A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF INTIMATE

PARTNER VIOLENCE AND ASSOCIATED

ECONOMIC COSTS IN MAURITIUS
Riad Sultan
Department of Economics and Statistics
r.sultan@uom.ac.mu
OBJECTIVES
Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs on a regular basis in the lives of
many women and men in the Mauritian society.
A psychological/emotional, physical or sexual harm by a current or former
partner or spouse
Interest of policy-makers as well as the general public
magnitude of the problem: prevalence and incidence
Causes and consequences and
Economic cost to the economy.
A definition of IPV
Physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological
aggression (including coercive acts) by a current or former intimate
partner
Psychologic/emotional violence
Psychologic/emotional violence involves trauma to a victim caused by
acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics.
Psychologic/emotional abuse can include, but is not limited to,
humiliating a victim, controlling what a victim can and cannot do,
withholding information from a victim, deliberately doing something
to make a victim feel diminished or embarrassed, isolating a victim
from friends and family, and denying a victim access to money or
other basic resources.
Physical violence
Physical violence refers to the intentional use of physical force with
the potential for causing disability, injury, harm, or death.
Physical violence includes, but is not limited to, scratching, pushing,
shoving, throwing, grabbing, biting, strangulation, shaking, slapping,
punching, burning, use of a weapon, and use of restraints or ones
body, size, or strength against another person.
Sexual violence
Sexual violence is divided into three categories: (1) use of physical
force to compel a person to engage in a sexual act against his or her
will whether or not the act is completed;
(2) attempted or completed sex act involving a person who is unable
to understand the nature or condition of the act, to decline
participation, or to communicate unwillingness to engage in the
sexual act (eg, because of illness, disability, or the influence of alcohol
or other drugs or because of intimidation or pressure);and
(3) abusive sexual contact.
Magnitude of IPV: prevalence versus
incidence
The number of victims experiencing IPV within a particular period -
prevalence
Prevalence rate: the percentage of victims over the total population
of women and men in an intimate relationship
Calculated for or during the 12 months preceding the study.
This study estimates a 12-month prevalence rate
Lifetime prevalence rate, defined as the number of women who have
experience IPV during their lifetime.
Magnitude of IPV: prevalence versus
incidence
The incidence shows the frequency of IPV episodes observed by the
respondent
The number of separate episodes of violence that occurred among
women of certain age during a certain period normally within the
past 12 months
Population living with a partner

Population for the sample Men Women

Living with a partner in 2011 286008 285536

Population in 2015
(Assuming population growth 0.2%
288303 287827
annually)
 Prevalence of IPV
Percentage from Number of victims
Types of IPV survey (%)
Man Woman Man Woman
Slapped, kicked, bit or hit you 2.8 12 8072 34264
Threatened to use an object to hurt you 2.8 8.9 8072 25413
Threw something at you 0.93 7.17 2681 20473
Demand to have sex with me even when I feel tired and not willing 4.67 8.87 13464 25327
Force me to perform sexual acts that I experienced as degrading and/or 2.8 4.44 8072 12678
humiliating
Intimidate you or express anger when you did not feel like having sex 2.8 7.17 8072 20473
Make you feel bad about yourself 4.67 13.31 13464 38005
Done things to scare or intimidate you 2.8 9.56 8072 27297
Threaten to hurt you or someone you care about 1.87 6.48 5391 18503
Puts down your accomplishments or your decisions 1.87 12 5391 34264
Makes you feel like there is no way out of the relationship 2.8 6.83 8072 19502
Threatens to leave you 5.61 6.83 16174 19502
Refused to give you money when he/she knew you needed it 3.74 7.85 10783 22415
Make you afraid to spend money as you may face reprisal 2.8 6.48 8072 18503
Threatens to remove your credit card or tells you to ask for permission 1.87 2.39 5391 6824
before spending money
Use harsh words which hurt you 4.67 14.68 13464 41917
Curse you 10.28 20.48 29638 58478
Asks you to shut your mouth otherwise you might regret it 4.77 10.92 13752 31181
Prevalence
The 12-month prevalence rates for women
Physical violence 12%;
Sexual violence 9%-
emotional violence -8%.
The prevalence rates differs for men
Physical violence- 3%,
Sexual violence- 5%
Emotional violence 6%
Consolidated prevalence rate
Victims of
domestic
violence
Men (%) Women (%) Men Women

7.48 18.43 21565 53047

The consolidated 12-month prevalence taking into account

overlapping episodes of the different types of IPV stands at
18.4% for women (53000) and 7.5% for men (22000).
 Incidence rate
Woman (%) Woman (%)
Frequency Man (%)
national survey PFPU/FSB
1 to 3 times a week - 4.92 33.33

2 to 3 times a month - 14.75 16.67

Once every month 9.52 11.48 5.56
Once every two month 4.76 4.92 33.33

Once every three month 14.29 22.95 6.94

1 or 2 times a year 71.43 40.98 4.17
Total 100 100 100
Incidence
The incidence for women who experience IPV in the extreme case is
43 on average for a victim, approximating one episode every 7 to 8
days.

