Why domestic violence concerns everybody
Domestic violence has high socio-economic costs and implications.
- Direct costs are the value of goods and services used in treating or preventing violence such as medical, police, criminal justice system, housing, and social services costs.
- Non-monetary costs are the pain and suffering that are a direct result of the violence and include increased morbidity, increased mortality via homicide and suicide, abuse of alcohol and drugs and depressive disorders.
- Economic multiplier effects are the macroeconomic, labor market and inter-generational productivity impacts, including decreased labor market participation, reduced productivity on the job, lower earnings, increased absenteeism, inter-generational productivity impacts via grade repetition and lower education attainment of children, decreased investment and savings and capital flight.
- Social multiplier effects are the impacts on interpersonal relationship and quality of life including inter-generational transmission of violence, reduced quality of life, erosion of social capital and reduced participation in democratic process.
(Source: Investing in Gender Equality: Global Evidence and the Asia-Pacific Gender Mainstreaming Programme UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo, 2008)