She gives her name. Okay, starting over. Hello everybody. I'm Maria
Elisa Christie, director of women and gender in international development at CIRED, the Center for International Research, Education, and Development
Introduce my colleague in just a moment. But Shriya is the grad student for this year. Raise your hand, Shriya.
Hello, who will be helping and send you emails? And Lumbini was the grad student for 2 years and she's here to support us today.
Thank you. So welcome to Hybrid Women and Gender in International Development Discussion Series.
So as of this morning. For our virtual and in person panel featuring Dr. Bernice Owusu-Brown.
We actually as of last night, it was 103. This morning it was 106.
So we have a lot of people registered on Zoom, 19 in person and like 88 or something on Zoom.
So in addition to many diverse folks in the US, we have people joining us from 6 other countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh, and Canada.
So welcome. Yes, your friends. Okay, so as I said earlier, please note this will be recorded.
And and it'll be available on our website later. It'll actually be on the, it'll be on our gender development website, but also on the libraries VTEC works.
So by staying on, if you if you have your camera turned on, you may be recorded. So if you don't that, turn that off.
So before I introduce our speaker, I want to ask you to. Reflect on the land and labor recognition statement, I want to ask you to reflect on the land and labor recognition segment from Virginia Tech.
So our land acknowledgement is that Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live in work on the Tudelo Monican people's homeland?
And we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that the moral land, College Act of 1,862 enabled the Commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native nations from their lands in California and other areas in the West.
The labor recognition Is as follows. Virginia Tech acknowledges that it's Blacksburg campus is partly on land that was previously the site of the Smithfield and Solitude plantations owned by members of the Preston family.
Between 1770s and 1860s the Prestons and other local white families that owned parcels of what became Virginia Tech also owned hundreds of enslaved people.
Enslaved black people generated resources that finance Virginia Tech's predecessor institution, the Preston and Olin Institute.
And they also worked on the construction of this building. That is a shortened version. There's a longer version on the Office of Inclusion and Diversity's website, there's a long a version on the Office of Inclusion and Diversity's website, probably an inclusive VT.
Okay, some brief housekeeping notes. We're still going to have about 20-25 min of presentation followed by about 20 min of Q&A.
For the people in the room will be staying open until 2 and you can help yourselves. Sorry, zoom people, you cannot have a bagel, but we will think of you.
Okay, so. We're asking you to stay muted if you're on Zoom to enable the speaker to present without interruption and then afterwards you can raise your hands and I'll take turns asking people in the room if they have questions.
And then also people on zoom. If you have any questions throughout the presentation, please put them in chat and we'll be tracking them in a Google Doc and then go take them from there as well.
Okay.
Alright, now to introduce our speaker. What you've actually been waiting for. Dr. Owusu-Brown is currently a postdoctoral fellow with the Department of Economics in the College of Science here at Virginia Tech.
I met Dr. Owusu-Brown a year ago and I'm very happy to ever hear today as our first speaker and I congratulate her on her new position, as postdoc in the Department of Economics where she's going to be teaching among other things that she'll do.
Economics and gender and I'm sure she will radically revise the curriculum.
So her graduate research focused mainly on the economics of intimate partner violence, a nontraditional interdisciplinary topic seldomly studied by economists more so in the West African nation of Ghana than over other parts.
This research examined obstacles to policymakers efforts to eliminate intimate partner violence. And proposing solutions to mitigate these, a paradoxical finding in her research highlights that policies to enhance women's growth could simultaneously increase her likelihood of being abused due to the abusers parochial mindset against the dynamic shift.
Caused by women's empowerment.
Her recommendation then to the policymakers based on this observation is to be cognizant of the simultaneous increase in a woman's likelihood of experiencing intimate partner violence when determining the policy framework.
I'm sure all her hard work to study this matter will enable her to be an impactful educator when she teaches the course of.
Economics of gender at VT the semester. So, the title of our talk today is Women's Labor Market Participation and Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana, a multi-level analysis.
So, I will now. Thank you. Thank you, Maria Elisa. I think she did my work for me.
