Domestic Violence, Women’s Autonomy, and Socioeconomic Determinants
Domestic Violence | Intimate Partner Violence | Household Bargaining | Gender Norms
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7809-0278
Why This Research Matters
Domestic violence is often framed as an individual or household problem. My research examines it as a broader socioeconomic phenomenon shaped by bargaining power, gender norms, marriage arrangements, kinship structures, and economic opportunities. Across South Asia and diaspora communities, this work investigates how social and economic institutions influence both women’s vulnerability to violence and their ability to seek support and exercise autonomy.
Research Arc
This body of work traces how gender, autonomy, and violence shape women’s lives across different social and policy settings, moving from household bargaining and kinship structures to public health, service systems, and community recognition.
India
Focus: Domestic violence, household bargaining, women’s autonomy, and economic dependence.
Evidence: Anchored in peer-reviewed economics research using Indian household survey data.
Pakistan
Focus: Marriage arrangements, kinship, autonomy, maternal experiences, and intergenerational gender norms.
Evidence: Extended through seminar and webinar presentations and evolving work on Pakistan.
Canada
Focus: Domestic violence during public crises, policy relevance, and public-facing commentary.
Evidence: Public writing, interviews, and commentary connecting violence to health and policy.
Canadian Extension
Focus: Hidden harms, recognition, and the implications of violence in community and service contexts.
Evidence: Connected writing on Canadian South Asian women, hidden harms, and related service issues.
Foundational Contribution
Domestic Violence and Women's Autonomy in Developing Countries
Canadian Journal of Economics (2011)
This highly cited paper challenged the assumption that improvements in women’s labour-market opportunities would necessarily reduce domestic violence. Drawing on household bargaining models and empirical evidence, the study demonstrated that economic empowerment alone may be insufficient when social norms, household dynamics, and institutional constraints remain unchanged.. Using National Family Health Survey data from India, the paper challenged overly simple assumptions that women’s improved economic position automatically reduces violence.
The article showed that domestic violence must be understood through household power, bargaining, patriarchy, social norms, and the constraints women face inside families and communities. It brought domestic violence into economic analysis not as a private or isolated household matter, but as a structural issue connected to bargaining power, autonomy, and policy.
The Canadian Journal of Economics later identified the paper as one of the most cited papers published in the journal.
Link: Wiley Online Library | RePEc/EconPapers: View Citation Record
Pakistan: Marriage, Kinship Structures, and Intergenerational Transmission
Public Scholarship: Domestic Violence in Canada during COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Malhotra wrote publicly about the escalation of violence against women as lockdowns, isolation, economic insecurity, and restricted mobility increased risk for women living with abusive partners. Her Women’s Health Research Cluster article, “Violence Against Women Escalates as We Flatten the Curve for the COVID-19 Pandemic,” connected global public-health measures to gendered risks inside households. The article discussed how financial insecurity, job loss, increased stress, and substance use could intensify domestic violence during periods of crisis.
Dr. Malhotra was also interviewed by Loose Lips Magazine for an article on rising domestic violence reports during the pandemic. The article identified her expertise in gender-based violence and socioeconomic determinants of health-related behaviour.
WHRC article: Read Article |Loose Lips Magazine interview: Read Interview
What This Research Contributes
This research brings an applied economics lens to domestic violence, connecting household-level dynamics with broader social structures, gender norms, public policy, and access to support.
Frames domestic violence as a structural and social issue, not only an individual or household problem.
Uses applied economics and population-level data to examine autonomy, bargaining power, household structures, and gender norms.
Connects South Asian contexts across India, Pakistan, Canada, and diaspora communities.
Links domestic violence research to socioeconomic determinants of vulnerability, reporting, and access to support.
Bridges peer-reviewed scholarship, academic presentations, public writing, and media commentary.
Publication, Recognition, Presentations, and Public Scholarship
Selected links connecting this research program to peer-reviewed scholarship, citation records, journal recognition, invited presentations, public writing, media engagement, and related Canadian research.
Domestic Violence and Women’s Autonomy in Developing Countries
Mukesh Eswaran and Nisha Malhotra. Canadian Journal of Economics, 44(4), 1222–1263, 2011.
View journal article →EconPapers / RePEc Citation Record
Canadian Journal of Economics article listed with over 500 citations.
View EconPapers record →Canadian Journal of Economics Recognition
The Canadian Journal of Economics identified the article as one of its most cited papers.
View journal recognition →UBC News Expert Profile
UBC expert profile listing expertise in gender and domestic violence.
View UBC expert profile →Women’s Health Research Cluster Profile
Profile identifying work in development, gender, global health, gender-based violence, South Asia, and domestic violence.
View WHRC profile →Violence Against Women During COVID-19
Nisha Malhotra and Karen Mason. Women’s Health Research Cluster, 2020.
Read WHRC article →Domestic Violence Reports During COVID-19
Loose Lips Magazine expert interview on rising domestic violence reports during the pandemic.
Read media interview →Intergenerational Transmission of Domestic Violence and Gender
Women’s Health Research Cluster seminar, “Walking in Their Footsteps,” 2020.
View seminar page →WHRC YouTube Recording
Video recording of the Women’s Health Research Cluster seminar on intergenerational transmission of domestic violence and gender.
Watch recording →Domestic Violence Against Women in Pakistan
Exploring marriage arrangements, autonomy, and the experiences of mothers. IBA Karachi, 2022.
View IBA Karachi webinar →Arranged Marriage, Cousin Marriage, and Domestic Violence
Murtaza Haider. “Is domestic violence less prevalent in arranged marriages?” Dawn, 2015.
Read Dawn article →Domestic Violence and Probable Brain Injury in Canadian South Asian Women
Jaskarn K. Dhaliwal, Shambhu P. Adhikari, Nisha Malhotra, and Paul van Donkelaar. Women’s Health Reports, 2026.
View article → | DOI →Data and Code Availability
Researchers interested in replication materials, variable definitions, or STATA programs related to this work are welcome to contact me at nishamalhot@gmail.com.
Invited Talks and Presentations
I welcome invitations to present this research to academic groups, research centres, policy audiences, community organizations, and student groups interested in domestic violence, women’s autonomy, household bargaining, gender norms, and socioeconomic determinants.