Domestic violence as a development issue.

Abstract

Northern development agencies must provide practical support to the efforts of southern women to deal with domestic violence. In some ways, domestic violence wears the same face in the north and in the south: it is not an "abnormal" occurrence, it is not confined to any particular socioeconomic class, and it is a complex occurrence in which other women are sometimes complicities. Northern analyses, however, often refer to "battered wives," whereas in other parts of the world assaults may be made by brothers, uncles, or male in-laws. Development initiatives may also affect those power relations that trigger domestic violence. In Sri Lanka, a credit scheme allowed women who processed cashew nuts for export to expand their efforts and achieve remarkable increases in income and in living conditions. This increase, however, was taking place in the context of male unemployment (the men would not engage in the "women's work" of nut processing). Men in the villages where credit was available, therefore, consumed more alcohol. Thus, interventions are rarely gender-neutral. This must be recognized by those who prepare material on domestic violence.