Thank you for the introduction, Maria Elisa. So, so my name, as she rightly said, is, Bernice Owusu-Brown. To kick-start this fall, women and gender in development discussion series I present on women's labor market participation, and it's made personal violence in Diana, a multi-level analysis.
Now, and as I have said in past, this is still a work-in progress. So, then I would welcome as many questions as possible, and comments to make it a better policy brief by the time I decide to publish it.
So the the foundation of this research is rooted in a mature sense capability approach, which in recent decades has emerged.
As a very significant theoretical framework that explains and that explains development well-being and justice. So what's the capability approach has done?
In the recent decades. It's an extensive interdisciplinary research. Okay, that focuses.
Or, that has led to the development of a new policy model known as the Human Development Approach.
Now what does approach advocates is that development should no longer be viewed or defined as growth, but then the definition should be extended to include the multi-dimensional perspective of the advancement of human well-being.
And one major concept with the human development approach. Is this emphasis on freedom for violence. By arguing that in the absence of that are able to foster their well-being and it enhances their advancement.
Now, imply in this is that violence or intimate personal violence and by extension any other form of violence as a freedom violation and specifically intimate personal violence as rooted in gender-based per relations.
Now, intimate partner violence has henceforth I will refer to it as IPV. We just short take it as a global phenomenon and over the years as a global phenomenon and over the years has occupied the central position and over the years has occupied the central position in over the years has occupied the central position in international discourses.
As a result, a number of charters and conventions have been agreed upon with the overall acting goal of eliminating every form of gender-based violence.
And some of these include the World Conference on Human Rights. The 2013 agreed conclusion on the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls.
Most recently, Intimate Partner Violence has featured on the sustainable development post, particularly Goal 5.
which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The specific targets, 5.1 5.2 and 5.3.
I directed at intimate personal violence. And then they recommend that. And then to solve it, the SD, the SDG suggested that there's a need to undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources and also adopt and strengthen policies and regulations.
So, as we go through, this is the working definition I adopt from Sohini who says it's meet personal vowel is the manifestation of historically on equal power relations between men and women, which has led to the domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women.
Globally, the WHO estimates that more than one in 4 women between the ages 15 and 49.
Actually, it's the experience one form of IPI. All right. And this puts it at 641 million women all over the world.
Now the 2 regions under the WHO. Let's have the known highest prevalence of intimate partner violence
are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. And Ghana finds herself within the sub-Saharan Africa region.
In Ghana, the estimates, that's 28% of women and 20% of men having experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence.
And this number just falls short of the original estimates by a small margin. Now, the center. The gender center, sorry the gender studies, and human rights documentation center in Ghana, I use that.
This number is an under estimation because most often intimate personal violence occurs in the confines of once home and therefore it's most likely to go unnoticed or unreported.
So, this number is probably an under estimation. Now, to solve the problem of intimate partner violence, gender scholars particularly have recommended their need to unravel.
Intimate personal violence as a complex anomaly that is deeply seated in sexuality, self-identity, gender-based correlation and social institute.
Ghana, I must say, does not prescribe to any form of intimate partner violence. However, it is argued that it does not attract the form of intimate partner violence.
However, it is argued that it does not attract the form of sanction that is showed warrants. And this basically is because most forms of it means but not about this is sheltered and that cultural norms and practices and misconception of religious beliefs.
And one typical example is the redefining of some parts of the Sharia Penal code that allows husbands to chastise your wife as long as they are not causing them anybody harm.
Okay. Why should we even check? So there, the repercussions of intimate partner violence vary.
Apart from it being a fundamental violation of human rights. It is known to traumatize its victims,
De-humanize the perpetrators, and then leave a mark on children who witnessed and there's documented evidence of increased substance abuse HIV prevalence, derailed mental health and homicide.
among women who are victims. Similarly, a country's labor supply and it's productive capacity
is likely to suffer loss, a woman should fall ill. Or die from victimization. This affects local economies through workforce absenteeism, loss of productivity.
Loss of human capital that is incentive for investment. And then the overall thing is in this to a slower boost in development.
Now the Parliament of Ghana in its efforts to contribute to curbing intimate personal violence.
