What keeps women safe from violence during shocks? Review of risk and protective factors in the Indo-Pacific region

: Violence against women (VAW) can escalate during and immediately after shocks, thus underscoring the need to better understand and identify the protective factors that mitigate the risks. This scoping review examines the risks and protective factors associated with VAW during shocks – intense, acute or sudden events that include conflicts, financial crises, health emergencies and natural disasters, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region (46 countries) from 1993 to 2023. We recorded 12 risk factors associated with VAW during shocks from 63 peer-reviewed studies, with financial insecurity presented as the most prominent risk factor. Yet, only three studies identified protective factors that prevent or reduce VAW during shocks. Furthermore, studies have been conducted in only 21 out of 46 countries. With shocks rising across the region, we argue that more research is needed to explore the relationship between risk and protective factors and VAW escalation during different types of shocks, specifically, more studies on a diverse range of affected countries, and the use of feminist informed methodologies to document the structural and social protection responses that mitigate VAW during and after shocks.