships and are very reluctant to abandon them, even in the face of significant violence. The desire of most women in IPV situations in this context is to remain in the relationship, but for their partners to change their behaviour. In some cases the woman loves the man despite his behaviour and does not want to leave him. Closely related are the strong cultural, social and financial ties which bind a woman to her partner. Of the findings discussed above, the two main factors prevented women from leaving abusive partners that were mentioned most consistently in FGDs and by women who had experienced IPV were: (1) financial dependence on the partner and (2) fear that the mother would lose custody of her children, leaving them to be mistreated by a future step-mother. Several factors emerged as contributing to the decision of some women to end the relationship or at least to move out of the home for periods of time, including fear of death or serious injury, having financial independence or supportive families of origin, having support of WAGs, achieving successful settlements through the justice system for women resulting in fair division of property and examples in the community of women living alone without stigma. However, it is important to note that many women – even those with resources allowing them to leave – still preferred to find a solution that allowed them to stay in the relationship. Results revealed factors that allowed some women to find successful solutions to the violence that allow them to stay in their relationships. However, these were few, and our findings reaffirm the need for efforts to focus on helping women to do this. They included successful compromise and mediation by the families, monitoring by the WAGs and the deterrent effects of threats from mediators (family, chief, police or courts). One of the unique roles performed by WAGs was collective and consistent monitoring of the perpetrator’s behaviour, which in some cases enabled the woman to stay with the man. The WAGs also facilitated women’s access to other services, enhancing connections between the different levels of response. Such forms of collective agency may play a particularly important role in protecting women who do not have their extended families around them. However, we must also consider that, in many settings, community structures have been found to perpetuate beliefs about roles of women that can actually contribute to IPV (e.g. Odera et al., 2014), meaning that such bodies responding to IPV is not necessarily protective. Although strengthening the legal response to IPV is important, this research found that a legal response is not a priority for the majority of women experiencing IPV, especially those who have children with the abusive partner. As in other settings (e.g. Odera et al., 2014), poverty and family pressures are barriers to pursuing a legal course of action, and imprisoning a man was seen as providing no benefit to the woman or her children. The focus on punishment and ‘just desserts’ is perhaps not appropriate in this context, and reflects external values rather than women’s needs. In addition, as noted by Allen and Devitt (2012), it may be counterproductive to encourage women to use the criminal justice system in locations where the police are not likely to respond in a helpful manner, as was found to be the case in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
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Recommendations and implications for practice and future research The power of a collective, community-level response to IPV emerged strongly from this study, with family members and neighbours as key actors, as well as more formal structures such as WAGs and community leaders. For those engaged in providing prevention and/or response services for women at risk of IPV and for researchers building the evidence base on which to base new intervention approaches, we recommend the following: . Given the key role played by neighbours, work in communities focusing on awareness raising or informing about referral systems could be effective. Further research to gather case studies describing factors in neighbours’ decision-making around how to intervene would be useful for guiding these efforts. . Community-level interventions to teach specific skills and strategies for familylevel mediation and problem-solving could help families to respond more effectively, especially if these reach the male leaders of the families. In addition, organisations could develop ways to integrate some of their services into the family mediation process rather than operating exclusively separate parallel responses often not accessed until the family-based processes have failed. Rigorous evaluations of any such programming should be conducted to ensure efficacy, refine procedures for maximum effectiveness and to inform programming across contexts. . Work to strengthen Section Chiefs’ understanding of and response to IPV, focusing on specific skills and revising systems so that Chiefs are better able to support women, is likely to be effective. For example, their powers to enforce behaviour change in men could be increased, or fines levied by Chiefs in IPV situations could go directly to the woman. As above, organisations may also consider how to work much more closely with these community leaders to offer integrated responses. . Forms of collective action, such as that demonstrated by WAGs, could be usefully facilitated by organisations, although it is essential that the group members themselves take responsibility for supporting each other and other women, rather than relying on the organisation to provide services. . Further work is required to strengthen relationships between the police and women experiencing violence. . It would be helpful for legal systems to focus on ordering the man to financially support the woman, as well as issuing injunctions to deter the man from future violence. There is also a need to improve the functioning of legal systems, so that they are more viable options for women. Given the small numbers of women who pursue a legal course of action, research is difficult. However, efforts to set up ongoing data collection may be worthwhile to, at minimum, gather a diverse set of case studies that illuminate some of the specific challenges and that capture any examples of success. . Interventions designed to enhance women’s ability to earn an income would enable them to leave abusive relationships if they chose to do so, and our findings suggest that women’s financial independence may also prevent IPV in some cases. Programme developers and researchers should consider evaluations of interventions that combine current IPV responses with economic interventions. . Organisations providing services to women experiencing IPV must recognise the influence of women’s emotions, and that they may still love the man who is
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abusing them and feel a sense of investment and attachment to their life together. These feelings influence decision-making, and services that do not take them into account are unlikely to meet women’s needs effectively. Couples-level interventions focusing on relationship skills, such as conflict resolution and positive communication, may have a place in responses to IPV, perhaps particularly those for whom the violence is less severe and those who do not yet have violent relationships, but are at high risk. However, research is needed to develop such interventions based on evidence-based practices and to evaluate potential positive and negative effects carefully before any such programmes are delivered at scale. Whilst it is important for women experiencing IPV to be empowered and supported to make decisions, our findings make clear that we need to move beyond interventions that facilitate agency at the individual level, towards facilitating agency at a more collective level, and addressing the structural barriers to effective responses. However, since family and community structures can perpetuate the norms which create the conditions for violent relationships, any intervention must involve a community-level strategy designed to challenge the beliefs and norms which condone IPV, as well as working more directly with couples, families, community leaders and other community members. Since the desire of most women experiencing IPV was to live in peace with their partners, efforts should focus on preventing of IPV and on interventions designed to end the violence, rather than solely assisting women to leave violent relationships. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the contributions of IRC staff who worked on this project, specifically: Amie Kandeh (IRC’s GBV Coordinator in SL at the time of data collection), Gertrude Garway (IRC’s GBV Coordinator, Liberia) and Esther Karnley (IRC Advocacy Manager, Liberia) and also the other members of WPE team: Kristin Kim Bart (the West Africa Technical Advisor during data collection) and Karin Wachter (the Senior Technical Advisor for IRC during the data collection).
Disclosure statement The lead author (Rebecca Horn) was hired as an external paid consultant for this work, and the other authors were or are currently affiliated with the IRC. Eve Puffer was a former Research and Evaluation Advisor for the IRC, Elisabeth Roesch is a former Advocacy Officer with the IRC and Heidi Lehman is the Director of the Women’s Protection and Empowerment technical unit. While this type of partnership does sometimes lead to a conflict of interest, such as in programme evaluations, in this case, the goal of the IRC was to collect data that was as objective as possible to look for both sources of risk and resilience of the women in these communities. The priority was to gather accurate information that was as unbiased as possible, which motivated the hiring of a consultant and the use of rigorous qualitative methods. Further, while Dr Horn was paid for the consultancy, to our knowledge, it is unlikely that the organisation may gain financially from publication of this manuscript. The only possibility may be increased visibility of the organisation to an academic audience, but this is unlikely to lead to funding. In sum, we do not believe these factors influenced data analysis or results presentation.
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