Experiences of intimate partner violence among the currently married Rohingya women in Bangladesh: Perceived causes, mental health consequences and help seeking behavior

Our study seeks to gain insights into Rohingya women's experiences with intimate partner violence (IPV), its causes, and their help-seeking behaviour. This article provides empirical evidence on the pattern of IPV in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, drawing from qualitative interviews with currently married Rohingya women aged 16-45 years (n=20). We adopted the thematic analysis technique for the data analysis, in which themes and subthemes were categorized to explore the Rohingya women's experiences of IPV and their help seeking behaviors to cope with IPV. The findings of our study suggest that IPV is highly prevalent in the Rohingya camps, and the respondents experienced psychological, controlling behavior and physical violence by their intimate partners. This study revealed multiple reasons behind the IPV in the Rohingya community, including early marriage, use of drugs/alcohol by the husband, dowry, extramarital affairs, gambling habits of husband, preferences for sons, and polygamy. It has been seen that survivor women's coping mechanisms are their willpower, acceptance, self-time, hopeful mentality, and emotional and family attachment. The respondents preferred to seek help from family members and NGOs. Despite widespread IPV in the Rohingya community, most of the women want to live with their current intimate partner. Therefore, interventions should respect women's priorities to end violence. Awareness-raising programs regarding the rights of women should be promoted at the community level to sensitize men and women of all ages.