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Social Networks in the Context of Microfinance and Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study
Authors: Nadine Shaanta Murshid, and Allison Zippay
Source: Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 44(3): 147-172
Topic(s): Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Poverty
Country: Asia
  Bangladesh
Published: SEP 2017
Abstract: This mixed-methods study draws from social network theory to examine disclosure and help seeking for intimate partner violence among microfinance participants in Bangladesh. This study uses data on women from the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 and from in-depth interviews with 30 microfinance participants in Dhaka. Propensity Score Matching analyses indicated that increase in social contacts due to microfinance participation was not associated with disclosing IPV. Responses from the urban sample indicated that reasons for nondisclosure include feelings of shame, stigma, and fear of being perceived as weak by others. Implications regarding how microfinance organizations can tap participant networks as mechanisms for change are discussed.