Sanctioned the Domestic Violence Act. 732 in 2,007.
And outlined a comprehensive legal framework for the prevention and protection against domestic violence and criminalize various acts of physical and sexual violence.
economic and psychological abuse and intimidation in domestic relations. Now we can't downplay this effort.
However, given what the numbers project, there is a need to ensure that these laws are not fully enacted.
But understood by the brother. If ever Ghana seeks, totally eradicate any form of intimate partner violence.
So back to That's how easy approach. The ideas that to take down, intimate personal violence one determinant at a time.
There should be an increase in female bargaining power by encouraging female labor market participation. And this is reflected in both economics and non-economic bargaining power modules.
Now what these models hypothesize is this. If women's bargaining power increases through their labor market participation.
It leads to a decline in their exposure and experience of intimate partner wildness. This has been tested in the literature across.
And through schools of thought image. Not one school of thought agrees with the argument put forth by the bargaining power model.
That a woman's increasing bargaining power through her labor market participation decreases the experience of intimate partner violence. Another school of thought also suggests that her increased intimate partner violence, increases her labor market participation as a way of escape from the abuse.
This, suggests, therefore, a by causal relationship. Between intimate partner violence and a woman's work status.
And that's the women's, the woman's work status is endogenously determined.
Now, conscious of this bycausal relations, I pose 2 questions as it pertains to Ghana. The first one being
Does a woman's labor market participation have implications for her exposure to intimate partner violence. So, I'm going to tell the story of Ghana then what is the direction of the causation or what the direction of association?
Does her involvement in the labor market export in the labor market expose her to increased intimate partner violence or decrease intimate partner violence?
So, for data what I did was employ secondary data from the most recent Ghana family life and health survey.
Which is a nationally representative survey that collects data on both quantitative and qualitative information.
that borders around demographic, social health status and indicators of domestic violence amongst both men and women.
So, the survey was able to sample a total of 4,995. But for the purpose of my study, I limit the analysis to ever married or ever-partnered women
between the ages of 15 and 60 who are asked questions about their experience and exposure to intimate personal violence.
So, it brought down my samples to 2,248. Let's look at how the labor market participation looks in Ghana.
So the overall, labour market participation is paid that 70.5%. Hi, by 72% of females.
Of males, sorry, and 65% of females are actively engaged in the labor market. And the formal sector employs just 20% of the entire labor force.
Now, 92% of women find themselves in the informal sector. Which is characterized by low wages, bad working conditions uncertainties and unemployment.
Ghana has made efforts through its structural readjustment program to increase women's representation, especially in the formal sector.
And their overall labor market participation with the goal of empowering the and advancing their well-being.
So, these are efforts that I do not in any way downplay.
Now let's look at my 2 main variables of interest. The dependent variable being intimate partner violence. So, with this, respondents were asked
a host of questions that fall within 5 domains of intimate personal violence. That is physical, sexual, emotional, economic and social violence.
What I do with this is to create an additive scale, sorry, what I do is to create an additive scale that summarizes these 5 types of intimate partner violence
into one index. And then I recall the outcome of the transformation into a dummy variable
So that's one. So that intimate partner violence equal to one if a woman has experienced violence in at least one of the 5 domains.
And 0 if she hasn't experienced any form of intimate personal violence. Now for my independent variable.
I to the question, what describes your current work situation best? And based on responses from the woman.
I categorize your work status into 2. Either you are employed or you are unemployed.
Now, let's look at the methods. I use a heavily quantitative based approach to answer my research question. And having mentioned earlier
the presence or the bi-causal relationship between the woman's work status and intimate partner vowels, suggesting work status is endogenous.
Now to correct for that or to test for that, I first estimate a recursive by its profit model.
Which is a two-stage equation mode. So in the first stage, I regressed the woman's working status on other exogenous label that z one.
Okay, and in the second stage, the experience of intimate partner violence on the predicted value of their work status and other exogenous wire.
Now the rule of thumb is this, if the core variance between the error terms in the first stage and the second stage is 0.
We say that they are independently distributed and there's no bio-causal relationship or there's no endogeneity.
