Women’s agency freedom through empowerment against domestic violence: Evidence from Nepal

Agency freedom is the process through which women can obtain power and control over making decisions about their own life choices. In this study, women’s agency freedom was measured based on women’s ability to make decisions and their help-seeking practices against domestic violence. We examined how women’s higher agency freedom prevented them from being victims of domestic violence. The study analyzed 3373 women from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The results revealed that women’s decision-making participation and help-seeking practices had a negative relationship with domestic violence. Women’s help-seeking practice had moderating effects on the relationship between women’s decision-making participation and domestic violence.