“Change Really Does Need to Start From Home”: Impact of an Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Strategy Among Married Couples in Nepal

• Published in: Journal of interpersonal violence Vol. 36; no. 15-16; pp. NP7840 - NP7867
• Main Authors: McGhee, Susi, Shrestha, Binita, Ferguson, Gemma, Shrestha, Prabin Nanicha, Bergenfeld, Irina, Clark, Cari Jo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Conflict resolution; Couples; Decision making; Domestic violence; Intimate partner violence; Marriage; Married couples; Occupational roles; Prevention; Sex crimes; Nepal; communication; intervention; partner violence; prevention; impact
• ISSN: 0886-2605; 1552-6518
• DOI: 10.1177/0886260519839422

Approximately 54% of women in rural Nepal report lifetime physical or sexual violence. The Change Starts at Home project is a primary prevention strategy to reduce and prevent marital intimate partner violence (IPV). This study analyzed in-depth interviews with 17 married couples (n = 34 individuals) at intervention midline and end line. Case-based analysis and thematic summaries were used to assess change, couple concordance, and gendered reporting patterns at midline. Individual changes included husband’s alcohol use and roaming tendencies. Relationship-level changes comprised labor roles, communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and experience of IPV. End line interviews were analyzed to understand sustenance of change within these same individual and relationship dynamics. Results indicate promising shifts in men’s individual behavior and marital dynamics, which underpin IPV risk.