Strengthening the Homefront

This chapter explores the intersection of economic empowerment and intimate partner violence (IPV) within Australian military families. Militaries are highly gendered, masculine organisations whose traditions, culture, policies, and practices create a unique combination of challenges for military spouses (most of whom are women) that may increase their vulnerability to IPV. These challenges can include disrupted employment patterns, household financial stress, financial dependence on the serving member, social isolation, unequal distribution of unpaid domestic work, and power imbalances within families. Improving employment opportunities and outcomes can economically empower military spouses by increasing personal and household income, improving wellbeing, building human capital, enabling financial independence, improving access to resources, and creating more equal family dynamics. This chapter explores the potential of strategies employed by Five Eyes nations to facilitate employment for military spouses, including enhancing employability, facilitating employment opportunities, and reducing barriers such as hypermobility and unpaid workloads to mitigate the risk of IPV. Despite the potential of economic empowerment, significant barriers remain, including military norms, legal and policy constraints, insufficient knowledge about military families, and gaps in social protection systems. This chapter advocates for integrated approaches that combine economic interventions with shifts in policies and attitudes to address these systemic obstacles.