Resulting from gates this week as cause. Okay, so then we would need the covariance that is wrote to be 0 to conclude that there's no reverse causality.
So, from the preliminary results from the recessive by varied profits model. A conference for Ghana.
That's a woman's engagement in the labor market participation as the highlighted 1.613.
That's a woman's involvement in the labour market participation increases her experience or her exposure to intimate partner violence. Well, what is of interest with this result is the value of the rule.
So, when we look at the value of the rule, it is non-zero. And because the value of rule is non-, we fail to accept the null hypothesis and conclude that.
There actually exist a reverse causality. Okay, and compounds the problem of endogenite. So how do I correct for this?
I go further and estimate an endogenous treatment assignments model which is a two-stage instrumental variable approach.
Now with this approach what is part of me is to find an instrument. Okay, that affects, a woman's, that positively affect a woman's working status.
But would only affect the experience of intimate partner violence through her labor market participation. Okay, so in the first stage, again, I regressed the woman's working status.
All the instruments and other exogeneous variables and then the second stage becomes my basic model.
So, for an instrument, what I did, was to create a cluster average of the working status of other women in the vicinity.
Of the woman being observed to proxy for how employment opportunities are available to other women. Impact, that single one is being observed.
Labour market participation.
So my test for the viability of the instrument again shows the positive relationship between the cluster average of the employment status of other women in the vicinity and the employment or the labor market participation of the woman that is being observed.
So as more and more women within the community enter into the labor market. It's positively impact a woman's willingness or decision to also enter into the labor market.
And again, the endogenous. Treatment's assignment model. confirms the problem of endogeneity.
Alright, and so after correcting for this reverse causality, then run my main model. To whether to ascertain whether a woman's working status has an implication for her experience of domestic violence.
And then also mentioned that I do account for other variables. But then in this discussion, I'll just limited to my main variable of interest, which is a working status.
So, the conclusion I what I find okay from the result is this: if a woman is actively engaged in the labor market.
it increases the likelihood that she suffers intimate partner violence, at the hands of an abusive partner.
And this finding. It finds meaning in the male backlash. And the gender rule stress theory, which says that women who are engaged in the labor market.
are not dedicated to their traditional household chores. And then this represents a breakdown in already laid down groups.
And consequently attract violence. From a partner who is predisposed to abuse and has an emotional attachment.
So, these traditional laid down groups. Okay, I have another explanation to this positive association is the slow pace at which gender norms and gender rules.
respond to women empowerment. This therefore suggests that over time or over a long run period
when behaviors are able to be reformed, there is a likelihood that's this association will be like there's a likelihood that the effect of the woman's with labor market participation on her experience of intimate personal violence will be at variance with this inimical outcome that is being observed.
Okay, so then it will require, run data to be able to save for setting that this is what's the situation is.
So I found a goal to argue that. Individuals live within communities and a brother society. So then apart from looking at the occurrence of intimate partner violence at the individual level, there is the need to situate the problem of intimate personal violence as a whole.
Throughout society and look at how societal impact. Influences a woman's experience of intimate personal violence.
And for that, again, I use a quantitative approach, by estimating a multi-level mixed-effect logistic regression.
Okay, so I limit the explanation again to just the second part. Now, the data just allowed me sampled just 4 societal attributes.
Okay. The education of women in society. The level of acceptance of fiscal balance in society, the work status of women in the community or cluster.
And then the standard of living of other women in the vicinity. What I find again, unfortunately, looking at
So the results limited, to model 4 is blocking it so we can see a little bit. Seems to suggest that.
Most societal attributes don't make the situation any better. So societal attributes don't mitigate the negative effect of a woman's participation in in the labor market on her experience of intimate personal violence.
Now to be able to understand why this was the case. I went back to qualitative data, to pull up some responses.
Okay, to be able to understand why society is not societal attributes, it's not doing much in terms of reducing, intimate partner violence.
So, in a one of the focus group discussions, it was asked, if you see a husband and wife physically assault each other, what would you do?
One respondent said, I will not say please don't. I will just pass by because why should the man allow himself to be beating by a woman?
Another one said, oh, what separates them. But if I quote, I will support the man to sack his wife.
