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Willingness to Act on the Occurrence of Domestic Violence

Indicator Phrasing

% of [specify the target group] who would provide support to a woman being beaten by her partner
See indicator in other languages

Indicator Phrasing

English: % of [specify the target group] who would provide support to a woman being beaten by her partner

French: % de [spécifier le groupe cible] qui aideraient une femme battue par son conjoint

Spanish: % de [especificar el grupo destinatario] que daría apoyo a una mujer golpeada por su pareja

Portuguese: % de [especifique o grupo-alvo] que daria apoio a uma mulher agredida fisicamente pelo parceiro

Czech: % [určete cílovou skupinu], kteří by pomohli ženě, kterou bije její partner

What is its purpose?

People are often aware of domestic violence either because they hear it or because the victim herself told them. Their willingness to offer support may relieve women from pain, psychological consequences, injuries or even death. A low proportion of people stating that they are willing to help may indicate a general acceptance of domestic violence. The indicator therefore measures the proportion of the target population willing to provide support.

How to Collect and Analyse the Required Data

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of your target group members:

 

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: When two people marry or live together, they usually share both good and bad moments. If you knew that a woman was being beaten by her husband, either because you heard the incident or because she told you, is there any type of help you would be willing to provide?

A1: yes / no / maybe / does not know

 

(ask the following question only if the previous answer is NO)

 

Q2: Can you please explain to me why you would not help her?

A2: _

1) it is a private matter between husband and wife/partners (does not want to interfere)

2) would not know what to do (how to help)

3) thinks that the wife would be in more trouble if someone interfered

4) thinks that wives sometimes deserve to be beaten

5) other – specify: ………………………

 

(ask the following two questions only if the previous answer to A1 was YES)

 

Q3: What type of support would you provide? [Probe: Is there any other help you would provide?]

A3: [multiple responses possible; adjust the responses based on the locally available types of support]

1) provide her with emotional support

2) advise her on what she should (not) be doing

3) talk to the husband

4) help her to find a safe shelter

5) help her to find legal support

6) provide her with economic support

7) help her with taking care of / protecting her children

8) give her a contact of an organization that can help

9) encourage her to seek health care

10) encourage and support her to seek psychological assistance

11) help her to report it to a local authority (e.g. traditional or religious leaders)

12) help her to report it to police

13) other – specify: …………………………….

 

Q4: I would like to understand which types of support for women that are affected by domestic violence you know about. This can include assistance provided by individuals but also by informal groups, organizations or various institutions. Can you please tell me all the types of support you are aware of? [Probe: What other types of support you know about?]

A4: [list the main types of locally available support + include also the following additional options]

1) emotional, counselling and other support provided by friends or family members

2) intervention by the traditional leaders or religious authorities

3) health care in the local (private or public) health facilities

4) other – specify: …………………

 

 

To calculate the indicator’s value, divide the number of respondents who said that they would be willing to help by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

 

As you can see, the calculation of the indicator’s value does not use the answers to questions 2, 3 and 4. These questions are included, so that you know:

    1) why some respondents are not willing to help

    2) what support the respondents are willing to provide:

    3) what support the respondents know about (this is especially important for interpreting the answers to the question 2 – for example, if very few women know about the shelter and counselling support offered by a local NGO, it is understandable that few respondents will mention that they are ‘willing’ to encourage women to seek such support)

 

Disaggregate by

Disaggregate the data by the respondent’s age group, marital status, ethnicity, education level, and other factors depending on the local context.

Important Comments

1) Collecting data about gender-based violence is sensitive and can cause harm. Take advantage of IndiKit's Rapid Guide to Collecting Survey Data on GBV (see below) to know how to minimize the risk of any harm and ensure the desired quality of collected data. 

 

2) The indicator was adapted from IGWG / MEASURE Evaluation (2008) Violence Against Women And Girls: A Compendium of M&E Indicators (see below).

 

Access Additional Guidance

This guidance was prepared by People in Need ©

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