PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS ON FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Only 3.1% of migrant workers said they knew a domestic violence survivor. 21.0% of the respondents identified substance abuse as the most influential factor responsible for domestic violence while 13.8% stated financial difficulties, 11.9% cited lack of adequate housing, 12.3% replied lack of education and 13.8% stated inability to hold perpetrators accountable as root causes of domestic violence. PERPETRATORS, FREQUENCY AND NATURE OF ACTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE While women cited substance abuse as the primary cause of domestic violence, men reported substance abuse and financial/economic difficulties as the primary cause of domestic violence. In general, migrant workers could not respond effectively to this question and resulted in a high non-response rate of 42.6%. More respondents from outer islands cited drug abuse as the cause of domestic violence than urban. Respondents from the urban cities most commonly identified financial difficulties and drug abuse as factors associated with domestic violence. Table 47: Perceived factors of domestic violence, by local/foreign Local Foreign Total Financial and/or economic reasons 14.00% 10.43% 13.77% Drugs/ substance abuse 22.13% 5.22% 21.04% Lack of Education 12.80% 5.22% 12.31% Perpetrators are not found guilty (not convicted or penalized) 14.35% 6.09% 13.82% Housing issues 12.26% 6.96% 11.92% Other 12.62% 22.61% 13.26% RF 0.48% 0.87% 0.50% Dk/NA 11.36% 42.61% 13.37% KNOWING A SURVIVOR When asked whether anyone close to the respondent experienced any form of domestic violence, 67.4% of the respondents stated that they didn’t know a person who has experienced domestic violence, while 19.0% reported knowing a survivor. More women (26.7%) than men (15.9%) stated knowing a person who has experienced domestic violence. More respondents from urban regions (28.4%) reported knowing a survivor, compared to respondents from outer islands (13.1%). Respondents mostly between the ages of 20-29 (22.3%) and 40-49 (22.3%) reported knowing a survivor of domestic violence. 40 A significant number of respondents chose not to answer or reported not knowing the answer to the questions in this section relating to perpetrators. It is likely that responding to this section was difficult as it requires identifying the perpetrator who the respondent might be in a domestic relationship with. It is also likely that the survivor the respondent knows is also in a domestic relationship with the perpetrator. Most respondents reported that it was either the spouse or the former spouse that the survivor suffered domestic violence from. Female respondents stated that they suffered domestic violence mostly from their husbands; while in the case of male respondents, a former intimate partner was the most commonly reported perpetrator. Both men and women reported having suffered domestic violence from their fathers. Half of the respondents reported that they knew a survivor who had been subjected to physical abuse by a person with whom they were in a domestic relationship with. Out of the respondents who reported knowing a survivor, more women (59.0%) than men (46.9%) cited physical abuse as the nature of violence. The second most common type of violence reported by respondents who knew a survivor was verbal abuse (11.0%). Table 48: ‘Types of domestic violence survivors experienced, by gender Abuse Male Female Total Physical abuse 2.11% 3.13% 2.89% Verbal abuse / psychological abuse 6.32% 5.44% 5.65% Sexual abuse 3.68% 5.44% 5.02% Economic / Financial abuse 2.63% 3.79% 3.51% Impregnating the spouse, without concern to her health condition and against any medical advice to refrain from impregnation for a specified period of time - 4.94% 4.52% Impregnating a woman, who is trying to remove herself from a harmful marriage, against her will - 14.83% 16.06%