Because it is disrespectful. Why should you fight or beat your husband? And then I said, okay, I'll separate them.
Then another respondent said, I will not mind, I will pass by because Why a woman should beat her husband?
Is the taboo in our community? Plus, it's a small mind business. So to some extent, this reflects the opinions of others in society when it comes to.
the appreciation of intimate partner violence and to some extent explains why it is not doing much.
In reducing the impact.
So, 2 key findings form the work. The first one being that, the work starts to support a female, a woman's labor market participation, significantly increases the odds that she becomes a victim of intimate partner violence and what I suggest here, which Maria Elisa said in the brief, is that policy makers remain cognizant of the unintended ill consequences that arise as a result of women's participation
in the labor market. And to do this they need to encourage gender sensitization programs when they are implementing female employment agendas.
The second key finding is that societal attributes do not mitigate the prevalence of intimate partner violence.
That being the case, I don't discount the impact of society in fighting intimate partner violence.
What I therefore conclude on is that there should be more society or community engagement. That's had directed at on seating traditional modes in society that has normalized intimate personal violence.
Okay, so then society can still do much to help fight, but it will require on seating these traditional ideas.
It to be able to see the positive impact. In the West. Of the links or in the former United Nations, Kofi Annan says, violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation.
And it's perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth.
As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace. So further research.
What I seek to further do.
Based on this preliminary investigation. Go back, collect data. Because the very first round like of the Ghana family life in, like I said, was 2015.
Which is almost 8 years ago. So that the goal is to go back. Collect data. As much as I can qualitative.
To be able to find meaning into why these associations exist in Ghana.
At this point, I'll bring the discussion to close. And like I said, welcome as many questions, inputs and comments to help grow the paper further.
Thank you.
Okay, Oh yeah, of course. Hi, Bernice. Thank you so much for sharing your, your projects.
Closer? Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, it's not projecting me.
I get it. So thank you so much for sharing your projecting me. I get it. So thank you so much for sharing your project.
So, I've been working in Ghana on things related to gender and labor for a long time
But from a historical and anthropological perspective. But from a historical and anthropological and labor for a long time, but from a historical and anthropological perspective.
And, as you were talking, I was, I was reminded of a lot of that scholarship, right?
And I wondered what those historical anthropological studies might. How they might help us contextualize some of the great questions that you're asking.
The because you know women have played a very active role in the labor market and Ghana for several 100 years at least.
Right. They have taken up a large percentage of the labor market. What we know from studies over at least the last 50 years or so, particularly for market traders, but also people who smoke fish and other things.
Is that for starters, you know, when women's earnings outstrip those of men.
And that that has an enormous consequence and that often even though they're working in the quote unquote informal sector, women are often the primary breadwinners for their families.
And are really dominating the family economy, which causes all kinds of challenges that women have to negotiate.
In really sensitive ways, right? And that they have been negotiating for many, many, many, many decades, right?
So, does it matter what part of the economy women are participating in? Does it matter how much money they make in comparison to the men in the household.
And I guess kind of an unrelated, but I think interesting question is the. You know, how does the idea that men fear women, which they say all the time and Ghana, it's a very common slogan, like fear women save your life.
Right? It's it's a really common trophy slogan. Men talk about it constantly.
They're afraid of women. They say they have tempers that they, you know, they have strong personalities, women and God are known to be very strong, right?
Strong willed is strong, very powerful economically, but in other ways as well. Right? So to what degree does that shape what's going on here and how does how how do we explain that?
Given the prevalence of intimate partner violence that you found.
So that's a great solution. Let me try and deal with the very first one that has to do with the relative earnings and women.
The bread in this and the fact that we have mostly in the informal sector. by the restructural adjustments program trying to increase women's presentation in the formal sector in essence is to further advance their well-being.
To be able to stand on their own. So then. In another on related piece I looked at. I look at how empowerment and property status also plays a role.
So then like you said in Ghana is And I is almost if I dare say a patriarchal society.
Okay, so then A woman's ability to stand on her own, plays a much, much influence in the amount of control that the husband or an abusive partner has over here.
