The Risk That Travels with You : Links between Forced Displacement, Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in Colombia and Liberia (English)

In 2020, the United Nations reported the highest number of displaced persons ever recorded; more than half of this population was comprised of women and girls. Displacement and conflict substantially heighten the risk of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, for women and girls. The current study aims to examine the links between conflict, forced displacement, and intimate partner violence in two different conflict-affected settings: Colombia and Liberia. This paper draws on population-based data measuring intimate partner violence, combined with political science data on political violence. The findings show that forced displacement is highly and significantly associated with increased lifetime and past-year intimate partner violence. Displaced women in Colombia and Liberia have between 40 and 55 percent greater odds of experiencing past-year intimate partner violence compared with their nondisplaced counterparts. In each country, both conflict and displacement were independently and significantly associated with past-year intimate partner violence. Recognizing the increased prevalence of intimate partner violence for women who have been displaced is vital to providing effective assistance. As part of humanitarian, state, and peacebuilding efforts, displaced and conflict-affected women should be able to access a range of assistance services to help them heal from the impacts of the violence.