For the occasional group, the incidence for women stands at 13, that
is, averaging one episode every month.

The incidence for men stands at one episode every three months.
 Causes of IPV in Mauritius
Sometimes
Causes of IPV Often (%) Total (%)
(%)
1 Money/ largent 50 31 81
2 Property inheritance/du biens 21 18 38
Social Status conflict (family name, skin colour, caste)/
3 banne problem social couma religio, couleur la peau, nom 13 20 33
famille etc
4 Professional status conflict/ conflict a cause problem travail 20 23 43
Differences in education background/ A cause banne
5 10 12 22
difference dans niveau education
6 Religion/ a cause religion 7 8 15
7 Who should cook / kisanla bizin cuit 12 22 33
37
8 Who should clean the house/ kisanla bizin nettoye la caz 12 25
 Causes of IPV in Mauritius
Often Sometimes
Total (%)
(%) (%)
9 About the quality of the cooking/ coz kalite manger ki cuit 13 35 48
10 About the quality of cleanliness/coz fason ki nettoyer 13 25 38
11 Extended family/relatives/ Coz banne famille nombreuses 18 25 44
12 Lack of Social activities/Manquement dans banne activite varier 9 30 39
13 Sexual relations problems/Problemes relation sexuelle 23 30 53
Discipline of the children/Lor difference ki met discipline ar
14 11 33 44
enfants
15 Issues concerning the children/Ban raisons coz enfants 17 33 50
16 Drug use / prend la drogue 11 10 20
17 Alcohol use/ boire alcohol boisson 41 24 65
Extra marital affairs/ ena relation en dehors de marriage avec ene
18 27 35 62
lautre
19 Gambling / jouer banne jeux le course ..casino etc 19 21 40
Past abusive experience/ banne mauvaise experience dans le
20 27 36 63
passe
21 Poverty / pauvrete 15 27 42
 Costs of IPV
There are different types of costs associated with IPV which can be classified
as direct and indirect.
Direct tangible costs are actual expenses paid by victims after an episode of IPV, either
on seeking support from networks, or health-care services. Examples are transport
costs to a hospital.

Direct intangible costs result directly from the violent act but have no monetary value.
Examples are pain and suffering, and the emotional loss of a loved one through a
violent death. These costs may be approximated by quality or value of life measures

Indirect tangible costs have monetary value in the economy, but are measured as a loss
of potential. Examples are lower earnings resulting from reduced productivity or loss of
economic output following absenteeism. These indirect costs are also measurable, they
involve estimating opportunity costs rather than actual expenditures.

Indirect intangible costs result indirectly from the violence, and have no monetary
value. Examples are the negative psychological effects on children who witness violence
which cannot be estimated numerically.
Costs of IPV
Expenses incurred for support network: Parent ; Friends ; Colleagues ;
Police ; SOS Femmes; Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and
Family Welfare; Medical social workers- victims
Expenses incurred for health-related assistance: Hospital; Private clinic;
Private doctors; Pharmacy and pharmaceutical products - victims
Loss of productivity on household chores - society
Loss of productivity at work -economy
Loss of economic output dues to absenteeism (unpaid leave) - economy
Loss of economic output dues to absenteeism (paid leave) - economy
 Types of economic costs Burden Rs(Million)
of costs
Expenses incurred for support network Victims
Parents 20
Friends 12
Colleagues 9
Police 6
SOS Femmes 2
Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family 4
Welfare
Medical social workers 12
Expenses incurred for health-related assistance Victims
Hospital 64
Private clinic 34
Private doctors 52
Pharmacy and pharmaceutical products 148
Loss of productivity on household chores Household 649
Loss of productivity at work Society 546
Loss of economic output dues to absenteeism (unpaid leave) Victims 215
Loss of economic output dues to absenteeism (paid leave) Society 242
Total 2015
Conclusion
The aggregated economic costs is estimated as Rs2billion per year,
approximating 0.6% of GDP.
The economic costs represent the minimum tangible costs which are
observable
Intangible costs- suffering, psychological pain and long term effects,
effects on children are not estimated
Macro-economic implications, such as long-term human capital and
economic growth, are also not estimated.