So then if you better, yeah, live on market participation or the outcome of their labor market participation. By increasing the amount of bargaining power available to them.
they were to get access to other resources that limits the control of the man, over them within the household.
Okay. Again, in most rural areas in Ghana. You can't just leave your marriage and go back to your parents' home because you are being abused.
So, and there's the absence of shelters either permanent or temporary. So, then, if a woman can afford shelter outside of that abusive relationship, empowering and increasing.
The money tree. Value available to them. Can help it escape. It provides, an exit for her. so that's, with regards to that one and whether it matters which sector.
To some extent, it matters. Because the 4 months after like I said, just employs about 20% of the workforce..
And most of these are met. The cultural norms or access to education and other opportunities prevent women.
from being able to infiltrate the formal sector. So, kind of the man, perceived as being smarter.
Not that they are smarter, but then the opportunities are on it. So, then women tend to find themselves more in the informal sector.
And then some men, I wouldn't say all. Ditching their roles, force women to assume the role of the head of the household or the breadwinner.
Not that is the norm. But that's the condition we find. And sometimes, they also find themselves being the head of the house, not by choice.
but also, by a way of abusive partners. We are forcing their control and their dominance by letting you do more than you should do when it comes to already laid down traditional rules.
Okay, so that's another angle that I can look at it. So with the historical and anthropological roles.
I did look back and then borrow some of the series to be able to explain why this is. So I also look at it from the relatives resource theory.
I look at it from the male backlash theory. Gender role stress theories to be able to appreciate these theories from anthropological and historical perspective and explain why that is.
So, I kind of bring in from every place to explain their economic perspective of it's. Okay, we have.
I don't know if you guys can hear me, but we have several questions on Zoom. So I'm going to read, I'm going to give 2 Zoom questions and then check back here in the room.
So one is from, on Umbiko Agozino and I'm very sorry if I pronounce that wrong.
Okay, but I'm gonna read it. Is there a difference and matrilineal versus patrilineal families in Ghana.
Is there a relationship with a breakfast hypothesis is breakfast adhered to in families with women working outside the home.
The very first one. First, is there a difference in matrilineal versus patrilineal families in Ghana?
Yes, there is. So some tribes in Ghana, Some patrilineal, most patriarchal, and some are matrilineal.
So then again, in one of my variables I control for I control for ethnicity. So look at how patriarchal societies.
Or Patriarchal tribes. The association between intimate partner violence and ethnicity. So what I find is For most parts, Patrick, when do I can see Pasha?
Patrilineal tribes. Okay, women who belongs to such tribes tend to find themselves being exposed to more intimate personal violence.
That doesn't hold for all the tribes. Especially for the ever tribe, I found the opposite. That's, that, that tribe is actually linearly nature.
What I find with that one is that women who belong to patrilineal tribes. Rather I expose to decreasing intimate personal violence which could be explained from the point of behavior being reformed over time.
So that it's not cast in stone. Now in the matrilineal side, the association is.
Almost straightforward. Women who belong to matrilineal tribes are less likely to experience intimate partner violence because of the strong bonds that exist in such society.
And then the second one. The breakfast I think is something about. Yes, is there a relationship with the breakfast hypothesis?
Is breakfast adhered to in families with women working outside the home?
So, I can't speak for all households. Oh, If I have to speak for myself. I don't I belong to the house, but I don't do breakfast.
But then again, if it's situated within traditional laid-down rules. Then it is expected of them to do that.
And then. Failing to do that. Exposes them to intimate partner violence from an abusive partner.
So that's how much I can say to that.
Okay, so now I'm going to read one from Eleanor Cambridge. Hi, in certain cultures there is stigma for reporting even informally, intimate partner violence.
Is this applicable in Ghana? And if so, was stigma one of your other variables. How might want to address potential under reporting due to stigma in a model.
Yes. It so in Ghana we have what we call those domestic violence and victim supports units.
And I did a brief, And then again from the qualitative part of the data. What she realizes.
For most part when the individuals were interviewed by themselves in the absence of the brother, especially they were women.
Some argue that. It's not that they don't report. They do report, but for instance, you go to those reports to somebody who is friends with your husband.
