The informal economy and intimate partner violence: A capabilities approach

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and women's participation in the informal economy (both legal and illegal resource generating strategies) and to examine the impact of this relationship on economic well-being. Drawing on a capabilities social development framework (Sen, 1999; Nussbaum, 2000), this study looked at IPV as a capabilities deprivation and the informal economy as an adaptive preference. The researcher utilized a mixed-methods approach which included a quantitative sample of 285 women and a qualitative sample of 9 women. A factor analysis of a newly developed scale called the Resource Generating Strategies scale revealed several types of informal economic activity, including a sub-type called the Institutionalized Informal Economy (includes money generated from payday loan centers, pawn shops and plasma centers). There was an association between various types of informal economic activity with frequency of intimate partner violence. Experiences with the informal economy and experiences with intimate partner violence were found to have a negative impact on economic well-being. These findings have implications for welfare, violence against women and criminal justice policy/practice.