One Step Forwards half a Step Backwards: Changing Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is still rampant in Bangladesh despite a strong national legal framework and a range of governmental as well as non-governmental initiatives to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG). This paper explores the influence of social norms on the persistence of IPV in Bangladesh as well as a possible backlash occurring despite progress in many areas in relation to tackling VAWG. Qualitative data were collected through 40 key informant interviews, 21 in-depth interviews with survivors of IPV and with married men, 11 focus group discussions and seven intergenerational trios, in two districts of Bangladesh and in Dhaka in 2016. With appropriate consent, interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated from Bengali to English and coded using MAXQDA software. A thematic analysis was then carried out on the coded segments. Findings from our study sample suggest that despite increased awareness of their rights, women and girls still face social norms that create barriers to attaining these rights. Effective governmental and NGO programming might, according to study respondents, result in backlash by men, leading also to changing forms of IPV. Our findings also suggest that increased access to economic resources may not always be protective, while increased education, mobility and access to new technology may be increasing IPV behind closed doors. We argue that the tenacity of the discriminatory gender norms that underlie the attitudes and behaviours of people in Bangladesh is a critical factor for understanding why, despite progress in many areas, IPV persists.