You are encouraged to take the matter. And resolve it. So they are institutional bias and blockades.
Alright, which accounts for why this and the estimation. So yes, it does exist. This is, it's not bias and blockade.
Sometimes. Explain why it is underrepresented. And another thing. So I was speaking to Amanda the last time, not telling her, intimate partner violence or the discussion on violence itself.
It's not something that is easily welcomed in the Ghanian society. There's a little of a push back.
Okay. Now do some of these women even know that the acts being meted out against them? It's called Intimate Partner Violence.
So to some extent, these things have been normalized into society. So it's acceptable. And again, explain why.
That will be an estimation of the numbers. So if my husband beats me and I think it's okay.
I deserved it. I don't see it as a I see it says I deserve to be meeting for whatever I did.
So I wouldn't go. Some do more report. But again, back to the institutional virus.
You are advised to take it home. And deal with it as a family. Okay. Maybe one question in here.
And but I do want to remind you that perhaps the Zoom people will leave at 1:30 and I don't know raise your hands if you don't want to stay because we can stay you have more questions because we can we can continue the discussion but Okay, good.
Hi. Can anyone hear me? Can you hear me? Okay.
So I found what you said interesting about the matrilineal and patrilineal families become because I come from both a matrilineal and ptrilineal family.
My mother is at my my dad is Fanti. So In terms of things like inheritance and history and things like that, I was always taught that all although we're assimilated like historically this is how things are done.
When it comes to the government implementing measures to prevent intimate partner violence or maybe educate or push towards how How influential is, I guess, religion or culture or tribalistic.
Influences on like how the government is able to implement that because some things are I guess in more rural areas or more informal sectors are handled, I guess, with like tribal chiefs or local leaders and things like that.
So how can the government reach those areas? So it takes a lot of advocacy and campaign exercise to reach one community, one individual at a time.
Is not going to be done tomorrow. It is not going to be done next year. It's going to take a period of time.
So like I said, it would involve sensitizing individuals. So like I said, it would involve sensitizing individuals.
So like I said, it would involve sensitizing individuals. So then when I started this project, part of this project back in Ghana.
What I did was, some put a few students in the University of Ghana to be able to understand intimate partner violence and it will surprise you that even like that institutional level.
Most of them didn't know what it was. And even if they knew what it was, they didn't know there was a name for it.
Okay, so it take it will take sensitizing and educating one individual at a time. I must admit there will be a lot of backlash.
When it comes to the country linear and the much linear divide. Because not especially if you are from Ghana, we are very proud of our culture.
And how we hold off to it. Not to say every part of the culture is wrong, but to reform some to reform some kind of culture to be able to better the lives of women.
It's important to engage these tribal chips and then local government officials at the rural level. So it will start with education from that level.
It doesn't have to be formal. Okay, so it has to be informal and the education has to be transformational enough
Okay, to be able to change the story that comes with it. Okay, let me read one. From, Nushabat Zafar, so they have 2 questions, but the first one is how to address the issues that a community where religious leaders interpret religious teaching in favor of men who have all right to treat his women, even physical violence is justified.
Additionally, how to make women understand that being beaten up by husband does not make their husbands a man and it is not right.
To neither is it an obligation of a wife to be beaten up and not raise your voice is very complicated and gender socialization, communities go through from generations to generations and decades.
Double exclamation point. Yeah, so I do agree with that session. It's gonna be difficult.
I'm not going to, I'm not saying it's going to come on the sober clutter.
So then this is. My contribution from the economic perspective. I welcome Contribution for every other discipline so that the problem is dealt with holistically.
So yes, they are religious misconceptions. Now.
To another church because the touch is preaching wrong. The best you can do. Yes, like, addressing through education and creating awareness.
And this we can do through social media platforms. Like use every available platform to start one individual at a time.
Okay, I know in Ghana the government has moved business in religious activities, so it's going to be very difficult to be able to infiltrate.
These religious sectors. But then like I said, treated one individual at a time. So I won't come to you church and then all of us I didn't see religious.
