Intimate Partners and Multifaceted Violent Behaviour in Pakistan

Abstract

Intimate partners’ violence is a common occurrence in Pakistan. It has been affected by a host of factors, which are undergoing change with time. This paper is based on forty cases of married couples, some of whom are no more living together. The study highlights various aspects of IPV, including: economic abuse, drugs abuse, psychological complications, marital jealousies, consequences of love or arranged marriage, in-laws’ provocations, sexual jealousies, marital maladjustment, long-distance migration, disability, children’s issues, and tribal/feudal background. As more and more women are getting empowered through socioeconomic processes of change, they do find more options affordable in lieu of a violent and unhappy marriage. The new level of awareness has also helped non-earning women to step out of marriage if it becomes unbearable for them. In this way men also become aggrieved party, hence male victimization is also becoming noticeable. Male victims’ cases are now also highlighted in print media but these are not discussed in academia. This paper presents the IPV situation of a section of Muslim society, ethnically diverse, economically segregated, largely urban, having the aspiration of becoming a developed modern nation, thereby passing through a transition. The findings are presented in a model which may apply to similar social conditions elsewhere