Doing the West. But then the education and advocacy at the end. But then the education and advocacy at the individual, starting from one individual at the time, will go a long way to speak to that.
And I do admit that intimate partner violence is a very, very complex phenomenon. They, very complex.
But what I'm trying to do in my capacity is to take it to the one determinant at a time.
I can't do all the work. But then as much as possible contribute to my quota from the economic perspective to be able to appreciate what will work better.
We're gonna try to have a person unmute. You wanna go ahead and see if we can hear them without technical sophistication.
Yeah. Yeah, so it is 1 30 so I just wanna I just want to formally say thank you for coming and if anybody needs to leave now, go ahead. I'm sorry we got started.
20 min wait. So, and we are sending a link for the survey and we'll keep the discussion going here.
So, for you, don't feel bad if you have 3 that is officially the end of
And then Daniel Amo has raised their hand as well. Okay. Okay.
Yes.
Hello. Yeah, thank you. That's a very interesting research and a great presentation. So, Ghana is absolutely, a Patriarchal society and has a high prevalence of informal.
Economy. So there is a, so Shakotra agreement that links, Patriarchy with poverty and informality, will you see any different from your findings when you disaggregate your?
You are variables, all your data. Looking at that education level. Or the participants and also the rural urban dichotomy.
Would that be any difference from your findings?
Now because I've not done that, I can't say on authority. That's there won't be.
But then I can a prior anticipate that. If we do that, dissemination. I would predict that in the rural areas where it is heavily traditional and most traditional rules are still being ahead to.
Does the likelihood that this association will, this positive association will continue. However, for the urban space
Hey prior, I'm going to say it's going to be a little, I can't say for certain because again because of migration.
Rural-Urban Migration. There's also the mix of cultures in the space. So then, I can't determine what happens.
With the rural and urban migration. With education.
I think with education is this. Like I said, it should be transformational and reformational enough. So to the extent that the content of education does not promote on seating these traditional ideas.
Then I don't see education as doing much. In correcting the problem. Okay, so then raising awareness through education, whether formal or informal, should be directed at solving the problem.
In educating the end of the globe. So, we can have someone with a graduate degree who would still think the same way.
Excuse me to say someone has who has no education who think when it comes to these traditional norms and rules.
So then again, go back to the files that the education should be reformational and transformational enough to be able to penetrate certain spaces.
I hope I answered your question.
Yeah, that's great. Thank you.
Dr. Owusu-Brown, but I want to ask the second, second question from the Chavez the far.
I don't know if they're still on there, but it takes the intimate part of Nirvana's out of the home space.
So it's a interesting question. How to address the issues of triple workload of women who participate in formal labor work and there they also face sexual exploitation and abuse at workplaces.
Yeah, okay. So what that's a good comment I can take into consideration. And like I said, this is a preliminary result.
So, to look at. What place sexual abuse. But by the definition from earlier, I was just looking at intimate partner violence within the household and not outside the household.
That doesn't mean It doesn't play out the same way in the job market. Thank you.
Thank you. So you can't do everything. I can't do everything. But you've raised some good questions.
I'm gonna formally close this and then invite you all to come up and chat and eat and take everything with you.
So let me just, officially say thank you all for attending this presentation and then invite you all to come up and chat and, and, and, and, with you.
So let me just, officially say thank you all for attending this presentation and thank you, of course, particular to And we are sharing a short survey so you sent it out.
Please answer it. We have dismal response rates. Used an economist who'd be amazed at how part.
So it's very important to us. Okay, our next event is going to be very exciting and this coming up on October twelfth, Miss Jennifer Langel is a doctoral candidate and geography at McGill University in Canada.
She'll be talking about gender transformations embedded in livelihood transitions. Changes and continuities in Hmong, gender roles and relations in northern Thailand. Don't miss that one and check our website and please if you didn't sign in coming in please sign it on your way off and look at the flyer for the for the whole semester.
We have another one. The third one for the semester is, Dr. Sana Illahe, from Pakistan who speaking on gender negotiation of urban spaces among transgender persons in Pakistan, dismantling the colonial binary.
So on that I'd like to formally bring this to cousin thank you all for helping us launch.
Discussion series.